Canning · Fruit · sauces · Uncategorized

Rose Jelly

You can make this gorgeous rose jelly in less than an hour. The subtle rose flavor with a touch of lemon is perfect for biscuits, scones, ice-cream or cakes. Preserve a taste of summer with this delicate rose jelly.

A cut glass bowl with dark magenta rose jelly is on a white tablecloth. There is a silver spoon with some jelly in the bowl on the right side of the container. A plate of palmiers and magenta roses is in the background.

I love roses but Texas is a harsh place to grow them. Roses love acidic soil. The soil and water here are pH 8. It’s hot and dry too.

So I gave up on growing hybrid tea roses and started growing antique roses. Antique roses grow on their own roots so once they’re established, they are really tough.

They also smell wonderful. If you’re going to grow things with thorns, they should smell nice in my opinion.

One of my roses, Cramoisi Superieur  is particularly productive. It’s so easy to grow, I used to take cuttings into work in January. I’d have my biology students stick them in some potting soil and they’d have their own rose plants by Valentine’s Day.

This is a view from above of a cut glass bowl with rose jelly. The deep magenta rose jelly is textured with rose petals. There is a silver spoon on the right side of the container. Some of the jelly fills the bowl of the spoon. There are magenta roses on the white table cloth to the right of the bowl and magenta rose petals are scattered on the tablecloth around the glass bowl.

The winter freeze this year made all the roses in town thrive. It’s been so lovely to see everyone’s roses in full bloom this spring.  My Cramoisi Superieur went nuts as it always does.

I was outside doing yard work and a Taiwanese-American neighbor stopped by to admire the roses in my front yard. She said the Cramoisi Superieur roses would make excellent jelly and there were enough to make a batch. She even gave me the basic recipe.

I’ve never been a fan of flowery desserts. It sometimes feels like you’re drinking perfume. So I was a little skeptical about making rose jelly.

But, since I had the roses and the other ingredients on hand, I thought I’d make a small batch to see if it’s any good.

This is a view from above of a cut glass bowl filled halfway with deep magenta rose jelly. There is a silver spoon on the right side of the bowl and a bunch of magenta roses sits on the white table cloth to the right of the bowl of jelly. Rose petals are scattered on the white table cloth.

I’m really glad I did. The jelly is sweet with a hint of roses – not overpowering like rosewater is.  It would be excellent on scones or in tea cakes.

When you boil the rose petals, the color leaves them and goes into the water. The water is beautiful but the petals in the water are not appetizing. However, when you add the lemon juice, the color goes back into the petals and the petals add a little texture to the jam – much like strawberries in strawberry preserves.

Yield: 1 cup

Rose Jelly

This is a view from above of a cut glass bowl with rose jelly. The deep magenta rose jelly is textured with rose petals. There is a silver spoon on the right side of the container. Some of the jelly fills the bowl of the spoon. There are magenta roses on the white table cloth to the right of the bowl and magenta rose petals are scattered on the tablecloth around the glass bowl.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups water
  • 2.7 ounces (7.7 g) fresh rose petals
  • 2 cups sugar
  • juice and pulp from a large lemon
  • 1 teaspoon pectin

Instructions

  1. place water and rose petals in a saucepan and gently boil for 10 minutes.
  2. Add 1 3/4 cup of the sugar and lemon to the petals. continue to boil for 10 minutes. Stir constantly after you add the sugar to keep the jelly from scorching
  3. Mix the remaining sugar with the pectin and sprinkle the mixture over the boiling liquid.
  4. Boil for another 20 minutes. Place in a jar and refrigerate.

Notes

You can substitute dried rose petals. you will need 2.1 ounces of dried petals (5.1 g) for this recipe. The jam keeps for about 2 months in the refrigerator or you can freeze or can it for longer storage.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 128Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 12mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 0gSugar: 28gProtein: 0g

Nutrition information is provided as a guideline only. Please consult a dietician for specific dietary needs.

 

 

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