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Preserving Know-how

Preserving Know-how/ Summer

Scarlet Runner Beans

Scarlett Beans

There is nothing like the beautiful flowers of the Scarlet Runner Bean plant. The beans climb around any trellis or arbour producing the flowers that are transformed into beans. To be honest, I grow these plants for the flowers, but the beans themselves are delicious in summer and dry beautifully for winter. They are also so much fun for children to plant.

The beans are rich in protein, high in fibre and add essential minerals to the diet. Scarlett Runner Beans can be eaten raw when very young, but they need to be cooked as they mature. When mid-size in summer, they can be cleaned, strings removed and cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces, then tossed into salted boiling water for three to four minutes depending on size. Drain and toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Simple and good.

As summer progresses the beans get quite large. I harvest them and remove the beans inside. These beans of a mottled dark and lighter pink can be dried for later use. I put them on my dehydrator trays to naturally dry in a dry and covered space. Once dry I store them in a mason jar.

Dried Scarlet Runner Beans should be soaked in water for 6 hours before use. They are unique because they retain their firmness as they are cooked turning creamy in texture but not disintegrating. Soaked, drained beans can be added to salad, stewed with tomatoes, added to chili, made into a vegetarian casserole, or used as a base for a bean salad.

Scarlet Runner Beans are beautiful, adorning any trellis, and are great in their young form but excellent dried and saved for the winter. There are many applications of their use, both raw, blanched, and cooked in stews, soups, salads, and casseroles. Try them if you don’t already have them in young garden.

Newsworthy

I recently bought the USDA Guide to Home Canning (2024). It is an excellent resource that is based on the most recent research related to high and low-acid canning. The book includes how-to’s and many recipes that are tested and dependable. This book is priced reasonably at $25.00 CDN and is available on Amazon. If you are looking for a great resource book, check it out.

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

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Preserving Know-how/ Summer

A Focus on Steam Juicing

Steam Juicing

A steam juicer is a stacked cooking vessel that looks a bit intimidating but is very simple to use. The bottom chamber holds water, the middle chamber collects juice which then flows through a plastic tube, and the upper chamber holds the fruit and/or vegetables you are juicing. As the water boils, steam is created causing the fruit/vegetables to release juices. The juices then flow into the collecting chamber. The collected juice is ready for canning, freezing, and making into a jelly. And the residual pulp can be put through a food mill, sweetened, and dehydrated making great fruit leathers!

Preparing Fruit:

Wash all fruit. You don’t need to remove smaller stems, but in the case of apples/crab apples, it is best to remove the hairy end, so the littles hairs don’t end up in your juice. Large fruit can be quartered, but smaller fruit may be left whole or simply halved with pits removed. The upper chamber can be filled to the top as long as the lid fits firmly.

Boiling and Juicing:

Fill the lower chamber with water according to manufacturer’s instructions. It’s about 3 inches of water. Bring the juicer to the boil. In general, it takes one to two hours to extract the juice depending on the density of the fruit/vegetable. The process is complete when the juice coming out of the plastic tube diminishes and when the fruit appears pale and compressed. Most juicers have a metal clamp on the plastic tube that can be turned on and off when you are ready to put the juice into a heat proof container (8 cup Pyrex measuring cup for instance). I find the clamps get very hot, so I let gravity do the work. I place my Pyrex measuring cup on a cutting board sitting on a stool that is lower than the stove. I simply open the metal clamp and watch the juice come out. My method avoids burns but you do have to watch the pot!

Preventing Crystals

Some fruit and vegetables are prone to producing tartrate crystals which appear as sediment. Grapes are particularly inclined to do this. To ensure a clear juice, allow the juice to cool and place in the fridge overnight. The crystals will sink to the bottom. Decant the juice avoiding the sediment or pour juice through a dampened coffee filter.

Preserving Juices

Pasteurization: Even juices you will be immediately consuming should be pasteurized by heating the juice to 160F. This avoids risk of E-coli or salmonella that have been associated with extracted juices.

