Recipe for mint jam with lemon and agar-agar - cooking secrets

Categories: Jams

Mint jam is a unique product. Delicate, invigorating and refreshing. It is so beautiful that it is even a pity to eat it. But still, we prepare it for food, so we make sure that the taste is as fantastic as the jam itself.

Ingredients: agar-agar, lemon, mint, sugar
Time to bookmark: Summer, Autumn

To make mint jam you need:

150 grams of fresh or dried mint (leaves and stems);
water 700 milliliters;
lemon – 2 pieces;
sugar – 400 grams;
agar-agar - 1 teaspoon.

Rinse the mint under running water and shake off any drops. Tear or cut the leaves and stems into pieces. Place the mint in a saucepan and cover with water.

Place the pan on the fire, bring to a boil and simmer the mint over low heat for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat, cover with a lid and let it steep for 3-5 hours.

Strain the broth.

If you want jam with a “surprise”, add grated lemon zest and squeezed juice.

The taste of mint and lemon goes well together, and pieces of zest add a “zest” to the jam.

But this is optional, just like adding agar-agar. After all, mint has no pulp, and no matter how much you boil the jam, it will still remain watery. If you need this jam to soak cakes, or add to a cocktail, then this will do. But if you want mint jam to spread on a sandwich, then nothing will work without additional stabilization.

For this amount of ingredients you need 1 teaspoon of agar-agar. But, everything has its time.

Place the mint decoction on the stove, add sugar and cook with continuous stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved and the syrup becomes thick like honey.

If you noticed, the mint infusion has a brown-marsh color, but the pictures always show emerald green jam. This is all easy if you have a few drops of green food coloring. If the dye is truly food grade, then there will be no harm from it, and it is pleasant to the eye.

Pour some mint syrup into a cup and dilute the dye separately. If you have never tinted syrups before, you may make a mistake and turn it over-green. And so, slowly pour the dye into the pan with the syrup and you will immediately see what color it turns out.

If the syrup has already thickened enough, carefully add agar-agar into it. Stir until it is completely dissolved. Do not boil or cook the jam after adding agar-agar, otherwise it will lose its properties.

Pour hot jam into prepared jars and seal with airtight lids.