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susandonb

Mint Jelly

susandonb
16 years ago

Hi ...again,

Anyone here made Mint jelly? I know, that is a dumb question. LOL I would be shocked if there isn't someone in this group of talented preservers who has not made mint jelly.

I don't have a ton of it growing and I actually only have chocolate mint growing, what do you all think, I would love to make some. Ohhhh, I just had a thought, how about chocolate mint jelly!!! Yumm!

Thoughts, suggestions....???

Comments (4)

  • flora_uk
    16 years ago

    I make a large batch of mint jelly once a year to store for use with lamb instead of mint sauce. I use windfall Bramley apples and normal spearmint. Just boil up the apples with a little water. You can use vinegar if you want a more sweet/sour jelly. Strain the juice through a cloth. Let it drip through naturally, preferably overnight. If you try to hurry it by squishing it down it will go cloudy. Measure the juice and put into apreserving pan. Add a pound of sugar for every pint of juice. Boil until it reaches setting point. Take off the heat and stir in plenty of finely chopped mint. Don't boil the mint or it will go unappetisingly black. The jelly will be pink from the apples but I would rather that than use an artificial colourant to make it green. Pot and cover however you normally do it. (Being a Brit I never BWB jam or jelly. We just don't seem to feel that's necessary.) I'm not sure what the result would be with chocolate mint. Does it actually taste of chocolate or just smell of it? And does it retain the smell/taste after heating?

  • Daisyduckworth
    16 years ago

    I just made a batch of it - well, half a batch. But I did it this way:

    Mint Jelly (2)
    2kg tart apples
    3 cups strong mint water
    2 cups white vinegar
    sugar

    To make mint water, steep 500g mint in 3 cups water overnight. Next day, chop apples and place in a pan, barely cover with water. Cover and simmer about 1 hour until apples are soft. Strain. Combine apple juice, mint water, and vinegar and strain again. Measure and place in a pan, adding cup for cup of sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to boiling and cook rapidly until the jelly will set. Bottle and seal. Serve with meat, especially lamb, or on toast, in sandwiches etc

    It turned out sort of pink, too, and I tried adding green colouring (natural) to it, and it went rusty brown. Won't do THAT again!

    I'll do Flora's version next time. Mine doesn't actually have mint flakes in it - it's just the jelly. I used Granny Smith apples (you really need to use a tart cooking apple for best results.) And to be perfectly honest, 500g/1lb of mint is a LOT of mint, and you really, really need that much to give it flavour.

  • bejay9_10
    16 years ago

    About adding green food coloring -

    I made two batches of lime jelly - recently, when I was "experimenting" with home-made pectin using lime peelings (helped by Readinglady).

    Anyway - when I added the green food coloring to the first batch, it turned an ugly "brownish" color, but I figured it was because it cooked along with the jelly.

    On the 2nd try, I added the food coloring just before filling the jars - it worked better the 2nd time.

    I hate to state this was definitely the reason why it was successful the second time, but I do have some nicely colored lime jelly and some not-so-nicely colored lime jelly - and I do believe the above explanation was the reason for the successful try the 2nd time.

    Any other comments?

    Bejay

  • Daisyduckworth
    16 years ago

    I added the colouring immediately before bottling it, and it went that awful brown!

    I found this recipe today, and thought I'd give it a try:

    Mint Jelly
    500g (1lb) Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped
    250ml (a large cup) vinegar (5 ml to a teaspoon)
    500g sugar
    4 tablespoons chopped mint (remember Australian tablespoons are 4 teaspoons - so make it 16 teaspoons)

    Cook the chopped apples in the vinegar until the apple is soft. Sieve or puree the mixture then reheat and dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil, and boil for 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from heat, and add the chopped mint. Pour into sterilised bottles and seal when cold.