1½ cups finely chopped, firmly packed mint leaves
4 cups apple juice
1 (1¾-ounce) package powdered fruit pectin
½ cup lemon juice
5 cups granulated sugar
In a saucepan on medium heat combine the mint leaves and apple juice. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Strain the juice and pour it into a large heavy saucepan. Discard the mint.
In the saucepan on high heat, stirring constantly, stir the pectin and lemon juice into the apple juice and bring to a boil. Stir in the sugar all at once. Continue to stir and bring to a full rolling boil (a boil that cannot be stirred down) and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and skim off the foam with a metal spoon.
Quickly pour the jelly into hot sterilized jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace; wipe the jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on the bands. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.
YIELD: ABOUT 6 HALF PINTS