Rose Petal Jelly
Rose Petal Jelly
I must admit I was really pleased at the color of the rose petal jelly. I have dark red roses and while I knew the jelly would not end up that dark I wasn’t exactly sure what color I would get. To start one of my floral jellies I always make a vinegar/petal infusion first.* I prefer a jelly that isn’t too sweet and the vinegar really helps. Here is the recipe- directions for making the rose vinegar are at the bottom of the post.
Rose Petal Jelly
3 1/2 cups rose petal vinegar**
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
5 c. sugar
Wash and prep jars and get water bath heating up. Place rose vinegar in pan and add lemon juice and pectin. Bring mixture to a rolling boil over high heat. Add sugar and return to the boil. Stir often. Once mixture gets to a full rolling boil, boil 1 minute. Remove jelly from heat and skim off any foam. Ladle hot liquid into jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims and adjust lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes for 4 oz. and 8 oz. jars. Remove jars to cooling rack and check seals once they have cooled down. Yield: about 7 half pint jars or 13-14 (4 oz.) jars.
*To make the infusion just put rose petals in a clean jar and cover with vinegar. Close up the jar and let the mixture steep for a week or longer. When you are ready to use the vinegar, strain it and then pour through a coffee filter to get it really clear. Use roses that are not sprayed with anything and vinegar that is 5% acidity. I like a cup of petals for every cup of vinegar for a nice strong flavor. I have gone with 1 cup petals and 2 cups vinegar and it was still pretty good.Because some roses are more fragrant than others results may vary.
**For 3 1/2 cups of rose petal vinegar you will need 3-4 cups of blossoms and 3 1/2 cups of vinegar.
Rose Petal Jelly
Rose Petal Jelly
I must admit I was really pleased at the color of the rose petal jelly. I have dark red roses and while I knew the jelly would not end up that dark I wasn’t exactly sure what color I would get. To start one of my floral jellies I always make a vinegar/petal infusion first.* I prefer a jelly that isn’t too sweet and the vinegar really helps. Here is the recipe- directions for making the rose vinegar are at the bottom of the post.
Rose Petal Jelly
3 1/2 cups rose petal vinegar**
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
5 c. sugar
Wash and prep jars and get water bath heating up. Place rose vinegar in pan and add lemon juice and pectin. Bring mixture to a rolling boil over high heat. Add sugar and return to the boil. Stir often. Once mixture gets to a full rolling boil, boil 1 minute. Remove jelly from heat and skim off any foam. Ladle hot liquid into jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims and adjust lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes for 4 oz. and 8 oz. jars. Remove jars to cooling rack and check seals once they have cooled down. Yield: about 7 half pint jars or 13-14 (4 oz.) jars.
*To make the infusion just put rose petals in a clean jar and cover with vinegar. Close up the jar and let the mixture steep for a week or longer. When you are ready to use the vinegar, strain it and then pour through a coffee filter to get it really clear. Use roses that are not sprayed with anything and vinegar that is 5% acidity. I like a cup of petals for every cup of vinegar for a nice strong flavor. I have gone with 1 cup petals and 2 cups vinegar and it was still pretty good.Because some roses are more fragrant than others results may vary.
**For 3 1/2 cups of rose petal vinegar you will need 3-4 cups of blossoms and 3 1/2 cups of vinegar.
Lilac Jelly
Lilac Jelly
I always gather lilacs and make lilac vinegar with them. It’s easy to do. You just put lilac blossoms in a jar and cover them with vinegar. I use a cup of vinegar for every cup of flowers. I let the mixture steep for a week or longer and then strain out the blossoms. I decided to use some of this mixture to make jelly this year. The color of the vinegar is a light pink color. The cooking process changed it somewhat and it came out a light honey color. Very pretty. By using vinegar as the base the jelly has a nice combination of tartness with the sweet. I could see using it on toast or as a glaze for meats. May have to pick up some lamb to try it out. Since I had just made violet jelly I pretty much used the same recipe. I assume this will also work for other edible flower vinegars. Hoping to do this with roses later in the year. Here is the recipe.
Lilac Jelly
3 1/2 cups lilac vinegar
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
5 c. sugar
Wash and prep jars and get water bath heating up. Place violet vinegar in pan and add lemon juice and pectin. Bring mixture to a rolling boil over high heat. Add sugar and return to the boil. Stir often. Once mixture gets to a full rolling boil, boil 1 minute. Remove jelly from heat and skim off any foam. Ladle hot liquid into jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims and adjust lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes for 4 oz. and 8 oz. jars. Remove jars to cooling rack and check seals once they have cooled down. Yield: about 7 half pint jars or 13-14 (4 oz.) jars.
Violet Jelly
Violet Jelly
I have made a lot of jams and jellies over the years. I like them but sometimes find them too sweet for my taste. I was planning on just making infused vinegar from some of my violets this year when I decided to use the vinegar as a base for the jelly. It worked out great. The end product had a sweet taste of violets but the vinegar added a tartness I really liked. It also came out a stunning pink color. Normally when you make violet jelly you boil water and pour it over the violet blossoms, making a sort of violet tea. Then you go ahead and make the jelly. By harvesting blossoms and putting them in a jar with vinegar you can make the jelly pretty much anytime you like. Also, if you don’t have a lot of blossoms at once you can harvest a few at a time over a longer period of time. The violets in vinegar will keep. I like to have equal parts flowers and vinegar for a nice strong floral flavor, but you can get by with fewer blossoms if you need.
Start with a clean jar and put your violets in it. Pour vinegar over to cover. White vinegar or white wine vinegar can be used. Heck you could probably use red wine vinegar, too. Cider vinegar might affect the color. You can continue to add flowers to the jar as you pick them. I picked 4 cups of violets and put them in a quart mason jar. I added vinegar to fill the jar, closed it up and let the flavors blend for a week. I could have let it sit longer if I was too busy to get to it. If you are in a hurry and want to make the jelly right away just heat up the vinegar and steep the flowers.
After a week, I strained it out then poured the mixture through a coffee filter to get it really clear. I ended up with 3 1/2 cups of violet “vinegar” to use for my violet jelly. I had a basic idea of how much sugar I would need so I went from there. It worked out great and jelled perfectly.
Enough chat- here is the recipe.
Violet Jelly
3 1/2 cups violet vinegar*
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
5 c. sugar
Wash and prep jars and get water bath heating up. Place violet vinegar in pan and add lemon juice and pectin. Bring mixture to a rolling boil over high heat. Add sugar and return to the boil. Stir often. Once mixture gets to a full rolling boil, boil 1 minute. Remove jelly from heat and skim off any foam. Ladle hot liquid into jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims and adjust lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes for 4 oz. and 8 oz. jars. Remove jars to cooling rack and check seals once they have cooled down. Yield: about 7 half pint jars or 13-14 (4 oz.) jars.
*For 3 1/2 cups of violet vinegar you will need 3-4 cups of blossoms and 3 1/2 cups of vinegar.
