Apple Mint Jelly Didn't Set... Why?

16 years ago

My mint Jelly that I made last night is still liquid today. I thought I followed the recipie, so I'm not sure what went wrong unless as my grandmother said "It had to be the Boiling Water Bath, cause I've never processes my jelly" Here is the recipie:

Apple Mint Jelly

2 cups apple juice or cider (i used juice)

2 bags peppermint tea, or 1/2 cup fresh peppermint leaves. ( I used bags of spice indian spice tea instead of peppermint)

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, strained (I used bottled lemon juice)

1/4 teaspoon butter or margarine (I used margarine)

1-3 drops all natural green food coloring, optional (I used durkee brand)

3 ounces liquid pectin

In a heavy saucepan, bring the apple juice and tea bags to a full boil, then let the tea steep for 10 minutes. If you use fresh mint, strain the liquid after cooking. Remove the tea bags and add the sugar, lemon juice, butter, and good coloring if using. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add the liquid pectin and return the mixture to a boil, timing it for exactly 1 minute and stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and ladle into clean jars, leaving 1/4 inch of head space. Cap and seal. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 5 minutes. Yeild 2 pints.

after the mixture came to a boil the first time i took it off the heat and covered the saucepan to let it steep. I stirred constantly and after adding the liquid pectin timed one minute exactly on my watch and continued to stir. The mixture didn't make enough for the liquid to come up to within 1/4 inch of the top, so the headspace is more like a little over an inch. I noticed the ladle and funnel i used to pour the liquid into the jars afterwards and it had a film on it like it was starting to gel. I made two batches of this back to back so the first was still hot while I bottled the second batch. I had already had the water for the hot water bath hot but not boiling, so I put the jars in the let it get up to a boil then timed it for 5 mintutes.

Anyone know what went wrong yet? Any help you all could give me would be appreciated as this was a super easy recipie to make and I'd love to experiment with different kinds of juices and tea flavorings, if only the jelly would set up properly.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

dgkritch
16 years ago
Give it a little more time.
Sometimes these things just take awhile to set.

Did the second batch gel?

How are they now? You can always re-process if necessary, but I'd give them a few days.....as long as you have a good seal, it's not going to hurt to wait.

OTOH, if it doesn't get really thick, you can label it "Syrup" and pour it over ice cream!

