Apple-rowanberry jam with vanilla

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g apples, peeled, pitted
• 500 g rowanberries
• 250 ml apple juice
• 2 packets of Bourbon vanilla sugar
• 20 ml schnapps (fruit brandy)
• 500 g gelling sugar 2:1

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest period approx. 1 day; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 day 1 hour 5 minutes

strong, slightly bitter jam – also very tasty in combination with goat cheese

To debitter the rowanberries, use a fork to pluck the individual berries from the clusters, discard the unsightly ones, and soak the good berries overnight in vinegar water (1/3 vinegar, 2/3 water). Wash the berries thoroughly, drain in a sieve, and then freeze for at least 24 hours. For the jam, peel the apples, remove the cores, and roughly chop the apples. Weigh the prepared apple pieces (not the whole apples). This should then yield 500 grams. Mix these in a saucepan with the same amount of rowanberries, pour in 250 ml of apple juice, and simmer for about 10 minutes over low heat (medium temperature), until the apples are soft. Then pass the apple and rowanberry mixture through a food mill or press it through a sieve. Mix the resulting jam with 500 grams of gelling sugar (2:1) and 2 sachets of vanilla sugar, and bring to a boil. After about 3 minutes, test for settling by dropping a little jam onto a plate that you’ve previously refrigerated. If the jam sets after a short time, it’s ready. Otherwise, simply boil for another 1-2 minutes. Pour a shot glass of fruit brandy into the boiling-hot jam and then pour the jam into prepared jars.