Violet Flower JellyAs I write this post, I’m munching on toast topped with the violet jelly I made over the weekend, and I am in heaven! So good and so easy to make.

Our friend, Jim, had a backyard full of beautiful wild violets (not treated with pesticides) and asked me if I could do anything with them. With fond memories of eating delicious homemade jellies made from wildflowers as a kid, I definitely was up to the challenge. I found a few different recipes on the internet for a refrigerator (non-canning) version but decided to be creative and improvised a bit.

Here’s my recipe:

Equipment

8 Ball Canning Jars with rings and lids – x 8

Ingredients

2 cups wild violet flowers – stems removed

4 cups water

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 box Sure Jell powdered pectin (1.75 oz.)

3-4 cups Sugar (sweetness to preference – I used 3.5 cups and it was quite sweet)

Instructions

  1. Boil 4 cups water and pour over 2 cups of lightly packed violet flowers. Allow this to steep for around 15 minutes.
  2. Add the lemon juice and strain the flowers from the tea (I love this part – the acid from the lemon juice lowers the pH of the violet tea solution and changes the color from a dark blue/purple to a gorgeous pink). Squeeze out any remaining fluid from the violet flowers. You should now have around 4 cups of pink liquid.
  3. Pour the violet tea and lemon solution into a saucepan and stir in the pectin powder. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil hard (rolling boil) for 1 minute.
  4. Add the sugar (make sure you don’t add the sugar before this point – if you do, your jelly will not gel). Stir well and bring the mixture back to a hard boil and boil for 1 minute. Skim any foam off of the top.
  5. Ladle into prepared jars, leaving a ¼ inch headspace, and seal with lids and rings. Refrigerate.
  6. Jelly should be eaten within 3 weeks.

Enjoy!     Let me know what you think.

Have a great week,

Pam