Homespun Seasonal Living

Cucumber Mint Jam

By 36 Comments

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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.

Jars of cucumber mint jam on a table with whole cucumbers and fresh mint.

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.

Yield: 6 Half Pints

Cucumber Mint Jam

Cucumber Mint Jam

Make the most of an abundant cucumber harvest with this deliciously unusual and oh-so-easy- cucumber mint jam recipe with canning instructions included.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Active Time 5 minutes
Canning Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a large pot, combine cucumbers, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and pectin. Bring to boil, mashing slightly with a spoon. Keep at a rolling boil for 1 minute.
  2. Add the sugar, all at once and bring to a boil again. Boil for 1 minute.
  3. Remove from heat, skim off foam. Stir in mint.
  4. Pour into jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Process for 10 minutes (adjusting for elevation) in a boiling water bath.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

96

Serving Size:

1 Tablespoon
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 37 Total Fat: 0g Saturated Fat: 0g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 2mg Carbohydrates: 9g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 9g Protein: 0g
We try our best but cannot guarantee that nutrition information is 100% accurate.
© Kathie N. Lapcevic
Category: Food Preservation

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. 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!!

    Reply

  4. 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!

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  6. 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!

    Reply

  7. 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!

    Reply

  8. 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?

    Reply

    • 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?

      Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  9. 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!

    Reply

  10. 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!!

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  15. Susi says

    Hi! Just tried this and doubled the recipe! This is sooo incredibly good!! So glad I came across this! Never would have thought to add mint to something like this! Thank you!!

    Reply

    • Kathie Lapcevic says

      I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it! A long time ago, I had a cucumber, yogurt salad that was paired with mint and ever since then I’ve just loved the cucumber & mint combination.

      Reply

  16. Patty Ayer says

    OMgosh Kathie. This is too good to be real! LOVE love love this Jam and so does my family. I had 5 full 8oz jars with a little bit left over. So easy. This was actually the first time I’ve ever canned anything so I tried to seek out an easy recipe to cut my teeth on. Perfect. Image my thrill as I heard each jar top PoP as they cooled. I was a bit worried at first when the ‘fruit’ appeared to have settled to the top. However, once we opened the first jar we simply stirred it up and constancy was perfect. SO good on a turkey and goat or sheep cheese sandwich. For those not wanting the bread just use a good sized piece of sliced turkey (lunchmeat style slice) and spread the jam on, add your cheese and roll up, enjoy. I might even save a jar to use with the roasted turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

    Reply

    • Kathie Lapcevic says

      Thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out for you. And congrats to you on your first canning adventure – here’s to many more!

      Reply

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