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Why is my rosemary still alive?

It's freezing out... no I mean literally freezing out, as in the low last night while we slept warm in out beds was 12° freezing. As in the high so far today is 19° freezing and lastly freezing as in there is a layer of ice on the inside of my bathroom window freezing.
Now that you have the picture, you can ponder with me why my rosemary just outside my kitchen door is alive and well? I thought rosemary was a subtropical Mediterranean herb? Today I decided to brave the cold and go snip off some of the beautiful fragrant branches and make "Rosemary Jelly".

Rosemary Jelly



2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup minced fresh rosemary
3 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 (3 ounce) pouch liquid fruit pectin

In a large saucepan, combine boiling water and rosemary; cover and let stand for 15 to 30 minutes. Strain, reserving liquid. If necessary, add water to measure 2 cups.
Return liquid to pan; add sugar and vinegar. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add pectin, stirring until mixture boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute or until the jelly begins to set. Remove from the heat; skim off foam.

Pour hot mixture into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch head-space. Adjust caps. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

*I put sprigs in fresh rosemary in each jar, they floated to the top and you can't even see them... grrr
*Next time I will make the sprigs longer so they can't float to the surface unseen.

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