Condiments/ Edible Flowers/ Recipes

Wild Violet Jelly Recipe

Sometimes when I see or read an idea, I know instantly: I will do that.  I latch on to it and become determined to make it happen.  That’s how it was for me when I first heard of wildflower jelly.

Last year I made dandelion jelly first, but was sad to have missed the wild violet season. This year I was determined to make the violet jelly, so I did that first.

I have a growing collection of edible flower recipes which I will share this summer as the flowers come in season.

The jelly has a sweet floral fragrance and taste. Not very strong. But very beautiful.

The common blue violet has grown as a “weed” in our lawns in Utah, Kansas, and Indiana. The leaves are dark green, heart-shaped and toothed. There are five violet-colored petals that are irregular in a group of two and three. The blossom hangs off of a crook at the top of the stem.

Make sure you are confident in identifying the common blue violet before picking some blossoms. Always make sure you are harvesting from an area that is not sprayed or treated with any chemicals.

Gather 2 cups of blue violets. Pour 2 cups boiling water over the blossoms to steep them like tea. Steep blossoms in water overnight. 

Strain the blossoms out by pouring water into a second container through a floursack towel to keep out all the dirt. (See what got left behind?)

The violet water is a deep blue color, but when you add lemon juice (the acidity is necessary to preserve the jelly) it turns a bright fuchsia color.

Add water if needed to make 2 cups.  Add lemon juice. 

Follow directions for your pectin. For example my directions stated: Add pectin to juice.  Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve.  Add sugar, return to rolling boil, and boil for one minute exactly.  Ladle into jars and process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.  (Makes 12 4oz jars)

Wild Violet Jelly

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A sweet fuchsia-colored jelly made from wild common blue violet blossoms.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups violet blossoms, stems removed
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • juice of one lemon
  • 1 package pectin (I used sure-jel for these)
  • 4 cups sugar

Instructions

1

Steep blossoms in water overnight. Strain out the blossoms. Add water if needed to make 2 cups. Add lemon juice. Follow directions for your pectin–my instructions were: Add pectin to juice. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve. Add sugar, return to rolling boil, and boil for one minute exactly. Ladle into jars and process in water bath canner for 10 minutes. (Makes 12 4oz jars)

Honey Sweetened Violet Jelly

I experimented with using honey instead of white sugar to make the jelly.  I use Pomona’s Pectin. I used one cup of the violet water and followed the directions in Pomona’s for a basic jelly.  It was 1T lemon juice; 1/4 cup honey; 1 tsp of the calcium water (that comes with the Pomona’s Pectin); and 1 tsp of pectin. (Makes 3 4oz jars)

Next time I will use a little bit more pectin because it was a pretty loose set, and I may add a bit more honey–it was a very mellow jelly.  It definitely has some floral hints to it and I could taste the honey.  Obviously the jelly was more cloudy from the honey.

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