[Instant Pot] Apple Core Jam

[theinfamousj]

Let there be /r/NoScrapLeftBehind with this way to render apple cores and peels into usable jam. Cook it in the Instant Pot for easy cleanup and a generally hands-off experience. And to make it even more NoScrapLeftBehind, try cleaning your Instant Pot's inner pot with just water as a first rinse to get some jam-juice to drink.

Facebook post

Materials List:

• a lot of Apple Scraps: cores, peels, slices with a bite taken out of them, whatever (I personally fill up a 4 cup deli container with tightly packed scraps to signal it is time to make jam)
• Instant Pot 
• spoon that can be used to stir contents of Instant Pot
• 1/4 cup sugar [sub: 1/8th cup honey/maple syrup (you choose)]
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• optional: cinnamon or other spice you are moved to add
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Blender (I recommend an immersion blender so you have less to clean)
• regular metal flatware spoons, stuck in the freezer - five or so
• optional: splatter screen
• Jar to put final product in (for the amount of apple scraps I start with, a 1 pint salsa jar is enough jar)

Procedure:

1. Put the apple scraps and water (1 1/2 cups) into the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Close the lid and set it to seal.
2. Turn on the Instant Pot to the PRESSURE COOK setting with the heat level being Medium/Regular. Set to cook for 1 hour. Allow to naturally release.
3. Open the Instant Pot and confirm that the apple scraps are mushier than they were when we first started. Add the sugar (1/4 cup),  lemon juice (2 TBSP), and spices.
4. Blend entire contents of the Instant Pot with the blender.
5. Set the Instant Pot to SAUTE on Low and set the cook time for its longest setting: 30 minutes. If you are using the optional splatter screen, now's the time to use it as your lid. Stir occasionally with the spoon if you feel so moved; don't if you don't. Nothing will burn at this point.
6. After 30 minutes have elapsed, the jam might have reached the gel stage. You can test for gelling by removing one of the spoons from the freezer and putting a drop of your jam into the bowl of the spoon. Wait 30 seconds, then swipe your finger through the drop. If the result is two separate jam globs that aren't trying to reform into a single glob, you've gelled and can move on to step 8. If not ...
7. ONLY IF YOU HAVEN'T GELLED! Once again set the Instant Pot to SAUTE on Low for 30 minutes. Stir frequently during this time. Test for gel every time there is a change in nature or sound of your simmer bubbles. As you gain experience, you'll develop the ability to hear when your jam hits the gel stage; there's a subtle sound to it.
8. Put the gelled jam in your jar and allow it to cool on the countertop. Refrigerate once room temperature.

This jam can be canned (pun intended) and will need a 10 minute processing time in a water bath or steam canner. The Instant Pot can be used as a steam canner (not to be confused with a pressure canner which it cannot be used as) but I don't have instructions for that. I never produce enough jam to fill my intended jar to the point at which it would be safe to can so it goes into the refrigerator and is consumed fully by the time we've amassed our next set of apple scraps.

Bibliography time! We started with a recipe for apple core syrup on the stovetop, but knowing what we do about pectin in apple cores we decided we could make a jam instead so used our old faithful high-fruit-pectin recipe for which there is no link, just Grandma's handwriting on an old recipe card. The only thing that stumped us was how to reduce liquid volume in an Instant Pot and for that we found this useful Facebook post.