Homemade mint jelly with natural pectin from tart Granny Smith apples as a base and fresh mint.
Mmmm. Mint jelly with lamb. Made the mint jelly; Now all I need is the lamb.
Did you know that mint jelly isn’t actually green? It is not. In its natural state it is golden in colour. That green stuff you see in stores is just food coloring.
Here’s an easy DIY recipe that uses the pectin found in fresh, tart apples as the jelly base. Because the apples provide natural pectin, we don’t need to add commercial pectin to the jelly.
mint jelly
The more tart the apples are, the more pectin they usually contain. If you’re using home-picked apples, it’s best to be early in the season, and the smaller apples also have proportionately more pectin.
ingredients
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4 lb tart apples (ex Granny Smith), unpeeled, cut into large pieces, including the pips (including the pips is important as that is where most of the natural pectin is)
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3 cups fresh spearmint leaves, chopped, packed
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2 cups water
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2 cups white wine vinegar
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3 1/2 cups sugar (7/8 cups for each cup of juice)
special equipment
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Muslin cloth, cheesecloth, or fine-mesh strainer
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4
Eight-ounce mason jars -
4
Lids and rings for mason jars
method
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Boil apple and mint in water:
Mix the apple pieces with the water and mint in a large pan. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat and cook 20 minutes, until apples are tender.
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Add vinegar and let simmer:
Add vinegar, boil again. Cover and let simmer for another 5 minutes.
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Puree apple pieces:
Use a potato masher to mash the apple pieces into thin applesauce. If the porridge is too thick (it should be fairly runny), add another 1/2 to 1 cup of water to the saucepan.
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Strain the apple puree in a sieve or with a cloth:
Place the apple pulp in a muslin cloth (or a few layers of cheesecloth) or a large, fine-mesh colander suspended over a large bowl. Leave for several hours. Don’t push.
After a few hours, about 4 cups of juice should come out of the mash.
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Measure the juice, add the sugar, heat until the sugar has dissolved:
Measure out the juice, then pour it into a large saucepan. Add the sugar (7/8 a cup for each cup of juice). Heat on high and stir to ensure the sugar dissolves and doesn’t stick or burn to the bottom of the pan.
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Simmer to setpoint:
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium or medium-high, maintaining a strong simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes, skimming off the superficial foam with a metal spoon.
Continue cooking until a digital thermometer shows the temperature is 8-10°F above the boiling point at your altitude (boiling point is 212°F at sea level, so the sea level temperature should read 220-222°F).
The additional time it takes to cook can range from 10 minutes to an hour or more, depending on the amount of water, sugar, and apple pectin in the mixture.
A thermometer reading isn’t always the best way to tell if a jelly is ready or not. Another way to test is to put 1/2 teaspoon of jelly on a chilled (in the freezer) plate. Allow the jelly to cool for a few seconds, then squeeze it with your fingertip. If it creases, it’s done. I usually start testing the jelly this way when the mixture reaches 218°F.
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Pour into mason jars and seal:
Pour into sterilized* mason jars to within 1/4″ of the top and seal.
Makes about 4 8 ounce jars.
*There are several ways to sterilize canning jars. You can run the glasses through a short cycle in the dishwasher. You can place the jars in a large pot (12 liters) of water on a steamer 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 in a 200°F oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 61 | calories |
| 0g | Fat |
| 15g | carbohydrates |
| 0g | protein |
