This has been such a fantastic spring for roses.
That may not sound like an opening to a food blog but actually there is a story here and of course a recipe. It goes like this; I was sitting outside admiring my roses and reading a kind of boring novel set in a California vineyard. My mind was wandering until I got to the part about eating rose petal jam. ROSE PETAL JAM! Who knew that was a thing? A few old-fashioned recipes popped up when I did a search and thus the experimentation began. Three very prolific roses are blooming like crazy in the yard.
The recipes suggested only using one variety, but the temptation was too great, so I used them all, a lightly scented pink New Dawn climber a very lovely red Dortman rambler and a mini rose that was called Popcorn and was originally white but over the years has morphed into a large bush with bright red flowers – nature at its finest! The experimenting went something like this, the first batch was a lurid gray and although it tasted okay it was more like syrup. For the next attempt I used pectin which seems to be considered a vile ingredient in California but is just fine in Tennessee. Thicker but not pretty. The secret ingredient turned out to be lots of lemon juice. That stabilized the color – gorgeous - and added a little taste. The flavor profile is beautifully floral and sweet. The texture is exactly what you expect of jam and is delightful with little bites of rose petals. I love it.
This jam is delicious on toast for breakfast, marvelous on a cracker spread with a little cheese, and extremely wonderful on vanilla ice cream. Not everyone has access to several cups of rose petals and I hate to publish a recipe that has impossible ingredients. That problem was solved by a quick internet search which showed that organic rose petals are readily available and would be a perfect solution. It would be much better than demanding dozens of roses from your special someone and then cooking them. Definitely make this jam, it’s easy and fun and most of all delicious. Enjoy!
Ingredients
4 cups loosely packed rose petals (Note: we keep bees, so no sprays or pesticides are used in the yard – make sure your petals are free from any chemicals.)
3 cups water – filtered is best
4 cups sugar
6 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 packet of pectin (most boxes contain 2 packets)
Directions
In a large pot bring rose petals and water to a gentle simmer and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add 3 ½ cups sugar and lemon juice and simmer another 10 minutes.
Mix pectin packet with remaining ½ cup of sugar and stir into jam.
Simmer for 20 minutes. (Note: jam should thicken as it cools but if it is still very watery after 20 minutes – add a ½ packet more of pectin and simmer another 5 minutes.)
Pour hot jam into jars, cool, and store in the refrigerator.
