Until a few weeks ago, I'd never heard of making jelly from rose petals. Then someone posted a picture of beautiful pink Rose Petal Jelly on Pinterest and I was intrigued. Since we have more than a dozen Knock-Out Roses in our yard, I figured I HAD to try it.
Here's how:
You want about 2 cups of petals. For me, that was 2 dozen roses. Every place I saw online said red or pink roses. I don't know why not white or yellow, but I wasn't going to argue.
Take the petals off and wash them good, making sure to get any foreign objects out of there.
Cut off the white bottoms of the petals. They are bitter. I found it was easier to snip them with kitchen shears than trying to chop them off with a knife.
Add the petals, along with 2-1/4 cups of water, to a glass or stainless saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, and remove from heat. Let it steep for awhile... overnight (or 2 nights, as the case may be!).
You will notice the roses lose most of their color. Squeeze all of the liquid out of the petals. You want as much of the infusion as you can get. Discard (or compost) the petals.
Stir in one box of pectin and bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly.
Add in 4 cups of sugar and stir to dissolve. Return to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and fill your jars. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
What results are beautiful jars of jelly. This picture makes them look orangey but they are a bright shade of pink. The taste is hard to describe, but it's wonderful.
I confess I was thinking about getting rid of some of the rosebushes to make room for some butterfly-attracting plants, but now I think they are going to stay! I only wish I'd started sooner, as the blooming season is quickly coming to an end. But on the other hand, that means I can try Rose Hip Jam!!!
Exotic. Pectin in jam has a great effect on its thickness. There are numerous health benefits to it as well.
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