This afternoon our herb harvest and processing continued. We cut bunches of oregano and hung it up in the kitchen to dry. This should be done in time for spaghetti sauce making. Also harvested some of our mint and tried a new recipe:
Orange Peppermint Jelly
- 2 cups peppermint leaves
- 4 cups orange juice (I used juice from concentrate)
- 8 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 six ounce pouch of liquid pectin
Place mint leaves in medium bowl. Using a large stainless steel pot, bring the orange juice to a boil, and then pour juice over mint leaves. Let this steep for about 30 minutes, then drain through a fine mesh sieve, squeezing out remaining juice from the mint leaves. Discard leaves and return liquid to large pot. Add sugar and lemon juice and bring to boil, making sure all sugar is dissolved. Stir in pectin and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil for one minute – mixture will foam a lot! (hence the large pot). Skim off foam and ladle jelly in to prepared jars. (Jars need to be washed and hot – inserts need to have been placed in simmering water to soften the rubber). Wipe jar rims, adjust lids and process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes.
I let Lars taste the skimmed off foam – which had set nicely before the water bath even came to a boil. His reaction was that the jelly tasted just like cough drops! While this is true, it is not at all a bad taste, rather sweet, with a lot of citrus and mint, just like the ingredients. Almost like a minty lemon curd. We’ll see how this tastes in the middle of winter – we’ll be sure to put it on Lars’s toast whenever he gets a cold.
