Lamb Rhubarb Jelly

Every Easter my grandfather made his lamb and without fail he coated it with mint jelly. Needless to say, he started to really dislike peppermint jelly. As an adult, I thought it was about time I thought about something a little different than what my grandfather used, so now I use a rhubarb jelly to make what mint jelly used to do.

 

During rhubarb season, stalks of the plant can often be obtained for the mother who asks for them. Many homeowners who had previously planted it don’t even harvest it and use it more. When I make the rhubarb jelly, I like to add a bit of delicious rosemary flavor to it as well. It only takes a few rosemary plants to provide a huge amount of flavor to your soups and meats. Rosemary tends to grow quickly and is generally easy to train on trellises.

 

The fragrance of rosemary cannot be mistaken anywhere. It is enough to touch it to release its aroma and everyone can smell it. The plant willingly gives up its lovely fragrance for all to enjoy. You can use some of its branches to add a delicious flavor to pork tenderloin or to season poultry along with garlic and other herbs.

 

With such flavors available, why not gracefully combine rhubarb and rosemary to create a tasty jelly that can be used to add some excitement to a leg of lamb or chicken? Here’s a great recipe that should kick-start just about any type of meat you put in it.

 

This jelly is easy to prepare and only takes 45 minutes to create. It is certainly a delicious alternative to the traditional mint jelly from my grandfather’s time. To do so you would need:

 

1 pound of rhubarb

1 3/4 cups of water

3 1/4 cups of sugar

1/3 cup white vinegar

3 tablespoons chopped rosemary

Two 1/4-ounce packages unflavored gelatin

 

Cut 3 cups of rhubarb crosswise into ½-inch slices. Combine rhubarb, water, sugar, rosemary, and vinegar in 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a rapid boil and simmer for an additional 15 minutes. At this point you will notice that the rhubarb begins to disintegrate.

 

In a small glass bowl, drizzle gelatin over ¼ cup water and let stand 1 minute. Now remove the pot from the heat and combine the gelatin mixture in the pot with the rhubarb. Stir mixture well until rhubarb and gelatin are blended.

 

For the resulting mixture in a sieve, be sure to gently press any of the solid pieces. Skim off the resulting foam and ladle into hot, sterilized jars. Leave 1/8-inch clearance at the top of the jar. Clean the rims and place the lids firmly on the jars. Cool the jars completely.

 

This gelatin gel will keep for several months if refrigerated.

 

Copyright @ 2009 Joseph Parish