Mint Jelly

Name: Mint Jelly
Prep time: 3 h 25 min
Cook time: 3 h 25 min
Total time: 3 h 25 min
Yield: 40
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 2 kilograms tart apples (e.g. Granny Smith), un-peeled, chopped into big pieces, including the cores (including the cores is important as this is where most of the natural pectin is); 710 milliliters fresh spearmint leaves, chopped, packed; 473 milliliters water; 473 milliliters white vinegar; 207 milliliters 1/2 cups sugar for each cup of juice)

Need a gluten free, dairy free, lacto ovo vegetarian, and vegan condiment? Mint Jelly could be an awesome recipe to try. One portion of this dish contains around 0g of protein, 0g of fat, and a total of 43 calories. This recipe serves 40. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes approximately 3 hours and 25 minutes. Head to the store and pick up tart apples, vinegar, sugar, and a few other things to make it today.

Instructions

Cook apple and mint in water:

Ingredients you will need

Apple

Water

Mint

Combine apple pieces with water and mint in a large pan. Bring water to a boil then reduce heat and cook 20 minutes, until apples are soft.

Ingredients you will need

Apple

Water

Mint

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Add vinegar, return to boil. Simmer covered, 5 more minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Vinegar

Mash apple pieces: Use a potato masher to mash up the apple pieces to the consistency of thin apple sauce. If the mash is too thick (it should be quite runny), add another 1/2 to 1 cup of water to the pot.

Ingredients you will need

Applesauce

Potato

Apple

Water

Equipment you will use

Potato Masher

Pot

Strain apple mash in sieve or with cloth: Spoon the apple pulp into a muslin cloth (or a couple layers of cheesecloth) or a large, fine mesh sieve, suspended over a large bowl. Leave to strain for several hours. Do not squeeze.

Ingredients you will need

Apple

Equipment you will use

Cheesecloth

Sieve

Bowl

After a few hours about 4 cups of juice should have strained out of the mash.

Ingredients you will need

Juice

Measure juice, add sugar, heat until sugar is dissolved: Measure the juice, then pour into a large pot.

Ingredients you will need

Juice

Sugar

Equipment you will use

Pot

Add the sugar (7/8 a cup for each cup of juice).

Ingredients you will need

Juice

Sugar

Heat on high, stirring to make sure the sugar gets dissolved and doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan or burn.

Ingredients you will need

Sugar

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Simmer until set point: Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium or medium high, so that you maintain a strong simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes, using a metal spoon to skim off the surface scum.

Continue to boil until a digital thermometer shows that the temperature has reached 8-10°F above the boiling point at your altitude (boiling point is 212°F at sea level, so at sea level the temperature should read 220-222°F).

Equipment you will use

Kitchen Thermometer

Additional time needed for cooking can be anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or longer, depending on the amount of water, sugar, and apple pectin in the mix.

Ingredients you will need

Pectin

Apple

Sugar

Water

A thermometer reading isn't always the best way to tell whether or not a jelly is done. Another way to test is put a half teaspoonful of the jelly on a chilled (in the freezer) plate. Allow the jelly to cool a few seconds, then push it with your fingertip. If it wrinkles up, it's ready. I usually start testing the jelly this way when the mixture gets to 218°F.

Ingredients you will need

Jelly

Equipment you will use

Kitchen Thermometer

Pour into canning jars and seal:

Equipment you will use

Canning Jar

Pour into sterilized* canning jars to within 1/4" from the top and seal.

Equipment you will use

Canning Jar

Makes approximately 4 8-ounce jars.

*There are several ways to sterilize jars for canning. You can run the jars through a short cycle in a dishwasher. You can place the jars in a large pot (12 quart) of water on top of a steaming rack (so they don't touch the bottom of the pan), and bring the water to a boil for 10 minutes. Or you can rinse the jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Water

Equipment you will use

Oven