DANDELION ROSE PETAL FREEZER JELLY
PREP TIME: 1 HOUR, PLUS 8 HOURS STEEPING TIME
COOK TIME: 25 MINUTES
MAKES: ABOUT 3 1/2 CUPS
1 cup dandelion flowers (pulled from about 2 cups of gathered open-flower clusters)*
1 cup yellow rose petals
2 cups boiling water
4 cups sugar
2 T lemon juice, strained
1 3/4 t MaryJane’s ChillOver Powder
assorted canning jars and lids (or plastic storage containers)
1. When you have enough flowers, make an infusion: Pour 2 cups of boiling water over the dandelion flowers and rose petals in a medium, heatproof bowl; cover, refrigerate, and steep for 8 hours.
2. After 8 hours, strain the flowers out of the infusion through a fine-mesh sieve, strain again through a fine-mesh sieve lined with of butter muslin (or a double layer of cheesecloth). For jelly, clarity is important!
3. In a medium saucepan, add sugar and lemon juice to infusion and bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down (keep an eye on the pan so it doesn’t boil over!). Slowly sprinkle in ChillOver Powder and boil for an additional 3 minutes; remove from heat.
4. Skim off foam and discard. Transfer jelly to canning jars, leaving roughly 1/2” headspace (or cool mixture and transfer to plastic storage containers). Attach lids. For immediate use, store in refrigerator. For longer-term storage, freeze jelly.
*Make sure you pick your dandelions well away from roadways or other chemically treated areas, and wash them before using. Pick the biggest, most fully-open flower clusters, as they are easier to pull the individual flowers from. Pluck the yellow flowers from the green parts. (You don’t want the green parts, but it’s hard to separate them, so don’t stress if a few get in.) If you don’t get enough dandelion flowers in one day of plucking, freeze the ones you have in a plastic container. You can keep plucking and freezing until you have enough for jelly-making day.
Gather ingredients.
When you have 1 cup dandelion flowers (pulled from about 2 cups of gathered open-flower clusters)*, add to a medium, heatproof bowl.
Add 1 cup yellow rose petals.
Make an infusion: Pour 2 cups of boiling water over the dandelion flowers and rose petals; cover, refrigerate, and steep for 8 hours.
After 8 hours, strain the flowers out of the infusion through a fine-mesh sieve.
Strain again through a fine-mesh sieve lined with of butter muslin (or a double layer of cheesecloth). For jelly, clarity is important!
Sterilize jars and lids (refer to a canning manual). Add dandelion-rose infusion to a medium saucepan. Add 4 cups sugar to the infusion.
Add 2 T strained lemon juice and bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down (keep an eye on the pan so it doesn’t boil over!).
Slowly sprinkle in 1 3/4 t ChillOver Powder and boil for an additional 3 minutes; remove from heat.
Skim off foam and discard.
Transfer jelly to canning jars, leaving roughly 1/2” headspace (or cool mixture and transfer to plastic storage containers). Attach lids. For immediate use, store in refrigerator. For longer-term storage, freeze jelly.
This is such an interesting combination. Does it have a rose flavor or just a general fruit flavor? Also, why is it not canned in a water bath? Too delicate?
Last weekend I made Florida Wild Plum jelly from the plums in my daughter’s yard. We don’t always get a good crop but this year was a bonanza. With a distinctly different flavor, it is a rural regional favorite I learned from my son-in-law. My thickener was ChillOver powder which performed perfectly! The wonderful aspect of using ChillOver powder is that I can use less sugar overall in my recipe. I believe the result gives a stronger more vibrant fruit flavor instead of the heavy sweet result you get using pectin.
The jelly has a subtle rose and dandelion flavor. It is relatively sweet, but since it uses ChillOver Powder, the amount of sugar can be adjusted to your personal taste (reducing the amount of sugar will change the final volume).
Here’s what my DIL Ashley (MaryJanesFarm food guru), had to say about processing the jelly in a water bath:
The acidity of the jelly is low, making it susceptible to the growth of botulism bacteria. To safely can it, it would need to be processed in a boiling water bath with a temperature of at least 240°F. Since we did not test this recipe using a pressure cooker, we don’t have a designated process time. Also, in order for the contents of each jar to reach 240°F, the time to process would vary depending on the size of jars you are using. If you would like to can this jelly, refer to a canning manual for guidance.
Makes perfect sense to me! Sounds like freezer jelly is the very easiest and safest option. The flavor sounds quite interesting.