I am wondering about how long jelly can be stored. Also if it should be stored in refrigerator or if it can be at room temperature.

Hi Cathy - if you follow good canning procedures you should be able to store the jelly unopened at room temperature for a year. Though once you open a jar, in to the fridge it must go. Both sugar and vinegar act as preservatives. The biggest risk is of mold. ~Elise

OK, it's in the jar, and I've learned many things about preserve-making and canning (this was my first time). The jars took the seal and the lids turned concave; so I think I did it mostly right.

The jelly turned out a beautiful deep copper/gold colour. I added some fine-chopped mint in the boil at the end, because I think it should be flecked with bits of mint leaf.

Still a little bit soupier and sloppier than I'd like, but I think it'll be just right when refrigerated.

I tried this recipe and found that the jelly did not gel. It is fully cooled and still a syrup. Some things I may have done wrong: I used half Granny Smith, half McIntosh apples, I put in two cups of mint instead of one and one-half. Hmmm, evidently that was enough to throw off the geling properties. I guess there was not enough natural pectin in my apples? I don't know. I just mixed in some freezer jam pectin and I am waiting to see its impact. It is no longer the beautiful clear gold, but whatever. If this doesn't work, I guess I'll pour it over ice cream. It is a disappointment, though. I'd rather eat it with my leg of lamb.

I know the original question about how long the jelly would last was asked last year, but wanted to answer, in case anyone else was wondering. My mom made mint jelly like this when I was a kid. (I'm 50 now.) The last batch she made before she died was when I was 14. We didn't have lamb often. Ten years later, my husband had some of the last jar, and it was just as delicious. It survived four moves, too, so once it's canned properly, it will last for years.

Also, as a child, my older brothers, who didn't necessarily like this chore, made my bag lunch for school. They kept trying to make lunches that they didn't think I would like. It sounds strange, but one of the best sandwiches they made was mint jelly and pretzels. Consider using the mint jelly as a dip for pretzels sometime. Good combinations of salt and sweet with the extra punch of mint for the sweet. LOL

Hi Rachel - because there is so much natural pectin in apples (in the cores, especially of slightly under-ripe tart apples), apples are used as a base for a lot of jelly making. They make a wonderful base for mint jelly. If you are following this recipe properly (e.g. using the apple cores, and using tart Granny Smith apples) you should not need to add any gelatin. I've never had a problem with an apple-based jelly not setting. Regarding the preserving of mint, I don't know what to tell you as our mint grows all year long. Perhaps you could dry some?

I make Mint and Kiwi jelly for my pork and lamb chops also good smeared on ribs and barbqued over a pit with two tablespoons of Onion flavored Barbque sauce with it
Try it Its wonderful!!!

Thank you for this recipe. I'm going to give it a shot as my fiancee loves mint jelly on her lamb. As we have both recently gotten into organic foods, I am going to try this with Agave Nectar as a sweetener instead of sugar.

Hello Jack, Actually I don't advise making this jelly with anything other than straight sugar. Not only will sugar assist in the firming up of the jelly, it is also an important preservative. If all you want to make is a mint sauce, to be eaten right away, that's another thing. In that case agave would likely work just fine. But if you are intending to make preserves, it is best to stick with sugar. ~Elise