Rose Petal Jam

Before last summer I'd never made any kind of jam or jelly. I'd cooked up some strawberries and peaches and made freezer jam, but it just isn't the same thing as a proper jam or jelly. Then I had a bumper crop of grapes (nearly 30 pounds from a single over-achieving vine) that there was no way we were going to get through before they spoiled.

We ate some, used some of them to make wine (fail) and the rest I made into grape jelly. I'd never made any kind of jam or jelly, so I did a lot of reading then tried it out with crab apples first. With each batch I learned from my mistakes and gained confidence to try making marmalade, and then eventually something, at least to me, more exotic.

While researching how to make jelly, I ran across a recipe for rose petal jam with intentions of trying it 'someday'. One of my favorite things about summer is cooking with flowers, so, when my roses started to bloom, I began collecting petals.

I used some of my own, some from a friend and purchased some dried culinary blooms.  I used a combination of varieties and an approximation of this recipe and was rewarded with a pint of jewel-colored, fragrant rose-flavored jelly. 

Rose Petal Jelly

1 3/4 cups water
1 oz rose petals
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons powdered pectin
1 cup sugar

In a medium saucepan, bring water up to a rolling boil. Add rose petals and boil 1 minute.  Cover the saucepan, turn the heat off, and steep the rose petals 30 minutes.  Strain the water through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, making sure to wring the cheesecloth to squeeze all the liquid from the petals. Transfer the rose water back to the saucepan.

Stir in the lemon juice, then whisk in the pectin and sugar until dissolved.  Bring to a boil on high heat and boil 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Pour into sterile jars and allow to cool to room temperature. Store refrigerated.