Lemon Verbena Jelly Food

LEMON VERBENA JELLY

Steps:

• Bring a boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Enough water to cover the jars by 1-2 inches. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Or dishwasher and keep hot. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.
• Place chopped lemon verbena leaves and water into a pan. Bring it to a boil, then take it off the heat and let it steep, covered, for 15 minutes.
• Place apple juice in a quart size measuring cup.
• Strain and add infusion to juice to make 4 cups (adding more water or juice to if needed). Place in a 3 1/2-quart or larger saucepan. Add lemon and sugar. Mix well and bring to a full boil over high heat, stirring constantly.Add the liquid pectin; bring back to a full rolling boil and boil for exactly 1 minute.
• Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 minute Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.).
• Sealed jars can be store up to one year in a cool dark pantry.
• Unsealed store in refrigerator up to 1 month.
• Altitude times:.
• 1,000-3,000 5 minutes.
• 3,001-6,000 10 minutes.
• 6,001-8,000 15 minutes.
• 8,001-10,000 20 minutes.

LEMON VERBENA JELLY

Steps:

• Put the lemon verbena leaves, lemon zest and water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over moderate to high heat, then turn the heat to simmer and cover the pan. Cook for 15 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and allow to stand, covered, for several hours.
• Pour the infusion through a strainer into a large, deep saucepan. Press on the leaves to extract all flavor, then discard the leaves and zest. Stir in the lemon juice and sugar and bring to a full rolling boil over high heat. Add food coloring. Stir in the pectin and return to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for two minutes, stirring constantly.
• Remove from the heat and skim the foam, if necessary. Ladle the jelly into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Seal with new lids and metal rings.
• Process for 5 minutes in a hot water bath. Makes about five 6-ounce jars.
• This subtly flavored jelly is good with scones or toasted brioche, or in the center of thumbprint butter cookies.

LEMON JELLY

Steps:

• Combine lemon juice, lemon rind and water in a glass bowl and let stand for 10 minutes.
• Strain mixture into a large saucepan.
• Add sugar to juice mix and stir well.
• Bring to a hard boil over high heat, stirring constantly.
• Stir in fruit pectin.
• Bring back to full boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat.
• Stir in food coloring.
• Skim off foam with metal spoon.
• Ladle into hot sterilized jars (I run mine through the dishwasher).
• Cover immediately with 1/8 inch hot paraffin.

LEMON VERBENA BREAD

Steps:

• For the bread cream butter with verbena leaves in a mixer or food processor.
• Add sugar,eggs and milk and beat well.
• Add remaining ingredients and pulse a few times until blended.
• Grease loaf pans (1 large,2 small or 4 mini) and pour in batter.
• Bake at 350º for 30-45 minutes, depending on pan size, or until toothpick inserted in center of bread comes out clean.
• Leave loaf in pan and pour glaze over loaf while still hot.
• Let sit several hours.
• Remove loaf from pan.
• Wrap in foil to ripen overnight if you like, or serve when cool.
• You can also freeze this bread for later use.
• GLAZE: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tbsp fresh lemon verbena leaves,finely chopped, with the juice of one lemon.

BASIC JELLY

Steps:

• Combine fruit and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, mashing occasionally with a potato masher, until fruit is very soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer mixture to a fine sieve set over a heatproof bowl; let drain without pressing on fruit, 4 hours. Strain again through sieve lined with damp cheesecloth. Measure juice; you will have 3 to 4 cups.
• In a large heavy-bottomed pot, bring juice to a boil. Add 3/4 cup sugar for each cup of juice. Add lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Return to a boil and cook, stirring frequently, 8 to 12 minutes. To test if jelly is done, dip a large metal spoon in, lift it horizontally above pot, and let mixture drip back in. Jelly is done when mixture has thickened slightly and drops of it slide together off spoon in a sheet. (Temperature should register 221 degrees on a candy thermometer.) Skim foam from top.
• Ladle jelly into clean containers, leaving 3/4 inch of headroom. Let cool completely. Cover, label, and refrigerate up to 1 month, or freeze up to 1 year.

PASSION-FRUIT AND BLACKBERRY JELLIES WITH LEMON VERBENA CREAM

Steps:

• Make passion-fruit mixture:
• Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup water and let stand 2 minutes to soften.
• Heat sugar and remaining cup water in a 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Add gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved. Transfer mixture to a 1-quart glass measure or bowl, then set in a large bowl of ice and cold water and stir frequently until cold but not set, about 15minutes. Stir in passion-fruit purée, then chill in refrigerator until ready to use.
• Make blackberry mixture:
• Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup water and let stand 2 minutes to soften.
• Heat sugar and remaining 3/4 cup water in 1-quart saucepan over moderately high heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Add gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved. Transfer mixture to another 1-quart glass measure or bowl, then set in a large bowl of ice and cold water and stir frequently until cold but not set, about 15minutes.
• While gelatin mixture chills, purée blackberries in a food processor, then force through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding seeds.
• Stir lemon juice and 1 cup purée into chilled gelatin mixture, then chill in refrigerator until ready to use.
• Assemble jellies:
• Pour a scant 1/4 cup passion-fruit mixture into each glass, then stand all 6 glasses in a wide pot. Fill pot with enough ice and cold water to reach level of jelly and chill in refrigerator until jelly is just set, about 2 hours. (Keep unused portion of jellies in refrigerator, stirring once or twice to slow setting.)
• Pour a scant 1/4 cup blackberry mixture on top of set passion-fruit jelly (pouring mixture gently over back of a spoon held just over set jelly helps to keep new layer from damaging layer beneath). Add enough ice to pot to reach level of jelly and chill in refrigerator until jelly is set, about 2 hours.
• Make another layer of passion-fruit jelly and another layer of blackberry jelly in same manner, adding ice to pot and chilling in refrigerator until jellies are set (last two layers will take only about 1 1/2 hours each to chill).
• When all layers are set, remove glasses from ice bath and chill, loosely covered with plastic wrap, 8 hours (or overnight).
• Make cream 2 hours before serving:
• Combine lemon verbena with sugar in a small bowl, then gently bruise verbena with a pestle or wooden spoon (to release flavor). Stir in cream and chill, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.
• Pour through cleaned fine-mesh sieve into a larger bowl, pressing gently on solids and then discarding them, then chill cream, covered, until ready to serve.
• Just before serving, beat cream with an electric mixer until it just holds soft peaks and spoon dollops over jellies.