I have done herb jelly in the past, Lavender chardonnay & Lavender champagne, but I really like the process that Vicky used in infusing the flavor by letting it sit overnight. With so many of us having such busy lives it's a great way to spread out the process over two days.
Basic Herb Jelly recipe - Cinnamon Basil
Makes 4 half pint jars
2 cups of your favorite fresh herb leaves or flowers (if using dry herbs, use 1 cup)( I use cinnamon basil included flowers)
2 cups water, apple juice or white wine ( I used white wine)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar ( I used white wine vinegar) 5% acidity
4 cups sugar
3 ounces liquid fruit pectin
pinch of salt
Processing: Make sure your rack is on the bottom of the canner and place the jars in the water bath making sure that the water covers each of the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add hot water to the canner if it doesn't measure up. Cover the pot and turn up the heat under the canner and wait for the water to start boiling. Once the water has come to a boil start your timer for 10 minutes. When complete turn off the heat and remove the cover and let the jars sit for another few minutes. Remove the jars and place them back on the dishtowel in a place that they will sit overnight to cool. Do not touch or move them till the next morning.
Sealing: Sometime in the next hour your jars will be making a "pinging" or "popping" noise. That is the glass cooling and the reaction of the lids being sucked into the jar for proper sealing. Some recipes may take overnight to seal. Check your lids and reprocess any jars that did not seal after waiting several hours.
Surprisingly there are many herbs that have such interesting and amazing tastes when they are boiled and then used in recipes. You may not know that there are several basils and a few other herbs that have a more "sweet" note to them; Cinnamon basil, pineapple sage, Lemon basil, Lime basil, Lemon verbena, and Chocolate Mint. I'm sure that you know of more!
When Vicky posted these beautiful jars on my site I just had to share her process and the final recipe.
Basic Herb Jelly recipe - Cinnamon BasilMakes 4 half pint jars
2 cups of your favorite fresh herb leaves or flowers (if using dry herbs, use 1 cup)( I use cinnamon basil included flowers)
2 cups water, apple juice or white wine ( I used white wine)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar ( I used white wine vinegar) 5% acidity
4 cups sugar
3 ounces liquid fruit pectin
pinch of salt
Preparation: Coarsely chop your chosen herbs and put in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups
of water, juice or wine and bring to a constant boil for about 10 seconds.
Remove from heat, cool, pour into a quart size jar and cover container and keep
in darkness 24 hours. Strain through three layers of cheesecloth discarding
herbs, so that you have
1 1/2 cups of the liquid.
Cooking: Pour the herbal infusion (liquid) into a large cooking pot and add lemon juice or vinegar and the sugar. Bring to a hard boil, then add the liquid pectin and continue to boil for exactly one minute. Remove from heat and skim off any foam and discard it.
Cooking: Pour the herbal infusion (liquid) into a large cooking pot and add lemon juice or vinegar and the sugar. Bring to a hard boil, then add the liquid pectin and continue to boil for exactly one minute. Remove from heat and skim off any foam and discard it.
Filling the jars: On a
dishtowel place hot jars and ladle into hot jars to 1/4" headspace in the
jar. Remove air bubbles and adjust head-space, if necessary, by adding
more jelly. Wipe rim with clean cloth or paper-towel, center lid on jar,
screw band down till resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
Processing: Make sure your rack is on the bottom of the canner and place the jars in the water bath making sure that the water covers each of the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add hot water to the canner if it doesn't measure up. Cover the pot and turn up the heat under the canner and wait for the water to start boiling. Once the water has come to a boil start your timer for 10 minutes. When complete turn off the heat and remove the cover and let the jars sit for another few minutes. Remove the jars and place them back on the dishtowel in a place that they will sit overnight to cool. Do not touch or move them till the next morning.
Sealing: Sometime in the next hour your jars will be making a "pinging" or "popping" noise. That is the glass cooling and the reaction of the lids being sucked into the jar for proper sealing. Some recipes may take overnight to seal. Check your lids and reprocess any jars that did not seal after waiting several hours.
Labeling:
Make sure to label your jars
after they have cooled with the name of the recipe and the date canned.
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| Vicky's Cinnamon Basil Jelly |
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