Instructions

1. 1

   Wash the apples and quarter them with their skin and cores. Only the stalk and the blossom end are removed, as the skin and cores hold the natural pectin that will set it later.

2. 2

   Put the pieces of apple in a large pan with the water and cook them covered over a medium heat until they have collapsed into a purée.

3. 3

   Line a large sieve with a clean tea towel, hang it over a bowl and tip in the hot purée. Let the juice run off and squeeze the cloth firmly at the end, because unlike a clear jelly, Apfelkraut is allowed to be cloudy.

4. 4

   Pour the collected juice into a wide pan with the sugar and the squeezed lemon juice and let it reduce uncovered over a medium heat, stirring now and then.

5. 5

   Towards the end, stir constantly, as the thick syrup catches quickly and spits when hot. The Apfelkraut is ready when it is dark brown and viscous and a blob on a cold plate no longer spreads.

6. 6

   Sterilise two 250 ml screw-top jars and their matching lids in vigorously boiling water and then leave them to drain on a clean cloth.

7. 7

   Pour the boiling hot Apfelkraut into the jars to 1 cm below the rim, wipe the rims with a clean cloth and seal them at once.

8. 8

   Leave the filled jars to cool completely standing upright; there is no need to turn them over, simply leave them be.