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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Spring wild edibles - violet jelly

A simple kitchen project yesterday was to make violet jelly.  My little one and I spent about half an hour picking the freshest wild violets to get the 2 cups worth for this recipe.  They are blooming everywhere right now.  First a tea is steeped, then lemon juice is added (creating the most gorgeous vibrant purple colour), and finally jelly is made following regular jelly instructions (adding sweetener and pectin) resulting in a bright pink jelly - a lovely unique jelly we'll give away as gifts or enjoy in the winter months.  As this was a small recipe (only about 6 cups of jelly), we followed the ideas in Small Batch Preserving, and canned the jelly using a regular large stock pot rather than canning pot, and the whole procedure took less than one hour.

Ingredients
2 cups violet petals freshly picked
3 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 cups sugar (or follow low-sugar recipes using Pumona's pectin)
1 pkg (57 g) pectin

1) Steep violets covered with boiling water for upto 24 hours. 
2) Strain and add lemon juice. 
3) Prepare canner, jars and lids as required by regular canning procedure.
4) In large saucepan (stainless steel) heat violet infusion, add pectin stirring until dissolved.
5) Over high heat bring to a rolling boil. Add sugar, stir constantly and boil for 1 minute at rolling boil.
6) Skim off any foam, pour into sterilized hot jars, and process in canner for 10 minutes.
Makes 6 cups (6 x 250 ml).



3 comments:

  1. Do you pick the petals off the stems? This looks interesting!

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  2. Lovely colour. I am experimenting with violets and hope I have time to try this before the violets are passed.

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  3. I have made our own version of violet jelly for several years and those that receive the jars as gifts really treasure them. Violets are wonderful candied too.

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