Freezing: Juices can be frozen. Ensure you use a freezer container and leave a 2 inch headspace for expansion.

Jelly-Making: The extracted juices can be used to make jelly. Use a reputable recipe to determine sugar, lemon juice, need for pectin and processing times.

Long-term Storage: Juices should be water-bath or atmospheric steam canner processed. For a 500 ml jar leave a ½ headspace. Process jars for 10 minutes adjusting for altitude. Rest for 5 minutes. Label and enjoy all winter long!

The steam juicer makes quick work of juicing almost any fruit and vegetables. Cherries, plums, apricots, peaches, blueberries, cranberries, apples, rhubarb, strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, and the list goes on. Create your own preservative-free juices, jellies, and leathers. The steam juicer can also be used for steaming or blanching vegetables by removing the centre section of the appliance for this purpose.

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Preserving Know-how/ Preserving Recipes/ Summer

Focus on Lavender

Focus on Lavendar

Almost every year I add another lavender plant to my gardens. They are planted everywhere! I simply can’t resist this herb with all its culinary, medicinal, and crafty applications. I dry the blossoms and leaves for sachets that can be tucked under a pillow to aid sleep or scattered in drawers and closets not only for fragrance but also to deter pesky moths. Bath salts made with lavender flowers and essential oil are a wonderful year-round gifts. In fact, the name lavender is derived from the Latin verb “to wash”. Through the centuries, this herb was used in baths to cleanse and purify the body, mind, and soul. Of course, lavender has also been used in cooking both sweet and savoury dishes. Fresh or dried it can be used to flavour salads, custards, drinks, added to cookies or mixed with other herbs to season poultry or meat (Herbes de Provence). Lavender is a beautiful, fragrant perennial herb with countless uses.

I’m always on the lookout for new lavender recipes. Recently I made a wonderful Honey Lavender Jelly (Canadian Living) and a delightful, refreshing Lavender Infused Lemon Spritzer drink (University of Michigan).

Lavender Infused Lemon Spritzer (2 drinks but this recipe is easily expanded)

½ cup water 2 tsp honey

1 TBSP lavender buds (4 sprigs) ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Sparkling water

In a saucepan stir together lavender, honey and water. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and steep the mixture for 10 minutes. Strain and cool completely. Add lemon juice and refrigerate. To serve, pour mixture over ice in 2 glasses. Add sparkling water. Garnish with lemon zest or lavender sprig.

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Honey Lavender Jelly (yield 5 cups)

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Ingredients

  • ½ cup dried lavender (unsprayed of course)
  • ¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 packet powdered pectin
  • 3.5 cups sugar
  • ½ cup liquid honey

Instructions

1

In a saucepan bring 3.5 cups water to the boil. Stir in lavender and return to boil. Turn off heat and steep for 20 minutes. Strain through a dampened cheesecloth lined sieve (no squeezing!). It should yield 3 cups. It may take up to 2 hours.

2

In a Dutch oven or large pot, bring the lavender infusion, lemon juice and pectin to the boil. Stir often. Once boiling, add in the sugar and stir. Bring back to the boil and boil hard for one minute. Remove from heat and skim if necessary.

3

Fill 1 cup hot Mason jars leaving a ¼ inch headspace. Affix lids and rings and tighten to ‘finger-tip tight’. Process in boiling water or atmospheric steam canner for 10 minutes. Rest for 5 before removing jars. Allow jars to sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Check seals, label, and store.

4

Join the lavender fan club and grow, harvest, cook with and dry this beautiful, fragrant and versatile herb.

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Preserving Know-how/ Preserving Recipes/ Summer

Variations on the Rose

Variations on the Rose

Last summer I made Wild Rose Petal Jelly for the first time and loved the gorgeous colour and floral flavour. When recently making another batch, I started thinking about the history, uses and preservation of the glorious rose.

