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Apple Jam is an old fashioned way to preserve apples, and it’ll add amazing flavor to your morning toast.
Just about everyone’s heard of applesauce, and if you have an apple tree in your backyard chances are you’ve cooked up a batch or two. The problem is, it’s not all that popular with the over 5-year-old crowd.
Why not try a different apple preserve this year? Namely, this tasty apple jam that’s just bursting with fresh apple flavor.
I make mine with just three simple ingredients, diced apples, sugar, and a splash of lemon juice. Apples are full of natural fruit pectin, so this jam gels beautifully into a chunky preserve with a bright golden color.
How to Make Apple Jam
The trick to making apple jam, without having it turn into apple sauce, is macerating the apples in sugar overnight. The sugar draws out liquid from the apples and firms up their texture, meaning the apple chunks won’t just dissolve into sauce as soon as they hit the heat.
Start by peeling and coring your favorite firm-fleshed apple variety. Apple varieties used for pie tend to work well here because they’re generally the type that hold their shape well. Granny Smith, Empire, Honeycrisp, or really any other good firm apple with a crunch.
Tart, acidic apples will give the best flavor to the finished apple jam, and if you use apples that are quite sweet, I’d suggest adding a bit more lemon juice to enhance the flavor.
You want the apple chunks to be relatively small, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubed. They’re really not going to break down much smaller as you cook them, so cut them just a smidge bigger than you’d want them to end up in the finished apple jam.
Splash the diced apple with lemon juice and toss the pieces to coat. I use about 2 tablespoons per pound (4 cups chopped), which is more than enough to keep the apples from browning and adds a delightful tart contrast to what would otherwise be a very sweet apple jam.
Next, weigh your chopped apples. For every pound of chopped apple pieces, add 1/2 pound of granular sugar.
Don’t have a scale? You can actually do it by volume pretty well too. It takes about 4 cups of diced apples to make a pound.
A pound of sugar is about 2 cups. That means (roughly) 1 cup of sugar to every 4 cups diced apples.
In simple terms, here’s the ratio for making Apple Jam:
- 1 lb Chopped Apples (4 cups)
- 1/2 lb Granular sugar (1 cup)
- 2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
(That’s the ratio, but the mixture cooks down quite a bit, and I’m starting with 4 times this amount (16 cups apples) to yield roughly 4-5 half-pint (8 oz) jars.)
At this point, you have apples tossed in lemon juice and sugar, and it’s time to let them rest overnight in the fridge. If you don’t have that much time, at least 4 hours is often enough to get the job done in a pinch.
Once the fruit has macerated in the sugar, strain the liquid into a jam pot and set the apple chunks to the side.
Bring the juice/sugar mixture to a hard boil on the stove, then add the apple chunks to the boiling sugar syrup.
Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, for 20-30 minutes. The jam should thicken visibly during this time, and it will thicken further when it cools.
To test for gelling, place a plate in the freezer before you start cooking the jam, and pour a bit of the jam onto the plate when you think it’s done. It’ll cool rapidly, and show you the finished texture.
Once the texture is to your liking, it’s time to jar up your apple jam!
Apple Jam Variations
I kept this apple jam recipe pretty simple, and all you’ll really taste is the fresh apple flavor. You can always add spices or other fruit to change things up.
Here are a few options that work really well:
- Add 1 vanilla bean toward the end of cooking
- Add 3-4 cardamom pods or 1 cinnamon stick added at the start of cooking
- A splash of rum or brandy added during cooking
Canning Apple Jam
You can make a quick refrigerator or freezer jam with this apple jam recipe, and it’ll last in the refrigerator for a few weeks, or freezer for up to 6 months. That said, I’m a big fan of shelf-stable home-canned preserves.
Canning apple jam means you can enjoy it year-round as a proper water bath canned preserve should maintain peak quality for 12-18 months after canning (and be fine to eat for longer).
To can apple jam, prepare a water bath canner before you start cooking your jam, and wash canning jars ahead of time.
Once the jam has finished cooking, ladle it into canning jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Be sure to use a spatula to de-bubble the jars, removing any air and adjusting headspace as necessary. This is a thick jam, so I found it particularly tricky to de-bubble. Do your best, and try for as little air trapped in the jam as possible.
Seal with 2 part canning lids and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the jars in the canner for an additional 5 minutes before removing them to a towel on the counter.
(This extra time allows them to cool slightly and will help prevent siphoning as they’re removed from the canner. I didn’t do this when I was canning apple pie filling and it made a big mess. The texture of this jam isn’t too different, so it definitely needs that 5 minutes extra in the canner with the heat off.)
Once cooled, check the seals and place any unsealed jars in the refrigerator to use within the next few weeks. Properly sealed jars should keep at least 12-18 months without losing quality.
Ways to Preserve Apples
Looking for more ways to preserve apples?
- 30+ Ways to Preserve Apples
- Canning Applesauce
- Canning Apple Butter
- Canning Apple Pie Filling
- Homemade Apple Wine
- Homemade Hard Cider
- Apple Cider Syrup
Apple Jam
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 cups apple pieces, peeled, cored & diced (4 lbs prepared, from about 6 lbs whole apples)
- 4 cups sugar, 2 lbs
- 1/2 cup lemon juice, fresh or bottled
Instructions
- 1. Peel, core, and dice the apples. (Be sure to chop the fruit into small chunks, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes, as they'll remain close to that size in the finished jam.)
