did/does anyone , or have you heard of making jelly/preserves without using sure gel? something makes me remember this.
anyway, we were in N.C. and went to an indian doings just north of fayetteville, and my husband bought a pint of apple preserves. and the lady offered me the recipe, and being the dumb bunny i am, i said 'no thanks'. BUT they are just out of this world. got a recipe off the internet, and it no way compares to the stuff we bought in N.C. it is sooooo thick, looks almost like she cooked it way down, and didn't use sure gel. and maybe less sugar, than my recipes call for. does anyway have a recipe similiar to what i am talking about.?????

I think my grandma used cornstarch and cooked it for a long time.She also just used wax to seal the jars .

I use less sugar than most and just keep cooking until it is thick enough. to test take a spoonful out and let it cool on a saucer and check for consistency.

Apple peels can be used to thicken up jellies - they are a natural source of pectin. Chances are, she did not need pectin, depending on the apple variety. I used to make boiled cider jelly with apple peels, then strain before putting up in the jars. It was great with chicken and pork.

So did my mother! After she poured the wax on top of the jelly we would stick our fingers in it to make wax finger puppets. I used wax on my jelly within first few years of marriage. Then life happened. Last year I started again but I now use the lids and rings. I like using honey instead of sugar int he recipes. The longer you cook it, the thicker the jams get. And just adding a wee bit more of pectin can also thicken it up. I use very little sugar in my recipes. Good ripe fruit doesn't need much. After you put it on toasted homemade bread with a dollop of real Land O Lakes butter you don't notice the lack of sugar.

keep them coming. maybe one of the indian ladies from clinton/fayetteville, will give me the recipe???? please.

I make crabapple jelly with no added pectin, and black berry jelly, I throw in some apple cores (that I save from making applesauce) and it comes out fine.

is what you bought, apple butter?

PT, no, it was apple preserves. she said. real chunky and thick. so, do you just cook, and cook and stir, and cook it down? the recipe off the internet said nutmug,
6 C apples, cored, sliced
1 C. water
1 T. lemon juice
l pkg pectin powdered
4 C. sugar
2 tsp. nutmug
it was just tooo sweet, and was more like jelly when i got done, with a FEW chunks. maybe my apples were too soft. next yr, i'll try it with 1/2 that sugar, firmer apples, and just cooking it down.

I made apple butter a while back and did not use sure gel.
The difference was that you did not peel or core the apples. these used the natural pectin in the fruit to make it thick. Maybe this will help you. You also still have to cook it down and strain out the peelings and seeds with a sieve.

yes, that's the way i make my apple butter also. and apple sauce. i just buzzed it just a second in the blender, to sort of cut up the peels, and then everything went into my old fashioned cone sieve. easy as pie.

but like i said, it was chunky indian apple perserves. out of this world. cohan tribe, or similar to that. clinton n.c.