Mint jelly

While the mint’s still flourishing, whip yourself up some home-made jelly.

By Liane Arno

WE DECIDED to buy ourselves a spit roaster – as you do.  Our plan was to use it for a suckling pig but we found it impossible to get a true suckling pig.  There are a couple of reasons.  The first is that the pig farmers don’t want to sell them that young because they think they should have a little longer to live.  I must say I struggle with this – after all they are raising the pigs to eat them so does it really matter how old they are?  Clearly I am in the minority when I don’t think it matters.  The other reason is that the abattoirs are not set up for small animals and so the killing and butchering needs to be done on the farm – and it's a messy business. ​

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You will be wondering why I wanted to get one.  The Philippines is famous for its national dish of suckling pig.  In pre-colonisation days, Lechon, as it is now known was originally made with young suckling pigs that were still nursing milk from their mothers.  Over time this has changed and the pigs are larger, but in some restaurants in Manila where I was doing some volunteer work they kept the tradition alive.  The young suckling pig which is only a few weeks old is spit roasted over charcoal and is the centrepiece for feasts.
 
When it is cooked the skin is crackly and the meat tender.  The meat can then be carved off the bones and then placed Peking Duck style in rice paper wrappers, with hoisin sauce, cucumbers and shallots.  The feast doesn’t stop there though.  The restaurant will ask your preference of whether you would like the bones sprinkled with either salt or chilli flakes.  The kitchen will then pop them in a hot oven of around 240 degrees where the meat will have a second cook and then all you need to do is to gnaw the meat off the bones.  Carnivores’ delight.
 
So – what has this got to do with mint jelly?  Well – unable to get the suckling pig – we got ourselves a whole lamb, invited a few friends over to share and have a party.  I thought about doing the same Peking Duck style but this time with mint jelly rather than the hoisin sauce.  Then came the problem of finding a caterer’s pack of mint jelly that would arrive in time for our party.  Nothing was falling into place and so I decided to make some.  We had a huge amount of mint growing – so why not?  It turned out to be very simple. 
 
Pop into a pan and boil:

• 3½ cups firmly packed fresh mint
• 4 ½ cups water

Drain the liquid and discard the mint leaves.  Cool overnight and add to the pot:

• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 6½ cups granulated sugar
• 2 tsps green food colouring

Dissolve the sugar slowly and then bring to the boil.  Once it has boiled take off the heat and stir in

• 100g pectin (I used Jamsetta)

Bring it to a rolling boil for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Be careful – it will rise up very quickly when you first put it back on the boil so stay close and reduce the temperature to stop it from boiling over.  Do make sure that you are using a big heavy pot.  I use a jam thermometer to check that it has reached the setting point but you can also use the cold plate test.  Drop a dollop of the jelly onto a frozen plate and pop it in the freezer again for a couple of minutes.  It will show you when you take it out how your jelly will set.

When you are happy remove the pot from heat, immediately skim off any foam and put into jars.

Do you want to know the best part?  My only costs were the Jamsetta ($6) and the sugar ($2.20) and the cost of the caterers’ pack of mint jelly including shipping was close to $60!