Cucumber Jelly with Ginger
Cool and refreshing cucumber jelly with a hint of ginger. Made from cucumber juice for a no-waste jelly! It’s quick and easy and a great way to use up extra cucumbers!
When you have cucumbers coming in faster than you can use them, or your neighbors start leaving heaps of them at your doorstep in the middle of the night, here’s a great way to use cucumbers that’s a little different than the norm!
This refrigerated jelly is a complete twist on the heavy jellies like strawberry and grape. The flavor is lighter and surprisingly refreshing!
I always thought my first jelly would be something like grape or apple, but I’m pleasantly surprised by this cucumber jelly! It’s amazing!
How to Make Cucumber Juice
There are several ways, but this cucumber jelly recipe is so awesome because it can use the by-product of a day of dehydrating cucumbers!
- Use a regular block grater to grate cucumbers, then squeeze them through a cheesecloth or tea towel. Alternatively, you can hang them and allow gravity to drain them. I do recommend doing this in small batches as it can be hard to squeeze a large batch.
- Use the grater attachment on a Kitchen Aid mixer. The process almost juices them without much help from you!
- Use a food processor or blender to puree the cucumber, then strain it through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or a tea towel.
- Use a juicer to juice the cucumbers. But don’t forget to dehydrate that pulp for vegetable powder!
This project was created when I had cucumbers left from making Tzatziki Shelf-stable Seasoning Mix, and found even more cucumbers coming in!
How to Make Cucumber Jelly
This jelly was heavily influenced by a recipe on Food52. My process for making the jelly is a little different than theirs, so you might want to check it out of you don’t have juice already waiting from prior projects, or if you want to save a little time in making it.
NOTE: This recipe is not a safe nor approved recipe by the National Center for Home Food Preservation, or by any of the other companies like Ball, or Pemona Pectin, or Bernardin that you can get safe and tested recipes from.
This doesn’t mean that the recipe isn’t safe. It means that it is not considered shelf-stable by the standard guidelines for shelf-stable jam and jelly recipes.
Thus I did not give shelf-stable pantry storage tips. However, you can make your own decisions about that.
Ingredients List:
- Cucumber juice: Use one of the ways above to create cucumber juice. Don’t bother peeling – it brings extra color!
- Ginger: Peel the ginger (unlike dehydrating ginger), but it can be left out if you don’t like the flavor. But it’s definitely what adds depth of flavor to this jelly!
- Pectin: This recipe calls for liquid pectin to help keep the color clear. I used Certo Liquid Pectin, but use the liquid pectin of your choice. Buy this locally as it can be highly over-priced on Amazon.
- Sugar: It’s not recommended to use less sugar than the recipe calls for to keep the color of the jelly for storage.
Instructions:
Full ingredient quantities and specific instructions are in the recipe card below.
But here are the quick steps.
- Mix sugar, ginger, and cucumber juice bring up to a boil, and boil for one minute.
- Add pectin and boil for another minute.
- Remove foam after the boil is rolling with a spoon,
- Pour hot liquid into sterilized jars to 1/4″, wipe rims, top with lid and ring, allow to cool before storing in the fridge.
Full ingredient quantities and specific instructions are in the recipe card below.
Setting Troubleshooting
Liquid pectin is infamous for slow-setting
- Give it a few days to a few weeks in your fridge to set up.
- Don’t double the pectin to get a better setup. Double the liquid pectin may result in a hard-set jelly without a great mouth feel. Think gummy jelly; not so pleasant. We’re not making Turkish Delight.
- If you’d like to use less sugar, here is a conversion guide from Pomona’s Pectin.
- Use this guide from Food in Jars to remake your jelly to get a firmer solution.
Serving Suggestions:
Jelly
- Serving over cream cheese and serving with crackers or a thick slice of cucumber
- To top meat or chicken for grilling
- Topping for vanilla ice cream. Yes, it really is that good!
- Use as a spread for a cucumber sandwich.
Syrup
If you struggle to get your jelly to set up, the syrup is also very useful!
- Add to cocktails like a gin and tonic;
- Pour into a light, carbonated soda like ginger ale, Sprite, or sparkling water;
- Use to create a dressing for a fresh summer slaw with shredded carrots, broccoli, cucumbers, etc.
Make sure to give your jelly a few weeks to set up. Liquid pectin can be slow to set.
As there are no tested or approved recipes for cucumber jelly, technically, it is not shelf-stable.
More Cucumber Ideas!
Cucumber Jelly with Ginger
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Spoon
- Ladle
- Half-pint or 4 oz canning jars
- Water Bath Canner
Ingredients
- 2 cups Cucumber juice
- 1 inch Ginger root Peeled
- 3 cups sugar
- 4 tablespoons Lemon juice Use bottled
- 4 tablespoons Vinegar I used Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 envelope Certo Premium Liquid Pectin 3 oz
Instructions
- Place cucumber juice, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, and ginger root into a large, heavy-bottom saucepan on high heat.
- Bring to a rolling boil and continue the boil for one minute.
- Remove ginger.
- Add pectin and continue boiling for one minute.
- Skim off foam.
- Ladle hot cucumber jelly liquid into half-pint or 4 ounce canning jars that have been previously sterilized. Fill to the 1/4" line.
- Wipe rims clean. They will be sugary, be sure to clean with a bit of vinegar.
- Place lids on jars and tighten with rings to a finger-tight closure.
- Either allow to cool and place into refrigerator or continue with water bath canning steps.
Water Bath Canning
- Place hot, filled jars into water bath canner.
- Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes with the lid on.
- Turn off heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove jars with a jar lifter, and set onto heat-safe surface.
- Allow to cool for about 8-12 hours.
- Store in the refrigerator.
Darcy’s Tips
How to Make Cucumber Juice
There are several ways, but this cucumber jelly recipe is so awesome because it can use the by-product of a day of dehydrating cucumbers! You can use:-
- A regular block grater to grate cucumbers, then squeeze them through a cheesecloth or tea towel. Alternatively, you can hang them and allow gravity to drain them. I do recommend doing this in small batches as it can be hard to squeeze a large batch.
- The grater attachment on a Kitchen Aid mixer. The process almost juices them without much help from you!
- A food processor or blender to puree the cucumber, then strain it through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or a tea towel.
- A juicer to juice the cucumbers. But don’t forget to dehydrate that pulp for vegetable powder!
Setting Troubleshooting
Liquid pectin is infamous for slow-setting- Give it a few days to a few weeks in your fridge to set up.
- Don’t double the pectin to get a better setup. Double the liquid pectin may result in a hard-set jelly without a great mouth feel. Think gummy jelly; not so pleasant. We’re not making Turkish Delight.
- If you’d like to use less sugar, here is a conversion guide from Pomona’s Pectin.
- Use this guide from Food in Jars to remake your jelly to get a firmer solution.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only. Nutrient information for dehydrated foods is based on fresh. Use 1/4 of the servicing size for the same nutrient information. Thus 1 Cup of fresh fruit has the same sugars as 1/4 dried.
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I am looking forward to this jelly.
We’re having to reprocess it for getting it to set – I’ll update the post with that info once it’s done. But in our case, the single envelope pectin just wasn’t enough.
So if this is hot water bathed it’s not shelf safe?
It would still need to be refrigerated??
Thanks!
I did water bath it, but it’s only to help prolong the life in the fridge (removing that excess air in the jars that aren’t going to be used for a while. It is not considerted shelf-stable because it’s not a safe or tested recipe, and yes, refrigerate.