Roses appeared in drawings dating back to 10,000 BC and were described in Sanskrit writings with recipes for use for complexion, eyewash, and digestive aids. Recent research has confirmed that roses have been shown to not only have lovely fragrance, to also have sedative, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, digestive and other health benefits.

As food, rose petals and hips have been extensively used throughout history. In Europe today, rose petal jams, jellies, and cordials are common. Tisanes (teas) made with petals or hips are frequently enjoyed. Rose water has long been used as a mild perfume, a skin tonic and as an essential ingredient in Middle Eastern recipes like nougat and Baklava. Adding rose water to puddings, yogurt, drinks, ice cream adds a lovely floral note. Petals added in salads, ice cream, honey or butter are delicious. Candied rose petals are often used for cake decorating. And the list of uses goes on….

If you are using roses for culinary purposes, make sure they are unsprayed, washed and allowed to dry. Let’s explore some variations on the theme of roses.

Drying Rose Petals

Rose petals can be dried in the oven with the door ajar (200 degrees for 3 – 4 hours) or in a dehydrator at 115 for 4-6 hours. The petals can be added to loose tea for a hot drink, mixed into softened butter or a floral butter or added to sugar. Of course, dried rose petals are often used for craft projects.

Rose Petal Tisane

A tisane or tea can be made with 15 petals per mug and 1 cup boiling water. Allow to steep for 4 minutes. Strain and enjoy hot or cold.

Rose Hip Treatment

Rose hips can be harvested, washed, and dried with stem and blossom ends removed. They can be frozen, used as a tisane or the juice may be extracted to make a Rose Hip Jelly. Hips are very high in Vitamin C, A,B,E,K and trace minerals.

Rose Hip Juice Extraction

Combine 3 cups water and 6 cups rose hips stems and blossom ends removed. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Pour through a dampened cheesecloth lined sieve or jelly bag and allow it to drip.

Leo Buscaglia wrote “A single rose can be my garden”. So true. In my exploration of roses, I have come to understand how little attention I had given to the flower that has blessed our gardens, kitchens, medicine cabinets and art for many centuries.

For the recipe on Rose Petal Jelly and references, see my website: www.thevalleypreservery.ca or contact me at:

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

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Rose Hip Jelly

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Ingredients

  • 4 cups rose hip juice
  • 1 package powdered pectin
  • 6 cups sugar

Instructions

1

Measure sugar and set aside. Measure rose hip juice and put in a large pot. Whisk in pectin. Bring to a boil. Boil hard 1 minute. Add sugar all at once. Bring back to the boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Ladle into hot 250ml jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Process in a boiling water bath or atmospheric steam canner for 10 minutes adjusting for altitude, plus additional 5 minute resting period.

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Preserving Know-how/ Preserving Recipes/ Summer

Giving Strawberry Jam a Pectin Boost

Strawberries and Apple

When plump strawberries appear, it means summer is here and jam-making is underway! There is no doubt strawberry jam is a favorite and there are countless recipes for “my favorite” strawberry jam. Some prefer traditional long-boil methods, and others prefer to use commercial pectin. There are many ways to approach strawberry jam but let’s look at how to boost pectin content without commercial pectin.

Strawberries are low in pectin which is, of course, responsible for the setting of the jam. The first consideration for boosting pectin is to have ‘just-ripe’ berries which contain the highest levels of pectin. It is not advisable to buy “jam grade” berries as pectin levels dramatically drop in over-ripe berries. So, aim for nicely ripe berries.

If you are a fan of making jams without commercial pectin, the long-boil method is appealing. This means crushed fruit is combined with sugar and lemon juice and boiled until it reaches the set point. The long-boil method is traditional, but the downside is that it requires a lot of fruit, and the long cooking period diminishes the fresh taste of the berries. But there is a way to boost pectin, lower the cooking time and improve the fresh taste and texture of strawberry jam!

