Apple Mint Jelly Didn't Set... Why?

19 years ago

My mint Jelly that I made last night is still liquid today. I thought I followed the recipie, so I'm not sure what went wrong unless as my grandmother said "It had to be the Boiling Water Bath, cause I've never processes my jelly" Here is the recipie:

Apple Mint Jelly

2 cups apple juice or cider (i used juice)

2 bags peppermint tea, or 1/2 cup fresh peppermint leaves. ( I used bags of spice indian spice tea instead of peppermint)

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, strained (I used bottled lemon juice)

1/4 teaspoon butter or margarine (I used margarine)

1-3 drops all natural green food coloring, optional (I used durkee brand)

3 ounces liquid pectin

In a heavy saucepan, bring the apple juice and tea bags to a full boil, then let the tea steep for 10 minutes. If you use fresh mint, strain the liquid after cooking. Remove the tea bags and add the sugar, lemon juice, butter, and good coloring if using. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add the liquid pectin and return the mixture to a boil, timing it for exactly 1 minute and stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and ladle into clean jars, leaving 1/4 inch of head space. Cap and seal. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 5 minutes. Yeild 2 pints.

after the mixture came to a boil the first time i took it off the heat and covered the saucepan to let it steep. I stirred constantly and after adding the liquid pectin timed one minute exactly on my watch and continued to stir. The mixture didn't make enough for the liquid to come up to within 1/4 inch of the top, so the headspace is more like a little over an inch. I noticed the ladle and funnel i used to pour the liquid into the jars afterwards and it had a film on it like it was starting to gel. I made two batches of this back to back so the first was still hot while I bottled the second batch. I had already had the water for the hot water bath hot but not boiling, so I put the jars in the let it get up to a boil then timed it for 5 mintutes.

Anyone know what went wrong yet? Any help you all could give me would be appreciated as this was a super easy recipie to make and I'd love to experiment with different kinds of juices and tea flavorings, if only the jelly would set up properly.

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Comments (10)

dgkritch
19 years ago
Give it a little more time.
Sometimes these things just take awhile to set.

Did the second batch gel?

How are they now? You can always re-process if necessary, but I'd give them a few days.....as long as you have a good seal, it's not going to hurt to wait.

OTOH, if it doesn't get really thick, you can label it "Syrup" and pour it over ice cream!

Deanna
Linda_Lou
19 years ago
You need to wait up to a month, sometimes it takes that long to gel. It isn't from processing the jelly.
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hettar7
Original Author
19 years ago
well, several days later and the jelly is still liquid. I put them in the cabinet with my other jars and maybe they'll set in time. thanks for the suggestion about syrup though, if they don't set i'll use them that way! :)
hettar7
Original Author
18 years ago
Well, it's been a month and jelly still hasn't set. I think I'm going to try again and see if it still doesn't work.
ksrogers
18 years ago
The recipe may need more pectin. The amount of sugar used is quite low for that amount of pectin and other ingredients
Linda_Lou
18 years ago
I find that the recipes using liquid pectin don't gel as often as those made with powdered. I get a lot of people telling me they have that problem with the liquid.
You had plenty of added acid, so that shouldn't be the problem. I hope it gels this time for you.
ksrogers
18 years ago
Most pectins have a short shelf life. The liquid ones especially are very quick to expire. I bought a big bunch on clearance and didn't noticed that most had expired dates already. Because of this, I didn't want to take a chance with no set, so used double the amounts on most of the jellies I made that year. Pomona has no expiration date and has been quite reliable.
HU-846362005
7 years ago
I am very curious because over the years I have made nothing short of 7 cases of mint jelly and each time when I add the mint extract it stops setting , I’ve waited over a month for it to set . It’s maddening ! I have a family member who loves apple mint jelly . I was so frustrated one year that I wrapped two cases of canned liquid apple jelly and said “ here take your stupid apple mint liquid”
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
7 years ago
Maybe find a new recipe? I use cooking apples (not bought juice), water, sugar and fresh spearmint. No pectin. It always sets.
digdirt2
7 years ago
" I’ve waited over a month for it to set"

Not saying this is always true but many jelly recipes specify 6 weeks as normal required setting time. So waiting a month isn't necessarily out of line. But as floral said, it all depends on the recipe and methods used. When it comes to using commercial 'extracts' (and their additives not found in home made extracts) my wife tells me it all depends on when it is added and the mix temp at the time of adding it.

Dave