Season: Late summer to autumn. The aromatic essences of fresh herbs and flowers can be captured beautifully in a jelly. These preserves are great to have in the kitchen, as they add a sweet piquancy to all kinds of food, simple and rich. Cooking apples and crab apples are both ideal choices for the basic jelly. Excellent sources of pectin and acid, they nevertheless have gentle flavors that will not overwhelm the herbs. Serve mint jelly with lamb, sage with fish, basil with poultry or game, parsley with ham, and rose-petal jelly (see below) with wafer-thin, buttered bread. Any herb jelly will also be delicious with soft cheeses, pâtés, and terrines.

　　

Ingredients

makes four to five 8-ounce jars

　　3 pounds, 6 ounces cooking apples

　　1 medium bunch of sage, rosemary, mint, tarragon, thyme, or basil

　　7 tablespoons cider vinegar

　　Granulated sugar

　　

Step 1

Coarsely chop the apples, discarding any bad parts, but don’t peel or core them. Place in a preserving pan with the herbs, reserving half a dozen small sprigs to put into the jars. Barely cover the apples with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently, covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the fruit is very soft. Pour the contents of the pan into a jelly strainer bag or piece of cheesecloth suspended over a bowl (see p. 33) and leave to drip for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

　　

Step 2

Measure the strained juice. For every cup of juice, measure out 1 cup of sugar. Return the juice to the cleaned-out pan and add the vinegar. Heat to a boil, then add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Increase the heat and boil rapidly for 10 to 12 minutes, until the setting point is reached (see p. 41). Remove from the heat and skim with a slotted spoon to remove any scum.

　　

Step 3

Pour into small, warm, sterilized jars (see p. 21), adding an herb sprig to each. Cover and seal (see p. 22). Use within 1 year.

　　

VARIATION

Step 4

For stronger-flavored jellies, you can add 3 to 4 tablespoons of freshly chopped herbs after removing the jelly from the heat. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before potting. For exquisite rose-petal or dandelion jelly, add 1 ounce of scented petals instead of herbs. The above method can also be used to make quince jelly, replacing the apples with quince and leaving out the herbs.

　　The River Cottage Preserves Handbook by Pam Corbin.Pam Corbin has been making preserves for as long as she can remember, and for more than twenty years her passion has been her business. Pam and her husband, Hugh, moved to Devon where they bought an old pig farm and converted it into a small jam factory. Using only wholesome, seasonal ingredients, their products soon became firm favorites with jam-lovers the world over. Pam has now hung up her professional wooden spoon but continues to "jam" at home. She also works closely with the River Cottage team, making seasonal goodies using fruit, vegetables, herbs, and flowers from her own garden, and from the fields and hedgerows.