Jelly from the Garden

Those who have visited the Celtic Chairde Creations booth at craft fairs know we also carry an eclectic mix of jams and jellies. We love making jellies, but strangely enough - neither Cindy nor I really eat jelly. At least not in the traditional Peanut Butter and sandwich style. We make herb jellies, wine jellies, and tea jellies. Instead, jellies are treats that you add to cookies, cakes, on to cheeses, into salad dressings, as glazes, and other culinary treats. Yep, some interesting jellies are essential to any pantry.

And here's the kicker - they're actually pretty easy to make. The Ball Fresh Preserving Site can give you all the basics. What better way to use up your abundance of mint, lemon balm, fennel, chives, or other herbs than to make it into a jelly at it's peak of flavor.

This easy recipe serves well as a basic herb jelly recipe. I don't add food coloring because - well, I don't like it. True mint jelly is a golden - amber color. You can read the directions in the pectin package for more details on preparing jars.

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups packed fresh mint leaves and stems
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 1/4 cups boiling water
* 3 1/2 cups white sugar
* 1/2 (6 fluid ounce) container liquid pectin

DIRECTIONS

1. Rinse off the mint leaves. Crush or dice the mint.
2. Put the water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add mint and cover. Let stand for 10 minutes. Strain thoroughly, and measure out 1 2/3 cups of the mint juice.
3. Place the mint juice back into a saucepan and turn heat on low. Stir in the lemon juice. Mix in the sugar, and turn the heat up to high. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once the mixture is boiling and can’t be stirred down, stir in the pectin. Boil the mixture for a full minute while stirring constantly.
4. Turn off the heat and remove from the stove. Skim any foam off the top using a large metal spoon or skimmer.
5. Ladle mixture to hot sterile jars, and seal. Process jars in a water bath for 10 minutes.
6. Carefully remove jars from water bath and place on a towel to cool. Listen for the pop of the tops to show the seals have been made. Let cool completely and then store in a cool, dry place. Will last up to a year unopened.

Makes 4 half pints.

Now think of the possibilities - mint jelly with lamb, or add a spoon full to a vinaigrette salad dressing, toss a few spoons in with some mixed fruit, add a spoon to a cup of tea - hot or cold! The possibilities are endless!

Let your imagination run wild! Rosemary jelly, garlic jelly, chamomile jelly. Have some fun coming up with your own creations and recipes and enjoy your gardens bounty well into winter the winter months!