Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Rose Petal, Chamomile, and Lavendar Jelly

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Thanks Wow Interesting Hugs Helpful Funny Congrats You Rock You're Not Alone ..1 cup tightly pressed rose petals
1/8 cup crushed chamomile
1/4 cup crushed lavendar
1 pack dry pectin
3 1/2 cups water
4 cups sugar

Hothouse roses are fine for this jelly, but home grown or wild roses are best. I found a wild primrose bush with lovely pink and white petals, growing next to honeysuckle. If you do find wild roses, be aware of what's growing around it...poison ivy isn't the best added flavor.

Thoroughly clean the petals, making sure all of the little bugs aren't in your mixture. Mix them with the chamomile and lavendar, then add the boiling water, to cover all of the ingredients. Cover the pot, let it stand for one hour.

Strain the floral matter from the liquid twice with a cheesecloth, making sure all that you have is pure liquid. The petals, chamomile, and lavendar make an excellant facial poltice for tired eyes and oily skin.

Add the pectin to the liquid and bring to a boil, then add all of the sugar at once, stirring carefully but quickly. Bring to a rolling boil for one minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Remove as much foam as you can from the top, otherwise, you have funky white clouds in you jelly. Stir for a few minutes, until the mixture starts to cool, then pour into hot, clean jars for canning. Old jelly jars with their lids work wonderfully for this.

Be careful pouring! I missed the jar and slopped near-boiling sugar and pectin all over my thumb, it's *quite* painful!

Let your jelly stand for one hour in the jars, then put them in the fridge to hasten their setting. Depending on the size of your jars, you should have edible jelly one hour after putting them in the fridge.

The color of you rose petals determines the color of your jelly. With my pink and white primroses, I got a lovely reddish-golden color, and a delicate taste. This jelly complements jasmine tea, as well as lavendar and chamomile, even plain old Lipton.

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