Deanna
Linda_Lou
16 years ago
You need to wait up to a month, sometimes it takes that long to gel. It isn't from processing the jelly.
Related Discussions
Mint Jelly Recipe
Q
Comments (6)
Thank you! :-) I checked my jars and this batch did set properly. I don't know what it tastes like, though (I'll leave that to hubby. I don't like mint jelly). One thing, this batch is not nearly as pretty as the first batch I made with the 4 lbs of apples. I notice in that Total France website, that the person did it the same way as I did my first batch (as far as ingredients) except they didn't mention vinegar. The vinegar was the problem I had with the first batch. The smell of vinegar was gross. If I can do it without the vinegar, that might work better for my nose. Another good tip on those pages: One poster mentioned using just the cores of the apple (which really is where the pectin is). So then, I could make a pie or apple sauce from the meat of the apple,and set the cores aside to make mint jelly! Cool :-) Thanks for the sites, and I'll let you know whether or not this 2nd batch tastes half way decent. Linda PS this is all in the name of my motto: if it grows like a weed in your garden, eat it. I figure if I make a regular thing of making mint jelly, it will keep it under control in my yard.
...See More
How can I fix my jelly that didn't jell???
Q
Comments (17)
As I mentioned above, I only know of one approved sweet preserve that calls for gelatin and is canned. It's comparing apples and oranges to think of gelatin in a refrigerated preserve (which was the original recommendation in your recipe - a Ball recipe, by the way) as opposed to canning something like venison, which as Linda Lou points out, requires a pressure canner. That's a world away from 10-minute boiling water bath. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: Canned Fig-Strawberry Preserves with Gelatin
...See More
Apple jelly from store bought juice?
Q
Comments (15)
' I thought the purpose of using freshly pressed cider was not to have to add pectin' First off heat processing does not destroy pectin.......it releases it from the pulp. If you are using a cold process to extract apple juice (cider) a lot of the pectin will end up in the pomace instead of the liquid. If I don't want to add pectin to an apple jelly I make my jelly by simmering down apples and straining off the pectin rich juice. If I make it from cold pressed juice (cider) I just automatically add pectin. If you have loads and loads of apples like I do (my own little orchard) you have bushels sitting around and it's one way not to waste them. I did that this year by boiling and straining and also did the cold extraction. I bottled both up as juice/cider but there is a tremendous difference in taste and cold pressed cider wins hands down. The same can be said about the taste of apple versus cider jelly. If it's a carefully blended cider, and some are, it also wins for taste hands down over commercially obtained apple juice. Like comparing champagne to Ripple. My cider jelly compared to one off the market shelf.....there is no comparison so I'm taste driven when I make it. Cider jelly does not have to be cloudy, you can strain the cider. I do a crude strain but if I were making jelly with it, simply letting it sit undisturbed and decanting the clear liquid off the top leaves the residue settle on the bottom. I agree with Carol. Using apple's own pectin can indeed be tricky. Last year I produced one run of apple sirup instead of jelly, and I'm no novice at jelly making. It's all dependent on so many factors......how picky you are about taste, if you have huge amounts of apples (like we do) how much time you want to put into it. I have added spices on occasion to my apple jellies. Mostly not very exotic like cinammon. Never to my cider jelly.
...See More
Mes Confitures Green Unripe Apple Jelly for Pectin
Q
Comments (3)
First I want to say for a more "conventional" book with preserves in a similar vein, I'd recommend Gourmet Preserves Chez Madelaine. I'm assuming when you juiced the apples, you cooked them as per Ferber's instructions. Based on what you're saying I don't think you did anything wrong. The fact that the jelly was clumping as you poured it indicates it was setting even before it went into the jar. But to be fully set a jelly, even an apple jelly, can take as long as six weeks on the shelf. I think traditional preserving requires a certain tolerance for insecurity and unpredictability. The ripeness of the fruit, the character of the fruit, will affect the final result, regardless of the preserver's skill or the caliber of the book. You can "strengthen" the apple jelly by boiling peels, cores and seeds in a bag with the juice or by double-cooking the pulp to extract every bit of natural pectin. A 6-7 pound batch of fruit and sugar will yield generally 5-7 8-oz. (250mL) jars. Ferber's recipes are small-batch and all the ones I've tried fall within that range. Working with natural pectin, it's not recommended to go beyond a batch of that size, though sometimes you can stretch it. However, you risk overcooking. Ferber follows European practice for preservation, which means no heat processing. It's not "unsafe" per se, but it does tend to reduce the shelf life and increase the risk of mold. So yes, 5 minutes with sterilized jars or 10 minutes BWB with hot clean ones is a good idea. Carol
...See More
hettar7
Original Author
16 years ago
well, several days later and the jelly is still liquid. I put them in the cabinet with my other jars and maybe they'll set in time. thanks for the suggestion about syrup though, if they don't set i'll use them that way! :)
hettar7
Original Author
16 years ago
Well, it's been a month and jelly still hasn't set. I think I'm going to try again and see if it still doesn't work.
ksrogers
16 years ago
The recipe may need more pectin. The amount of sugar used is quite low for that amount of pectin and other ingredients
Linda_Lou
16 years ago
I find that the recipes using liquid pectin don't gel as often as those made with powdered. I get a lot of people telling me they have that problem with the liquid.
You had plenty of added acid, so that shouldn't be the problem. I hope it gels this time for you.
ksrogers
16 years ago
Most pectins have a short shelf life. The liquid ones especially are very quick to expire. I bought a big bunch on clearance and didn't noticed that most had expired dates already. Because of this, I didn't want to take a chance with no set, so used double the amounts on most of the jellies I made that year. Pomona has no expiration date and has been quite reliable.
HU-846362005
5 years ago
I am very curious because over the years I have made nothing short of 7 cases of mint jelly and each time when I add the mint extract it stops setting , I’ve waited over a month for it to set . It’s maddening ! I have a family member who loves apple mint jelly . I was so frustrated one year that I wrapped two cases of canned liquid apple jelly and said “ here take your stupid apple mint liquid”
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
5 years ago
Maybe find a new recipe? I use cooking apples (not bought juice), water, sugar and fresh spearmint. No pectin. It always sets.
digdirt2
5 years ago
" I’ve waited over a month for it to set"

Not saying this is always true but many jelly recipes specify 6 weeks as normal required setting time. So waiting a month isn't necessarily out of line. But as floral said, it all depends on the recipe and methods used. When it comes to using commercial 'extracts' (and their additives not found in home made extracts) my wife tells me it all depends on when it is added and the mix temp at the time of adding it.

Dave

Apple Mint Jelly Didn't Set... Why?

Comments (10)

dgkritch

Linda_Lou

Related Discussions

hettar7
Original Author

hettar7
Original Author

ksrogers

Linda_Lou

ksrogers

HU-846362005

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

digdirt2

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Apple Mint Jelly Didn't Set... Why?

Comments (10)

Related Discussions

hettar7Original Author

hettar7Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

hettar7
Original Author

hettar7
Original Author