Apple Rosemary Jam

Directions

1. 1
   Fill a large bowl with cold/ice water and add the juice of 1/2-1 whole lemon (I found the juice of 1/2 a lemon was enough to keep the apples from browning, see below).
2. 2
   Peel, core and quarter the apples and put them in the cold lemon water. Like the original recipe states, I found this kept the apples from browning before they were diced.
3. 3
   Remove the apples from the lemon water one at a time and dice them. I diced mine very finely, which was more time consuming up front but eliminated the need for blending the jam further later on. Discard the lemon water.
4. 4
   Add the apples to the bottom of a sauce pan with high sides (to prevent splattering), as well as the sugar, juice of the remaining lemon(s), and rosemary. (If you decided to use pectin, add it now.)
5. 5
   Bring the apple mixture to a boil and stir often for 30-40 minutes until your desired consistency is reached. If necessary, the original recipe suggests using a hand blender about halfway through to break up any larger apple chunks - just be careful not to get burned!
6. 6
   When the jam is ready, spoon into jars sterilized by your method of choice. I have found that just baking the jars at 225 degrees for about 20 minutes while the jam is cooking works just as well as a water bath method, especially since this is a smaller amount of jam that can be consumed more quickly. If you try baking the jars just be sure to put the jars in first before turning on the oven and let the jars warm up with the oven to prevent cracking.