Absolutely. I finally figure it out. In my high school years, science was one of my favorite subjects. Somehow, my creative side took over and I did not pursue a degree in biology or chemistry at all. However, there's something to be said about home canning and science.
Today I am experimenting with my lemon basil. I grew those plants from seed and they flowered while still in my house. So I planted them in the garden not knowing really what they were, for unlike my regular basil, this plant was soft and fuzzy and had little leaves. It wasn't until I could taste it that I realized it was lemon basil.
I searched the Internet for recipes and finally found on that I could cross with the one on my pectin pack. I had the best intentions of making plum jelly about four or five years ago and bought the liquid pectin. I did not use it but carried it with me until now. I don't think it's supposed to squeeze out of the pouch like white honey, but I gave it a shot anyhow.
Picking basil leaves at 6 a.m. today was a challenge. The mosquitoes are so thick and hungry and there I was waving the scissors about my face in an effort to not be bitten. I finally gave up and cut stalks, stripping them in the safety of my kitchen.
The recipe was fairly simple:
1.5 cups firmly packed leaves, washed and chopped
2.5 cups of water
Bring this to boil, cover and steep 10 minutes.
Next measure 3.5 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1.75 cups of strained liquid. You can add food coloring at this point in time if you wish.
Bring this to a hard boil, add the 3-ounce pouch of pectin and boil for one minute, hard and rolling, stirring all the time.
Pour into prepared jelly jars and water bath for 5 minutes.
We will see what happens later.
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