Oh Angelica! Oh Archangelica! Superb arctic angelica jam

In Iceland even a standard meadow stroll can surprise you. You will think, oh it’s just a pleasant walk, pretty normal thing, but not here. While walking through lush Icelandic grasslands, something special will allure your attention. The unforgettable aroma will catch your senses and you won’t rest on your laurels until you discover what smells so remarkably. After a while, the riddle is solved – it’s the smell of gin. Absolutely fantastic! Of course, it’s not a picnic of some Icelandic fans of this drink, but a very unusual plant.

Oh Angelica! You can call it also Arctic Angelica and Angelica archangelica. It is commonly known as garden angelica, wild celery, angelic herb and angelic root. Angelica is a perennial or biennial herb that grows more than 2 meters. You can find it near all kinds of streams because it likes fertile and moist soil.

In Iceland just everyone loves angelica. This amazing herb is a delicacy for people and for sheep, which love to sneak it too. There are not so many gin distilleries on the island (angelica is almost always its aromatic component), but it has a number of culinary uses. For example Icelanders candy the stems. The candied angelica can be eaten as a candy or used for decorative purposes on desserts and cakes. Such a fantastic, headiness aroma can’t be wasted, so there is no other way but to run to your kitchen kingdom and start to prepare something delicious.

So now indulge yourselves with our delightful angelica jam!

Ingredients:

• 3 glasses of peeled, cut angelica stems (young, picked from mid-May to mid-June; only the upper part of the stem)
• 2 rhubarb stems (cut)
• 3 apples (cut into cubes)
• juice from 1 lemon
• lemon peel
• glass of sugar
• vanilla seeds from 1 stick

Method:

1. Put angelica, rhubarb and apples into a pot. Add sugar and lemon juice.

2. Simmer it for around 45 minutes and stir occasionally. Cover the pot with a lid and let it stand for one night.

3. The next day simmer it again for around 30-45 minutes.

4. Add lemon peel and vanilla.

5. Prepare a few jars – clean it with boiling water. Put the jam into the jars. Heat the oven to max 100 degrees C and keep the jars inside for about ten minutes. Turn them upside down and let them cool completely in this position. The jam prepared this way can stay for up to a year or little longer.

6. Serve with toasts. Bon appétit!