This was an experiment.
I have a ridiculous amount of angelica in my garden. This is partly because it’s happy where I planted that first seedling, and partly because I think it’s such a cool plant that I seldom pull out any seedlings. Angelica self-seeds aggressively. I have buckets of it.
What I find amazing about angelica is that it’s such a teeny tiny plant in the spring, yet in two months (like right now) it’s taller than me and almost as wide as it is tall (fortunately, I’m not!) It is an impressive piece of greeny business.
I also like the smell of angelica. It has a verdant anise scent. If you’ve ever had a sip of Chartreuse, you would recognize it as one of the main contributors to the flavouring of that liqueur.
The question becomes – what to do with the angelica? Herbs are useful plants, so I should use them for something.
Angelica is supposed to be good at reducing the acid in stewed fruits, like rhubarb. I read this and decided I’d try some in my rhubarb jam this year. Mr. C. is not a big fan of rhubarb, as he finds it too tart, so this seemed like a perfect use.I took the recipe from the pectin box for cooked rhubarb jam and modified it like this:
Rhubarb & Angelica Jam
4 cups of chopped red rhubarb
2 cups chopped angelica stems
1/2 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 envelope liquid pectin
I cooked the jam according to the pectin directions, then canned it for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. I got 5 1/2 pints from the first batch and 6 from the second. (I must have cooked the first batch longer.)
This jam tastes really good. It tastes like rhubarb with a hint of anise – or maybe vanilla. It’s pink with a bit of green, the way rhubarb jam would be if you made it with old fashioned (i.e. not all red) rhubarb. The thing is that the angelica reduced the acid so much that the jam didn’t set. It’s more like a thick sauce. I’m not going to cook this batch again, or can it again. Next time, I just might add a squirt of lemon juice – or I might use less sugar. But it’s definitely a keeper and a jam I’ll make again.
Do you grow any herbs? What do you do with them?
Deborah Cooke: Author 