by Lisa at Fresh Eggs Daily
My grandmother was a great lady. She kept chickens, knew how to knit AND crochet, and purportedly once beat a rabid raccoon off with a baseball bat. She also made her own mint jelly.
I remember as a child sitting in the garden with her, choosing which leaves we would pick to bring back to the house to magically transform into mint jelly over the course the afternoon.
Sadly, my grandmother died last year. She was just shy of her 100th birthday. Of course her mint jelly recipe wasn’t written down anywhere, but I think this recipe comes pretty darn close to the mint jelly she used to make. This was my first year making my own jelly. I don’t know why I hadn’t tried making it before, because it’s so easy and beats the store bought version by a mile. Our pantry is now graced with several canning jars of mint jelly and I can almost feel my grandmother smiling down.
Mint Jelly from the Garden
(yields four 1/2 pint jars)
1-1/2 Cups fresh mint leaves
3-1/4 Cups water
1/2 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1.75 ounces pectin
3-1/2 Cups sugar
Rough chop the mint leaves and measure, packing tightly. Add to the water in a saucepan and bring to a rapid boil, then cover and let stand for ten minutes.
Strain and measure out three cups of liquid, and pour back into the saucepan. Add the lemon juice and whisk in the pectin. Bring back to a boil and then whisk in the sugar, a little at a time.
Once the mixture reaches a rapid boil, cook for an additional minute or two and then pour into sterilized canning jars and process for ten minutes. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place.
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