Rose Petal Jam

Oh.  Yes.   Rose Petal Jam.

It's exotic.   It's pink.

It's seriously summer!    The roses have loved all the cool and rain and are blooming the best we've ever had them.   Since we have an abundance of flowers, it's time to preserve that delicious fragrance and make some jam.

I started with a recipe for Rose Petal Jam from www.allrecipes.com.    It didn't work and I do NOT recommend it.

So I played around and came up with a great recipe on my own.

1 Quart rose petals - pesticide and spray free
2 Cups sugar
juice of one lemon
3 Cups cold  water
3 T Ball Low sugar pectin powder.

1.  Wash the petals and drain them a bit.  [They don't have to be at all dry].   If you're anal, cut off the white part at the bottom.  They say it's bitter.   I say that's crazy.

2.  Mix the petals with the sugar and let it sit overnight.  It'll be mostly syrup in the morning.

3.  In a jelly pot [the kind that you can get really hot - not plain cast iron or your nice Le Creuset] mix the water, lemon juice and the Ball pectin.   Heat it until it boils hard.   Stir it a lot.

4.  Boil hard for 1 minute.

5.  Add the petals and sugar mix and boil again.  Stir a lot.

6.  Boil hard for 1 minute.

7. You can strain out some of the petals if you need to here. 

8.  Ladle into sterilized jars and process to seal.   10 minutes for pints and smaller jars.  20 minutes for quarts.

For more information about pectin, see this post.