Mint Jelly Recipe for Canning

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Homemade mint jelly in glass jar, on wooden background

Ingredients

  • • 1 cup firmly packed mint leaves
  • • 1 cup boiling water
  • • 4 cups apple juice
  • • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • • 3 cups sugar
  • • 1-2 drops green food coloring
  • • 5 half-pint jars, lids and rims

Directions

  • 1. Bring a basket or bowl out to your garden and snip a few dozen sprigs of mint with a sharp scissors or garden clippers. Give them a quick wash, immersing in water to remove any dirt or bugs.
  • 2. Strip the mint leaves off the stems. Discard stems, unless you can think of a use for them.
  • 3. Put the leaves into a Pyrex® or other heatproof container, pressed down to measure one cup.
  • 4. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and pour over the mint leaves. Inhale deeply and say, awwww. Allow the mint to infuse for 60 to 90 minutes.
  • 5. Here’s a trick to keep your jelly clear and sparkling: use a coffee filter fitted to a cup or bowl and pour the infused water through the filter.
  • 6. Press the leaves to make ½ cup mint extract. Toss the filter and mint leaves.
  • 7. Fill your boiling-water canner with water deep enough that there will be at least two inches above your filled jars. Put this onto boil first thing. Wash jars, lids and rims in hot soapy water or in the dishwasher. Put only the jars into the boiling-water canner. There is no reason you can’t use the same water to both sterilize the jars before you fill them AND process the jars after they are filled. (Later on, when the water cools, it’s perfect for watering -- maybe give your mint an extra drink as a thank you.)
  • 8. Put the lids (if you are new to canning, these are the round metal pieces with the red-rubber edges) and the rims (the screw-tops) in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. If you want to use one of those handy green plastic filler-funnels, I dunk that in boiling water, too. Basically, anything that’s going to come near the product, I boil the bejeebers out of. My canning utensils could probably be used for surgery.
  • 9. Enough prep. Now it’s time to make your mint jelly. Combine the mint extract, apple and lemon juices in a large pot. Stir to dissolve the sugar into the mixture, and bring to a boil. This will take much longer than you expect because you are watching the kettle, so to speak. When it does come to a boil, just keep stirring and watching as it reaches a solid, rolling boil.
  • 10. Cook to the “gel point”, add one or two drops green food coloring, and remove from the heat. Use a slotted stainless spoon (that you have also dunked in boiling water) to remove the icky foam residue.
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Mint is the zucchini of herbs. When you have a bumper crop, here’s a mint jelly recipe for canning that taps your mint harvest.

If you grow mint, you know all too well that you don’t grow it, it grows you. I am always searching for recipes that make the most of the plant I seem to have the most of. Yes, there’s mint tea. Yes, it’s a happy garnish in sweet summer lemonade and adult beverages. Yes, it makes a naturally fragrant and beautiful bouquet on your picnic table. Yes, a sprig or two can be arranged artfully on a plate of ice cream topped with chocolate-mint sauce. But what else?

My favorite fun use of the chewing-gum herb is making a batch of mint jelly. If you are new to home canning, this is a great recipe to get you started. It’s easy; has just a few ingredients; and, if you avoid the one big mistake I’ll warn you about, should be pretty simple when it comes to clean up.

Tips for This Mint Jelly Recipe for Canning

This particular recipe comes from my time-tested Ball Blue Book of Preserving. It’s sticky, full of asterisks, notes and dog-eared pages, so you know it’s my favorite. The Mint Jelly recipe is pretty straightforward. Just a couple words of advice before you run out to your garden and start clipping mint:

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