I’ve been growing spearmint for herbal tea for several years now, but until recently I have never tried canning mint jelly with it. Mint jelly is very easy to make and has a wonderfully delicate mint flavor.
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Canning mint jelly is very easy too, I even have a video for you if you’ve never canned anything before or are new to making jelly. Mint jelly is now one of my favorite top 10 easy homemade jelly recipes for beginning canners.
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
The Amish Canning Cookbook: Plain and Simple Living at Its Homemade BestDIY Pickling: Step-By-Step Recipes for Fermented, Fresh, and Quick Pickles
Mint Jelly Recipe
Ingredients:
2 c. fresh spearmint leaves
4 c. water
5 c. sugar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 box powdered pectin*
Green food coloring
*Note: If you are going to make a lot of jam and/or jelly, then you HAVE to try this powdered pectin that you can buy in bulk from Amazon. Six tablespoons of this pectin is the equivalent to one box of Suregel pectin. This is the ONLY way to buy pectin inexpensively if you are going to buy a lot of it (like I do!).
Related Article: Honeysuckle Jelly Canning Recipe: A Sweet and Floral Delight
Hoosier Hill Fruit Pectin, 2 lb bag
Wash and sterilize your jars, lids, and screw bands. The easiest way to do this is run them through the sanitize cycle in the dishwasher and remove them from the dishwasher to use when they are still hot. Place your boiling water canner filled with water on the stove to start heating up.
Use only fresh spearmint leaves that have not been treated with any pesticides. Chop finely.
Wash spearmint leaves and place leaves and water in a stock pot. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
Related Article: What to Do with Mint Leaves: Easy Ideas for Fresh Flavors
Pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer. Add liquid if necessary to equal 4 cups. Return liquid to stock pot.
Add green food coloring until you achieve the desired color (optional). Add lemon juice.
Stir in the pectin, then bring to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Stir in sugar. Add 1 tsp. margarine or butter to reduce foaming, if desired.
Bring to a full rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat. Boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with a metal spoon.
Canning Instructions
Quickly ladle jelly into prepared canning jars, within 1/4 inch from the tops of the jars. You can easily measure the head space with this inexpensive canning funnel.
Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp cloth. Place canning lids and screw bands on the jars.
Place jars on elevated rack in boiling water canner. Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Cover, and bring water to a gentle boil. Process jars for 10 minutes.
Remove jars from boiling water canner and place upright on a towel on the kitchen counter to cool completely. After jars are cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger.
If lid springs back the lid is not sealed. Unsealed jars can be placed in refrigerator to be eaten in the next couple weeks. Sealed jars can be stored for at least 1 year.
Note: It can take from several hours up to several days for jelly to set, so if it doesn’t set right away, don’t disturb it and give it time to set. If after a couple of days it’s still not set, then follow these instructions.
Yield: 3 pints or 6 half-pints
Granite Ware Covered Preserving Canner with Rack, 12-Quart
Cuisinart CTG-00-3MS Set of 3 Fine Mesh Stainless Steel StrainersPrepworks by Progressive Canning Funnel for Regular and Wide Mouth Jars
Related Jelly Recipes
- rose petal jelly
- rootbeer jelly
- mountain dew jelly
- apricot jelly
- pear jelly
- chokecherry jelly
- grape jelly
- pomegranate jelly
- lilac jelly
- dandelion jelly
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