I found 2 herb jelly recipes in a post by one of the mods about safe jams from a few months ago
https://pomonapectin.com/herb-jelly/
https://www.bernardin.ca/recipes/en/herb-jelly.htm?Lang=EN-US
I was hoping to use thyme as my herb and make jelly this weekend. The question/issue I have is the brand I was able to find – sure gel less or no sugar.
The insert in the box has a recipe for mint jelly. Am I correct to assume that I can substitute the herb? In all 3 recipes the first step is to make an infusion so I feel fairly confident there.
The sure gel has no acid component while both the pamonas and the Bernardin call for either vinegar or lemon juice. Should I be concerned about this? From what I can see, none of the cooked jelly recipes seem to have an acid component. This means the sugar (3c) should be enough alone? My concern comes from comparing the recipes and seeing the acid added to the other 2.
The last thing that is concerning me is a confirmation of how long to process. My elevation is 1,158ft above sea level which means I should add 5 minutes to my processing time. This will be my first canning recipe so I want to be sure I'm not underprocessing
by Ascholay
1 Comment
I agree with your concerns about the no added acid issue. I would be very skeptical of that recipe especially with the low sugar issue added in. Low sugar jellies are known for spoiling faster than full sugar jellies because they don’t have low enough water activity to prevent spoilage. I would suggest waiting to find pectin that will work with the bernardin or Pomona’s recipes and possibly using the low sugar pectin for a fruit jam that will be certain to be safe.