Violet Jelly

 

I had a request for this violet jelly recipe, so I was able to dig this out of the internet archive to post here. Enjoy!

Originally published March 30, 2016

Violet jelly? Yes, violets! The common violet that many people consider a weed on their lawn. Since I don't have enough sunlight on my shady property to grow much, I'm now foraging--ha! Violet jelly is a rather old-fashioned recipe since it does use foraged plants, but one that should really make a comeback. All of the flowers in the viola family are edible (including pansies) as long as they haven't been treated or sprayed with chemicals. My yard is a weedy wonderland, so all the violets are safe to consume. This past weekend, my daughter and I collected a bowl full of violet blooms to make this jelly. It takes hundreds to do so. The best way to harvest them is to pinch at the base of the bloom because you don't want any greenery (stems or flowers) in your mix. Then, you just wash them, soak them, and make the jelly. It's really simple!

And the result is fantastic. First, the jelly is a beautiful dark purple that you can see right through. Filtering your lemon juice (or using bottled lemon juice) makes it even clearer. The taste is sweet and just a bit tart. It is really delicious and would be great on toast, but particularly accompanying some brie or a thin schmear of goat cheese on a piece of baguette.

Violet Jelly
yield: four or five 8 ounce jars

2 heaping cups freshly-picked wild violet blooms (fully opened)
2 1/2 cups water
the juice of one lemon (or 1/4 cup lemon juice), strained
4 cups sugar
1 package of pectin (I used Certo liquid pectin)

Rinse the flowers and place in a large glass bowl. Boil the water and pour it over the flowers and steep for 8 to 24 hours. Strain the flowers and pour the infused liquid into a large sauce pan. Stir in the lemon juice and sugar and bring to a rolling boil. Turn down the heat to a medium boil and stir in the pectin. Boil for about five minutes more. Turn off and remove from heat and skim off the foam. Ladle the hot liquid into prepared canning jars leaving a 1/4 to 1/2 inch at the top. Run a skewer around the edges to let out air bubbles (which are not likely), wipe around the rims (and just inside), and seal. Process in a boiling hot water bath for 10 minutes. (If you have not canned before, follow these canning instructions.)

A few notes:

I tried to reduce the sugar to 2 cups and I don't advise it. Tasted great, but did not jell well.

Don't boil for too long as that will also affect your jelling. Overboiling can break down pectin.

The foam you skim is still edible and delicious, just  not pretty. Set it aside and eat it later.