Cucumbers can be a very abundant garden harvest. We eat them fresh by the bushel and can up dozens of quart jars of pickles and yet there are still so very many. Cucumber mint jam is a fun, tasty, and unusual way to use a few up.
A Quick-Cook Jam
Use pectin in this recipe instead of cooking until gel point is reached. A long cooking to reach gel stage is going to cook the cucumbers to death and likely leave a watery final product. Keep it quick with the addition of commercial pectin.
Sugar & Vinegar
Cucumbers are a low-acid vegetable. The addition of sugar and vinegar is key to raise the acidity level for canning. As much as I prefer a low-sugar jam, this is not the place for it. The vinegar helps with acidity and mellows out the sweetness giving the final jam a great sweet and savory combination.
Pickling Versus Slicing Cucumbers
Pickling cucumbers tend to have less water than the slicing/salad types. It is for this drier texture that I choose to go with pickling cucumbers in this jam. One could try using slicing cucumbers but the additional water might make the final product a little less firm than a traditional jam.
How to Use Cucumber Mint Jam
This isn't a jam, that a person is likely to slather on a peanut butter sandwich. It is a jam, however; that would:
- make an excellent sandwich with some goat cheese and / or turkey
- go wonderfully with some cheese and crackers
- be delightful mixed in with some plain yogurt for a sweet / savory and filling lunch or snack
- mix up well in this vinaigrette recipe (just swap out the strawberry jam for the cucumber mint)
Before all those summer cucumbers fade away consider whipping up some jam with this easy and quick recipe.
Cucumber Mint Jam
Ingredients
Instructions
Lindsey says
Sounds interesting! How much does this recipe yield?
Homespun Seasonal Living says
About 6 half pints. I can’t believe I forgot that in the recipe. Enjoy!
Sarah says
I am excited to try this. Can lime juice be substituted for lemon juice, or maybe a lemon/lime combo?
Homespun Seasonal Living says
I didn’t try it but I don’t see why not.
Connie says
Sounds like a keeper. Must try..
Bonny Piantino says
I just made this today using cucamelons in place of the cucumbers. I halved the recipe just because I wasn’t sure, but now I wish I had made the whole recipe. It was fantastic! Thanks for a great recipe!!
Homespun Seasonal Living says
Oh I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it!
mom says
i dont like it
Homespun Seasonal Living says
It is a different flavor, I’m sorry to hear you didn’t like it.
Tammy says
Just wanted to let you know that I came across this recipe last year and made it — and now I’m going to make it every year. Everyone we gifted with this jam LOVED it. Thank you for putting it out there!
Homespun Seasonal Living says
Thank you so much for letting me know. I’m so glad to hear that it was such a hit!
Lynnette says
Any reason that you can’t mix pickling cucumbers with salad cucumbers when making jams?
Homespun Seasonal Living says
I don’t see why you couldn’t mix the two. Salad cucumbers tend to have more water so it might affect how well it gels but for sure it would work flavor wise.
Karen Montana says
I made this today and have to say that it is AWESOME!!! Everyone loved it! Will be making this again for sure! Love the mint!
Homespun Seasonal Living says
Thanks so much for letting me know!
Bill M says
Thank you Kathie for the idea! I am using this in an informal work cooking competition, the theme is “Sweet and Savory on a Cracker” the presentation will be:
RainCoast Fig Crisps
Cold Sliced Lamb
Goat Cheese
Warm Mint Cucumber Jam
Your recipe should be the perfect topper, I’ll let you know how it goes!
Homespun Seasonal Living says
Yum! Good luck. I can’t wait to hear how it goes.
Kittie says
I made this yesterday, it tasted good but it didn’t thicken up. It is more like a syrup. What did I do wrong?
Homespun Seasonal Living says
It’s hard for me to say exactly. There are many different reasons why jam doesn’t set… was the pectin old. Are you sure you kept it at a full rolling boil (a boil that can’t be stirred down) for a full minute after adding the pectin? Did you add the sugar all at once?
Linda says
try letting the jars sit for a week or two or more. Lately I have experienced pear jam and plum jam that appeared too runny at first but when using them a month later – they were set up just fine. In fact I had designated a few jars of pear jam as “pear syrup” as they were too runny to qualify as jam. Upon opening them, I found they had turned into the perfect jam consistency.
Keren says
I made this today! I grated the cucumber instead of chopping and used lime juice instead of lemon. Ots tangy and delicious on cream cheese and crackers!
Thanks so much!
Homespun Seasonal Living says
Oh, I’m so glad to hear it and what a good idea to grate it!
Amy says
Just made my second batch of this yesterday. It is so good! Told my husband about it. He said, “that sounds disgusting”. Let him taste a little today as I was jarring it up…”okay, I was wrong. That is really good”, was his response. I have over 30 jars of bread and butters left from last year and have already put up over 20 jars of dill pickles this year. So, I am very grateful for another canning option for cucumbers. Thank you!!
Kathie Lapcevic says
I’m so glad to hear this, thank you! Enjoy.
Chris says
Can you use liquid pectin instead of power if so how much liquid.
Thanks
Kathie Lapcevic says
I’ve never tested it that way, so I don’t know. I’m sorry I can’t be more help.
Laurie Clark says
I was wondering if you could make this jam into a jelly, by straining it?
Kathie Lapcevic says
I’m sure you could but I’ve never tried it. If you do give it a go, let us know how it turned out for you.
Mari says
Can I make this and not do the bath at the end and just eat it up fresh?
Kathie Lapcevic says
Sure, Just keep it in the fridge instead of on the shelf.