You can use fruit/herb jellies on bread, scones or English muffins. Use them to fill cakes. Add some to a trifle (chopped, it's a pretty decoration on top of the custard) and also on top of Pavlova. You can also serve vegetables with a herb or fruit jelly as a sort of melting glaze. Mint goes with a lot of veges (carrots and peas especially), a lemon jelly would be nice on just about any vege, too. Don't be afraid to experiment with combinations - you are only limited by your imagination and personal taste!

Savoury Herb Jelly
2kg tart cooking apples or crab apples, roughly chopped
900ml water
300ml wine vinegar
good handful of fresh herbs
360g sugar per 600ml juice

Boil the apples with the water and vinegar. Add the herbs and simmer. Cook until the apples are soft. Strain through muslin overnight. Measure the juice, return to the saucepan and add the sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then boil until setting point is reached, taking care not to let it boil over. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars and add a few leaves as decoration if desired. Store in a cool, dark cupboard. Suitable herbs are Basil, Mint, Rosemary, Sage, Savory, Thyme.

A sweet jelly may be made in the same way, but instead of vinegar, substitute 1 litre of water. Suitable herbs for sweet jellies are Bergamot, Calendula, Lavender flowers, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Scented Geranium leaves (Rose, Apple, Peppermint, Lemon, Lime), Violet.

Apple Jelly
3kg apples, cut into quarters
1 lemon, cut up
sugar

Place apples in a heavy saucepan with the lemon, cover with water. Boil to a pulp. Place a piece of muslin into a colander, pour in apple mixture and leave overnight to drain into a basin. Return liquid to a saucepan, add 500g sugar for each 600ml of liquid. Boil for about 45 minutes or until the jelly will set. Pour into clean, dry, warm jars and seal. Add any of the following in the final stage of simmering; lavender flowers, rose petals, scented geranium leaves, rosemary leaves, lemon or lime leaves, lemongrass stems, a few dried cloves, slices of ginger root. Use the sweet jellies on scones or bread, and the savoury jellies with cold meats. Or replace half the apples with blackberries, mulberries, raspberries, lillipillies etc.

Blackberry Jelly
4 cups blackberry juice (takes about 5 cups blackberries and 3/4 cup water)
3 cups sugar

To prepare juice. Select about 1/4 under-ripe and 3/4 ripe berries. Sort and wash; remove any stems or caps. Crush the berries; add water; cover; and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Extract juice.

To make jelly. Measure juice into a saucepan. Add sugar and stir well. Boil over high heat until jelly mixture sheets from a spoon. Remove from heat; skim off foam quickly. Pour jelly immediately into hot containers and seal.

Elderberry Jelly
As it is a juicy fruit, it will not need the addition of any more liquid than, perhaps, a squeeze of lemon. Equal quantities of Elderberry juice and apple juice, and apple juice from peeling, will require 750g of sugar to 500ml.

Lavender Cake with Lavender Jelly
2 eggs, separated
1/4 cup hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
pinch salt
1 cup wholemeal pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons lavender jelly
lavender flowers for garnish

Preheat oven to 170C. Grease a 20cm round cake tin. Beat together the egg yolks, water and vanilla until pale. Slowly beat in 1/2 cup sugar. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy, add salt, then beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Stir 1/4 cup of the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Spoon remaining whites into the yolk mixture and sift the flour and baking powder over. Carefully fold in the flour. Spoon into prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes until done. Invert pan onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely before removing the tin. Split the cake into layers and sandwich together with lavender jelly. Decorate with lavender flowers.

Lavender Jelly
4 tablespoons dried lavender flowers
4 tablespoons powdered pectin
3 cups apple juice
2 tablespoon lemon juice
3 cups brown sugar

Line a sieve with a double thickness of cheesecloth. Cut a circle of cheesecloth, put lavender flowers in the centre and tie up to form a small bag. In a large saucepan, combine the pectin and apple juice, stirring until the pectin is dissolved. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Stir in lemon juice and sugar and add the lavender bag. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove bag. Strain through cheesecloth into sterilised jars and seal.

You might like to check out the following link, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: unusual jellies

Wow... thanx Daisy! Sounds scrumptious!!

Luvherbz

Thanks, DaisyD, for all the recipes.

I'll add one--blueberry jam flavored with lavender (make a little cheesecloth packet of lavender flowers, and put it in the jam as you make it, removing it before filling the jars). Very good.

Wow, thanks for the wonderful recipes. Can't wait to try a few of these myself! ;o)

Blessings,
Beth

I've been making herb jellys for 20 yrs. I usually enter them in country fairs and win.
Ok. so I'm a Martha Stewart type,LOLOLO
A long time ago I learned to make *fast jellys*
I use dry pectin and in the pkg is a recipe for making jelly from canned juice. I use that one, but I use a product called "Juicy Juice". I love the orange juicy juice and I add herbs. My favorite is Orange Juicy Juice and lemon thyme(herb) I make the jelly as the pectin package gives insturctions for. This jelly is great on crackers, over cream cheese as a dip, or put on grilled chicken just before it is done on the grill.
Other jellys I've made and won with are,
Burgundy&sage:left over wine and fresh sage.
Dry WHIte wine, with basil, oregano, and thyme-it's great on savory muffins or bread
Pear with lemon grass and lemon balm(nice on breakfast bread)
Orange Juicy juice and lemon grass, lemon verbena and lemon balm-- great on waffles.
I love to expermint with different juices and left over wine
I also take orange juicy juice with Rosemary or sage(NOT both too strong of a taste)
Pineapple juice and pineapple sage makes a great jelly also

I use the mint receipe on the insert with the pectin. One of our favorites is lemon balm (just sub. lemon balm for mint); also monarda with orange juice subbed for water; pineapple marmalade with a handful of pineapple sage added. You can also flavor apple jelly with scented geranium leaves (or line your pan with geranium leaves when baking pound or white cake). Scent honey by adding a handful of anise hyssop or chocolate mint, then set it in the sun for a week or two and pull the leaves out (honey is a natural preservative), or heat the jar (and herbs) in a pan of water for a while and strain, you'll need to sample to make sure you get the strength right, just keep repeating till you're happy. Hey, it's a dirty job...but you know...

You can also layer lavender, lemon verbena, etc., with sugar in an airtight jar for a few weeks.

At this rate, you'll be ready for Christmas in no time!

Lynn