Test Kitchens of America provides a recipe that enhances pectin by adding grated Granny Smith apple which is naturally high in pectin. The grated fruit is undetectable in the jam, but it speeds up cooking time and helps to create a nice structure. It still takes a lot of fruit compared to the amount used for recipes with commercial pectin, but if you want to avoid commercial pectin this is a good way of keeping tradition, lowing sugar, and improving taste.

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Strawberry Jam with a Pectin Boost

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Boosting the pectin in your strawberry jam can be done naturally. First, choosing the right fruit and second by adding a higher pectin fruit like grated Granny Smith apple. It’s tradition with a twist!

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds just-ripe strawberries (10 cups) crushed
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 ¼ cups peeled, grated Granny Smith apple
  • 2 TBSP lemon juice (bottled)

Instructions

1

Put 2 saucers in the freezer to check set point after cooking.

2

Crush fruit and measure. Place fruit in a large pot/Dutch oven with sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil stirring. Boil for about 20 to 25 minutes.

3

Check temperature with an instant read or candy thermometer. It should reach about 217. Put a teaspoon on the frozen saucer and wait one minute. Then check the set by running your finger through the jam. If it leaves a clear path, the jam is ready. If not, continue cooking for 1-3 minutes. Check again.

4

Once the set is achieved, skim and ladle jam into 4 250ml hot jars. Clean the rim and attach lids and rings to “finger-tip” tight. Process jars in a water-bath or atmospheric steam canner for 10 minutes adjusting for altitude.

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Preserving Know-how/ Preserving Recipes/ Spring/ Summer

The Gift of Rhubarb

Rhubarb

If you have been reading my column for long, you already know rhubarb is probably my favorite spring gift from the garden. It is packed with calcium and Vitamin K, is gorgeous in colour, and can be used in both sweet and savoury recipes. It has also been used for medicinal purposes in cultures around the world for the last 3,000 years. I’m always on the look-out for ways to cook with and preserve rhubarb.

Harvesting: The petioles or stalks are the portion of the plant used for culinary purposes. As you no doubt are aware, the leaves are poisonous due to their high levels of oxalic acid. The stalks are “pulled” not cut which helps keep the plant producing. If you can’t immediately use the stalks, clean, trim and refrigerate.

Canniing: Rhubarb is very acidic (pH 3.1) so it is excellent for water bath or steam canning. Stewed or cooked with a small amount of water, a 500 ml jar with ½ inch headspace should be processed for 15 minutes adjusting for altitude. Rhubarb canning recipes abound. They may include jams, jelly, grilling sauces, chutney, marmalade, conserves, and compotes.

Freezing: Rhubarb freezes very well. It can be cleaned, trimmed, cut into small pieces and frozen raw or blanched and first. Some people enjoy freezing rhubarb in syrup.

Drying: Rhubarb can be dried and later pulverized into powder. The powder adds a punch to sauces, meat preparations, stews, and soups. Rhubarb alone with combined with strawberries make great fruit leathers. You can use the pulp remaining after you extract the juice for jelly or drinks. For each 1 cup pulp add 1 cup honey or sweeten to your taste. The leathers may be dried in a dehydrator or in an oven on warm with the door propped open. When they are dry and leathery, allow them to fully dry, cut into strips and wrap in plastic wrap. Store in a cool, dark place.

This week I stumbled on an interesting recipe on the Bernardin website (not in the book).

This is rhubarb season so jump into the many possibilities of cooking with and preserving this vegetable!

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

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Spring Celebration Jam

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups crushed strawberries (about a quart)
  • ½ cup packed fresh mint leaves
  • ¾ cup water
  • 1 ¾ cups finely chopped rhubarb (about ½ lb)
  • 1 TBSP lemon juice (bottled)
  • 7 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 pouch liquid pectin

Instructions

1

Prepare 7 250ml jars (washed and kept hot)

2

Wash strawberries, remove stems and crush one layer at a time to measure 2 cups.

3

In a pot, combine mint leaves and water. Bring to a boil, turn off heat and let the “tea” steep for 10 minutes. Strain, removing the leaves.

