In early spring violets grows in abundance here in southwest Missouri and our backyard is full of them!
Like I said, in early spring our backyard is full of violets! After looking at Cyndi's pictures and reading
the article that she posted the link for, I decided to gather my supplies and try my hand at making violet jelly...and I'm so glad I did! Not only is it beautiful, but it tastes delicious! It's sure to be an annual treat in this household from now on!
The first thing I did, was to gather two cups of violet heads (no stems...no leaves...just heads) and put them in a jar.
 |
| Two Cups of Loosely-Packed Violet Heads |
Next, I made an infusion by pouring two cups of boiling water over the violet heads, covering them with a lid, and letting them sit for several hours.
 |
| An Infusion of Violets and Water |
Immediately after covering the violets, the water started turning a pretty shade of turquoise blue.
 |
| An Infusion of Violets and Water |
The longer the violets sat, the darker the color became. I don't have a picture of it, but the water eventually turned an almost dark blue.
After sitting for several hours, I used a coffee filter inside a strainer to strain the flower heads from the infusion. Then, I squeezed the juice from one whole lemon and added it to the liquid.
Upon adding the juice from the lemon, a chemical reaction took place and the liquid in the jar turned a beautiful shade of pink.
After that, using the liquid in the jar, and following the instructions below, I went ahead and made the jelly. One recipe yielded five half-pint jars.
 |
| Violet Jelly |
VIOLET JELLY
2 cups fresh violets
2 cups boiling water
Juice of one lemon
1 package of pectin (I used Sure-Jell)
4 cups sugar
Place the violet blossoms in a glass jar and cover them with the boiling water. Place a lid on the jar and allow infusion to make for anywhere between 2 and 24 hours (I let mine make for about six hours). The water will turn various shades of blue as times goes on. Strain and discard the spent flowers. Add the lemon juice. Mix will change to a pretty pink. Place liquid in a large stainless steel pan, stir in pectin, and bring to a boil. Add the sugar all at once and bring to a boil again. Boil vigorously for one minute. Skim if necessary. Pour into sterile jars and seal. (I hot-water bathed mine for 15 minutes in a hot-water bather.) Makes approximately 2 1/2 cups jelly.
That's all there really was to it. The process was simple and the reward sweet.
Be sure to click on the links throughout this article to learn more about violets and different ways of using them.
Until next time...
~Rebecca
Recent and related posts that you might enjoy reading...
.jpg)
