Sunday, January 17, 2010

Cold-Soother Jelly


This jelly combines citrus with a generous dollop of ginger and is sweetened with honey instead of sugar, for the ultimate in sore throat/stuffy nose soothing. It's the perfect thing for your toast the morning you wake up and notice an odd scratchy feeling at the back of your throat. Or when you have the flu. Or a cold. Or just want a little citrusy pick-me-up.

I made this jelly as part of Tigress' Can Jam, an event that challenges food bloggers to can a specific seasonal ingredient once a month. One of my resolutions is to space out my canning projects so they don't make me mildly insane a few weekends a year, and the Can Jam is a great way to keep myself honest and inspired. The process of picking this recipe led me to a few other seasonal canning treats, too, so expect to see some pickled oranges here soon.

Since this was my first time making jelly, I picked a recipe that doesn't call for a jelly bag. (I think you don't need one because there isn't whole fruit to be separated out). I'm really happy with how it turned out - it's nicely balanced, so that you can taste the flavors of the ginger, lemon, and honey about equally. It is especially lovely on scones or English muffins.

If you wanted to really dote on someone when they were sick, you could bring them a few trashy magazines, some tissues, and a loaf of bread with this jam.

Cold-Soother Jelly
adapted from The Food Lover's Guide to Canning

  • 1/2 C fresh-squeezed lemon juice (from about 2 large lemons)
  • 1/4 C fresh-squeezed lime juice (from about 2 medium limes)
  • 2 C honey
  • 1/4 C crystallized ginger, minced
  • 3 oz liquid pectin
Combine the juices and honey in a large pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the ginger, stir, and bring back to a boil. Once you've achieved a vigorous boil, stir in the pectin. Continue boiling for exactly one minute after the mixture has returned to a vigorous boil. Remove from heat immediately, stirring for a few minutes to keep the ginger pieces from sinking to the bottom. Ladle into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 in headspace, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 5 minutes.
3-4 half-pint jars

Update
: I added a photo of the jelly; yes, I've just been eating it with a spoon!

9 comments:

  1. That does sound like the perfect gift for someone with a cold!
    Yum!
    I used ginger in my recipe too!
    Any pictures of your jelly? :)

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  2. I like the design of your blog! Your jelly sounds yummy - I'd love to see pictures, too. Here's my citrus post: http://ap269.wordpress.com

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  3. Thanks, guys! I am a mostly no-pictures gal, but I'll see what I can do ;-)

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  4. Great idea. You could also make a tea or toddy by dropping a spoonful of it in some hot water. I feel better already!

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  5. Julia, you are so right! I had an upset tummy last night, and some "tea" from this jelly was incredibly soothing. Thank you! I never would have thought of trying that on my own.

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  6. It looks fabulous - and the perfect soother for this time of year. Of course, you can't beat the combination of citrus and ginger. Yum!

    I'm in the Can Jam, too - canning for the first time ever, so I hope to learn a lot from this process. Hope you can stop by and drop some feedback - I'm still a little nervous about the whole thing. :-)

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  7. That sounds really good right now! When I have a cold I usually make a tea like that and add lots of cayenne- how handy it would be to just take a spoonful from a jar!

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  8. great idea, sounds yummy even if you don't have a cold.

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  9. I know it's 8 years after this was posted, but I recently received the Ball freshTech Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker as a gift and wondered if there were any ideas on how to convert this recipe to use it with the maker? Would love to try it!

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