4

Finely chop rhubarb or use a food processor get a fine chop. Add the rhubarb to the mint water. Return to the boil and cook about 2 minutes to soften the rhubarb. Add strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil for 1 minute. Stir in the liquid pectin, mixing well and skim.

5

Ladle into jars leaving a ¼ inch headspace. Wipe jar rims clean. Affix lids and rings to finger-tip tight. Process in a water bath or steam canner for 10 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Remove jars and let them sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Check seals.

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Preserving Know-how/ Spring

Sugar and Other Sweeteners in Canning

Role of Sugar

When we preserve foods, the two main goals are safety and quality. Sugar does not play a key role in food safety, but it does play a significant role in preserving quality especially for long-term storage. Sugar helps fruit and vegetables retain colour, taste, and texture. It can enhance flavour or provide balance to acid which is why it is often added in small amounts to pickled products. Sugar, as a carbohydrate, is a thickener. When crushed fruit is left to ‘marinate’ with sugar for 24hrs, the sugar moves into the cells of the fruit removing the air. This prevents ‘floating fruit’ in jam recipes. Sugar plays important roles in canning but many people are interested in reducing or eliminating it altogether. What are the options?

Reducing Sugar

The canning of fruit is generally done in a sugar syrup which may range in sugar content from ‘heavy’ to ‘ultra-light’. It is possible to reduce sugar in syrups or use fruit juice instead. It is even possible to safely can fruit in water, but it will affect quality.

Another way to reduce or eliminate sugar is by using low-methoxyl pectin known as no or low-sugar pectin. Pomona, Ball, Certo, SureJell, and Bernardin all produce this type of pectin. Recipes are developed specifically for use with this type of pectin. For example, check out the Bernardin website (www.bernardin.ca) for a selection of recipes. These recipes use Bernardin’s no/low sugar pectin and unsweetened fruit juice. Many recipes using low-methoxyl pectin refer to  jams as “spreads” because of the difference in texture.

Using Less Processed Sugar

Honey, agave, and maple syrup are also alternatives to processed sugar. Ontariohoney.ca recommends using 1 cup honey to 3 cups water for a light syrup for canning fruit. They also suggest substituting half the amount of sugar in each jam/jelly recipe with honey. If the recipe calls for 4 cups of sugar, use 2 cups of honey. The use of commercial pectin is needed when making this substitution and the set will be softer than you would get with sugar. A small amount of Agave syrup may be added to water when making a syrup for canning fruit. Agave flavour is enhanced through heat processing so using a small amount if advised. Maple syrup may be substituted for ¼ of the sugar if using low/no sugar pectin.

Using Non-Nutritive Sweeteners

Non-nutritive (artificial) sweeteners may be safely used in canning. While aspartame is destroyed by heat and is therefore not used in canning, others like Sucralose (Splenda) and Stevia are heat stable and may be used. On the science-based website “Healthy Canning” (www.healthycanning.com) there are several recipes specifically developed for use with liquid Stevia and Splenda. These recipes all use low-methoxyl pectin.

The Take-Aways

If you want or need to reduce or eliminate processed sugar from your canning efforts, there are alternatives using both nutritive and non-nutritive options. These options are safe but will not offer the same benefits of sugar in terms of preserving quality- taste, texture, and colour. As always, choose recipes from reputable sources that have been developed in test kitchens.

For information:

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

 

 

 

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Preserving Know-how/ Spring

Innovations in Canning Equipment

Are beginning to plan for the canning season? Part of preparing for the season is reviewing your canning equipment. In this article I am going to focus on what’s new in canners.

A Review of Acidity

In the canning world, a distinction is made between high and low acid foods. High acid foods are those that are naturally acidic or have been properly acidified so that the pH is 4.6 or lower. Most fruits and pickled products fall into this category. Low acid foods include meat, fish, poultry, game, and vegetables that have a pH higher than 4.6 on the pH scale. High acid food can be safely processed in either a water-bath or atmospheric steam canner. Low acid foods must be canner in a pressurized environment to ensure the temp reaches 240 degrees which is enough to kill the bacteria associated with botulism. Acidity determines the type of canners that will suit you.