- 2. Toss the chopped apples in lemon juice and sugar, cover, and refrigerate for overnight (12 to 24 hours). This step is important, and at an absolute minimum, they need 4 hours, preferably more. Macerating the fruit in sugar helps it retain a chunky texture, rather than turn into applesauce.
- 3. Prepare a water bath canner (if canning, skip for a freezer jam).
- 4.Place the apple mixture into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. The mixture will foam, so be sure your pan is big enough to handle foaming to avoid overflows.
- 5. Stir apple/sugar mixture occasionally, watching for overflows, and cook for about 20-30 minutes.
If apple pieces are too large, crush slightly with a potato masher (optional). - 6. Cook until the apple jam reaches gel stage, using an instant-read thermometer or testing a small amount on a plate placed in the freezer. (Gel stage is 220 degrees F at sea level and a bit below that at higher elevations. The finished temperature drops by 1 degree for every 500 feet above sea level. I'm at 1000 feet, so my jams finish at 218 F.)
- 7. Once the jam reaches gel stage, immediately remove it from the heat and pack it into jars leaving
1/4 inch headspace, and seal with 2 part canning lids - 8. Store the apple jam in the refrigerator for immediate use, or process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. Turn off the canner and allow the jars to sit an additional 5 minutes before removing them to a towel on the counter. Check for seals after a few hours, and store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator.
Notes
Fall Canning Recipes
Putting up more than just apples this fall?
- Canning Asian Pears
- Pear Cider (Perry)
- Pear Jam
- Pear Jelly
- How to Make Pumpkin Puree
- How to Make Pumpkin Powder (Pumpkin Flour)
- 20+ Ways to Preserve Pumpkin
I’m confused, do you strain out apples before you cook maceration liquid or pour all into cooking pot? Can’t wait to make this jam, but wanted to make sure. Thanks
You will put the entire mixture into the pot.
I am slightly confused on the ratios. So 16 cups of diced apples cook down to only 5 cups of apples as it says it makes only 4-5 half pints?
Yes, that’s correct. Four cups ends up being about a pound once they are peeled and diced. You will start with about 6 pounds of whole apples which ends up being about 4 pounds prepared.
I am wanting to try this with a cinnamon stick. Would I remove the stick after cooking?
Yes I would definitely remove the stick after cooking.
Wow! Stumbled on your site when looking for recipes to use excess pears. Saved that recipe and happily clicked on the link that brought me here.
I do have a couple of questions, though.
(1) If making the fridge/freezer option, how long should I cool it before putting it in the fridge?
(2) IN the same vein – should I let the jam come completely to room temp before putting it in plastic containers, i.e. s there a suggested temperature for this type of thing?
My only experience was making grape jelly using bottled juice,40+ years ago. Having heard the horror stories about spoilage, I wasn’t about to let all my hard (?) work go to waste, so I short filled my jars and poured an inch of paraffin in. The good news was – the jelly stayed pristine. The bad news was – the smoke detectors in my apartment going off from all the blue smoke, generated by my VERY un-ladylike vocabulary, when trying to pry all that wax out. 🤗
I personally would allow it to cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge. It’s not strictly necessary but this will prevent it from raising the temperature in your fridge. As far as the plastic containers, I don’t know that it’s necessary to wait for it to cool to room temperature but I wouldn’t necessarily put it in there piping hot either.
Ashley! We want to let you know that you are a STAR in our homestead and canning kitchen! You are truly amazing for the amount of experience you have– with tried and true recipes– PLUS your instructions are stellar! Your communication skills online are prefect. Your recipes have been winners in our kitchen and to our taste buds. Your site is my “go to” because I know that everything will turn out right when I follow your directions. Thank you for investing so much time to teach us and duplicate your skills! Its like having our G’ma and Mom here to help us! (Those generations now live in heaven and we are the “seniors” now” ) We send you a BIG WARM HUG of gratitude for all you have shared and continue to share with us!! Your signature is definitely on our homestead!! Thank you SOOO MUCH for everything!! <3
Wow! Thank you so much for your sweet words. You are very kind and we are so glad that you are enjoying the blog so much.
This stuff is wonderful. I’m not an apple jam fan. I made it for hand pies but,…it’s so good I just keep thinking of things I can use it on. This has to be the best apple thing I’ve made. 10/10
Thank you. We’re so glad you liked it.
I’ve done several batches of this apple jam, and it’s great! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I wonder though, would it work with less sugar? [The typical jam question, haha 🙂 ] Say, if I used 20% less sugar? With 2:1 chopped apples:sugar by weight ratio it turns out a tad too sweet (coming from a sweets loving person); also some of the sugar doesn’t even dissolve fully in the syrup while sitting in the fridge.
I’m using some average summer and early fall apples for this, not overly sweet but not the sourest kind either. I do add lemon juice.
It’s possible that it may work fine but you might end up needing to add some pectin if it doesn’t set well for you.