Homemade Jalapeno Mint Jelly

When mint grows it can take over a garden. One little plant turns into a monster in a matter of weeks and then you're left scratching your head over what to do with the abundance of mint that has suddenly appeared. Everyone loves fresh mint hot/iced tea, but what about something that will bring the taste of fresh mint into the fall and winter months.

Welcome to the world of mint jelly. Mint jelly is delicious and great with crackers and cream cheese for parties or with lamb for savory dishes. Plus there are so many varieties that can be made and enjoyed, making it a fun type of jelly to experiment with flavor profiles. One such flavor combination is Jalapeno Mint Jelly.

Jalapeno Mint Jelly is a great way to use garden herbs and peppers. If you're like me and your mint and jalapeno plant have exploded this recipe is a nice way to use the overabundance of both. Just don't do what I did and wipe your eye after mincing jalapenos, bad plan. Garden jalapenos can be a lot spicier than store bought so I would suggest wearing disposable gloves, or at least avoid touching your face. The burn takes a long time to go away, I promise.

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Jalapeno Mint Jelly

by Foodie in WV August-16-2015

This is a great way to use garden herbs and peppers and enjoy their flavors in the fall and winter.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup small mint sprigs
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
• One 3 ounce pouch liquid pectin
• 1 drop green food coloring

Instructions

1. Combine sugar and mint in a large non-reactive pot, crushing mint as you stir. 2. Add vinegar and water and over a high heat bring to a boil, stirring to prevent burning. 3. Boil under sugar melts (approximately 3 minutes). 4. Add minced jalapenos and boil hard for 3 minutes. 5. Add pectin and food coloring (if using) and boil hard for 1 minutes. 6. Over a heat proof bowl, strain jelly. 7. Pour jelly into sterilized jars leaving a 1/4 inch head space. 8. Pop any bubbles using a knife or straw. 9. Wipe rims and close jars. 10. Place jars in a boiling water bath canner, bring back to a boil, and process for 10 minutes.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 4 half pints

Tips:

• Sterilize jars for 10 minutes, keep lids and rings in a pot of water over simmer. Don't boil the lids as it can damage the seal. 
• Make sure to wipe the jar rims before placing lids on. Jam left on the rim can make the jar not seal. 
• If you like your jelly a darker green add another drop of food coloring. 
• I've had great luck with getting this jelly to set. It sets easily and doesn't take a long time to get to the jelly temp. I always use a candy thermometer to double check. The plate and spoon tests I seem to fail at, I'm great at many things, but my thermometer is my friend. 

I haven't had much time to post in the last week. School started for my kids and I decided to tackle a big painting project in our house. Needless to say I didn't have much time to post, hopefully next week will be calmer. I am planning a few posts on how to store fresh herbs and a recipe for candied jalapenos, stay tuned! 

Homemade Strawberry Jam

In the last couple of months I have been making an effort to try to cook as many things from scratch as possible. My whole family does better when we stick to homemade foods, so to keep my family's budget down and for our health I have been making as many things as I can. This year I have had a number of very nice friends give me an abundance of garden veggies, so I have been canning up a storm. I now have a large shelf full of pickles, which makes my two sons very happy. Besides canned vegetables, canned homemade fruit is delicious and making and preserving  it can save a lot of money during the winter. One of my favorite canned fruit products is homemade strawberry jam, which is easy enough that a cook with minimal canning experience can be completely comfortable.

Making homemade strawberry jam is very easy to make. It only takes three ingredients, sugar, pectin and fresh strawberries. I use classic pectin because it has a great flavor and sets the jam quickly. I find the full sugar jam to be a little too sweet for my tastes, so I follow the reduced sugar directions. For every two half-pint jars you will need the following:

• 1 1/3 cups prepared fruit (hull and crush the strawberries with a potato masher)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp classic pectin
• 1 cup granulated sugar

In order to make homemade jam you need a water bath canner. I purchased a new one this year and it was less than 20 dollars. You will also need canning jars, rings and lids (don't re-use lids). I boil my jars for 10 minutes in boiling water since I don't have a dishwasher. Make sure to keep the jars warm while preparing the jam, or the jars will crack. Combine the fruit and pectin in a saucepan, I add a 1/4 tsp of butter to reduce foaming, but it isn't necessary and can be left out if preferred. Bring to a roiling boil, then add sugar and bring to a roiling boil once again and boil hard for one minute. I use a thermometer, once it reaches 220 degrees (if your at sea level) it's at the jelling point. If you don't have a candy thermometer you can also use a metal spoon, dip it into the boiling mixture. If the mixture is done two drops will hang off the edge, then run together in a sheet.  Skim foam if present and pour into jars, leaving 1/4 inch head-space. Wipe tops and place lids and bands on jars. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Make sure there is at least an inch of water covering the top of the jars. Remove jars from heat and let cool. After 24 hours check jars and make sure that they have sealed. Don't use any jam that the seal has not sealed. It can take as long as three weeks for the jam to fully set.

Homemade jam is a great way to enjoy fruit throughout the year and is much cheaper than store-bought. Leaning to can well only takes a little effort and its a great way to save money. If the water bath canning scares you there are also fresh jams, which is the same recipe except without the water-bath, they just go straight into the fridge and have to be used within 3 weeks. Water-bathed canned jam can last up to a year, so when strawberries go down to a dollar, I make a bunch at one time. One of my favorite things is homemade jam with fresh bread, a delicious combination!