High Acid Canning: Water-Bath and Atmospheric Steam Canner Innovations

While water-bath canning may be done in a large stock pot, people often have dedicated pots, or canners. Some years ago, Ball and FreshTech came out with an electric canner. The new iteration of the electric water-bath canner is a digital version that guides you through the proper steps of canning. Enter the ‘smart’ canner!

Many people are fans of atmospheric steam canners because they require only a small amount of water which makes them light-weight, water efficient and easy to use. Victorio introduced a steam canner with a dial gauge making it simple to assess when the steam is sufficient to begin the processing time. One of the limitations of steam canning is that the small amount of water can evaporate with longer processing times (tomatoes or pickled beets). Addressing this issue, Victorio has come out with a canner that is both an atmospheric steam and water-bath canner! The Harvest brand also produces one. If you’re in the market for a canner, this version is super useful and inexpensive.

Low Acid Canning: Pressure Canner Innovation

If you do pressure canning, you know there are two types of canners: Dial-gauge and weighted gauge. Both require careful attention to the pressure, altitude, and processing times. Companies like All American and Presto have many options from small to large.

One innovation is Presto’s introduction of a pressure canner suitable for use with induction stoves by adding a stainless steel-clad base. Since induction stoves are popular, this is an important addition to pressure canning.

Recently, Presto released a digital pressure canner it claims is USDA approved. In truth, the USDA doesn’t approve appliances, but it does approve of methods of processing. Presto is a reputable company with decades of experience with pressure canners. This canner guides you through each step of the canning process. It determines the venting time, automatically adjusts for altitude, holds the pressure at the desired level, and puts a timer on the cool-down phase. For folks who are nervous about pressure canning, this product could help ease your fears. Bonus, this canner can also be used as a water-bath canner!! The downside is it is very expensive.

More and more people are growing and preserving food at home. This trend is influencing product manufacturers who are introducing innovations unheard of in the past.

 

For more information:

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

 

 

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Fall/ Preserving Know-how

The Grape Harvest

Nothing says approaching autumn more than grapes. We are so fortunate to live in an area where there are lots of wild grapes as well as other domesticated varieties like Concord and Coronation. Wild grapes can be found along riverbanks, beside ponds and growing up trees with their long tendrils. They are edible but eaten off the vine back a mean bitter punch, so they are best used for juicing rather than eating. Whether using foraged wild grapes or domesticated grapes, both are wonderful to preserve as juice or jelly.

Extracting juice: Steam juicers make quick work of extracting juice from fruits including grapes. But if you don’t have one, no problem. For a typical jelly batch, 3.5 lbs of grapes, washed and removed from stems will yield 10 cups of grapes. In a large pot, crush grapes with 1 cup of water and cook gently for 10 minutes. Pour the mash into a dampened jelly bag or cheesecloth lined sieve and allow the juice to naturally drip out (no squeezing!). In about 2 hours, you will have about 4 cups of juice. No interest in extracting your own juice? You can also buy it locally. Check with http://fiddleheadnursery.ca

Grapes are one of the few fruits (technically a berry) that has a natural abundance of tartaric acid. The acid binds with naturally occurring potassium forming crystals that sink to the bottom of the container. You might have seen this phenomenon in a glass of red wine. To ensure the juice you process is clear, it’s recommended that you extract the juice and let it sit refrigerated for at least 2 days. Pour the juice through a dampened jelly bag avoiding the last bits of the juice. Juice can be processed for long-term storage or frozen.

Grape jelly is the quintessential match for peanut butter in the iconic PB&J. The jelly is great with cheese or melted and used as a glaze on seared duck breast. It is also useful in baking like adding a dollop into a muffin mix before baking, topping a thumbprint cookie, or spreading over a genoise cake and rolled into a “Jelly Roll”.

The grape harvest is upon us. Gather up the family and forage along the riversides, collect grapes from friends or purchase them locally. Grapes are a gift of nature with endless possible uses.

Martha Rogers

www.thevalleypreservery.ca

Preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

 

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Grape Jelly

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Ingredients

  • 4 cups of grape juice
  • 1 package pectin crystals
  • 5 cups sugar

Instructions

1

Mix the pectin into the juice and bring to a hard boil. Add the sugar all at once. Bring back to boil and boil hard 1 minute. Ladle into hot 250ml Mason jars. For long-term storage, process the jars in a water-bath or steam canner for 10 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes before removing from the canner. For short-term storage, simply allow the jars to cool, label and store in the fridge for up to 3 months. This makes about 7 jars.

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Preserving Know-how/ Summer

A Rosy Summertime!

Rose Petal Jelly

Recently I was treated to a stroll through my friend’s magnificent rose garden. She mentioned that her neighbor came over to harvest petals for jelly. I hadn’t really thought about the culinary uses of roses. I went home and took another look at my wild and domesticated rose bushes. I was struck by the fact that nature provides so much for us to eat and enjoy if we open our eyes to possibilities. As always, I went on a quest to learn more about roses and their uses in in cooking and preserving.

I recalled old fashioned rose water grandmothers spritzed into the air to freshen a room or on themselves as a rose perfume. I remembered candied rose petals used to decorate special cakes. But they are also used chopped in a floral butter, as a tea (tisane), infused in sugar for baking or to flavour honey. They are used in Middle Eastern dishes most notably in Turkish Delight! Rose petals and hips are typically thought of in sweet recipes, like jellies, puddings, panna cotta, syrups and so on, but they also play a role in savoury ones. For example, a tagine spice blend called ras el hanout combines rose petals with savoury spices like cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, and coriander. Rose petal water is sometimes added to Hyderbabadi Biriyani (Great Chefs of Britain). Sweet or savoury, the beautiful rose offers up some mighty delicious possibilities.

For the preserver, petals (or hips) can be dehydrated for teas or to flavour sugar, crystalized for decoration, infused for waters or syrups or transformed in a stunningly lovely jelly. Use fragrant bright coloured rose petals (wild or domesticated), picked in mid-morning, rinsed, and lightly dried with a tea (paper) towel. From the University of Alaska, here is the recipe for Jelly.

The rose petal jelly makes a wonderful gift. It is so beautiful and a reminder of warm, lush summer days. Try it on scones or biscuits, or with goat cheese.

It is indeed a rosy summer to behold!

Preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

 

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Rose Petal Jelly

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Ingredients

  • 1 ¾ cups rose petal juice
  • 2 TBSP lemon juice (bottled)
  • 3.5 cups sugar
  • 3 oz liquid pectin (one pouch)

Instructions

1

First extract rose juice: Pack cleaned petals tightly into a cup measuring 1.5 cups. Place in a saucepan and add 2 ¼ cups boiling water. Turn off heat, cover and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain through a cheesecloth lined sieve or jelly bag.

2

Measure 1 ¾ cups rose petal juice (freeze extra). Place the juice into a large saucepan and watch what happens when you add lemon juice! The extracted juice will be pale in colour but when the lemon juice is added, BAM!, the colour changes to a deep rosy hue. It’s dramatic and worth doing even once to see this phenomenon.

3

Add sugar and bring to a full rolling boil. Add in the pectin and bring back to a boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Skim.

4

Ladle into 3-4 clean, hot Mason jars leaving a ¼ inch headspace. Clean jar rims and attach lids and rings to finger-tip tight. Process in a water-bath or steam canner for 10 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before removing jars.

5

The rose petal jelly makes a wonderful gift. It is so beautiful and a reminder of warm, lush summer days. Try it on scones or biscuits, or with goat cheese.

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