This is the second year I have successfully made delicious, beautiful rose petal jelly so I thought I would share my process and what I have learned so far with you.

This process is super easy even though it takes a bit of time. It makes a wonderful jelly that brings back the taste of summer and I have found it makes a super special gift.

This recipe will yield 1.5 liters of rose tea, enough to make about 8 jars (220ml each) of rose petal jelly. You can halve or double it, depending on your needs.

Supplies

Here is what you need to make rose petal jelly:
- 4 handfuls of fresh rose petals

- 1.5 liters of water

- 1 kg of preserving sugar

- 1 lemon

- a dash of rose water (optional)

- 8 glass jars with lids (220ml each)

- a big pan with a lid

- a funnel (optional)

- a pair of scissors

- a colander

- a towel

- an extra jar should you have more jelly mix and not enough jars to put it into

Step 1: Picking Roses

The ideal time to pick rose petals is in the morning after a couple sunny days once the mist has evaporated and the sun is out. Pick fragrant flowers. Those will make the tastiest jelly.

The roses should not be fully opened yet but use what you have. Old blossoms or ones that have blemishes on them or ones that start to lose their petals are not good for this project.

The colour of the rose blossoms, doesn´t really matter. I mixed and matched what I had available. I just made sure that I had more red roses than any other colour because I wanted my rose petal jelly to be red/pink-ish.

I guess you could make yellow rose petal jelly? If you have let me know in the comments!

I used scissors to cut the flower right under the blossom where the green stork gets thin.

I picked mine into a colander, to let the bugs have a chance to crawl out. You could use a towel instead and just lay out the flowers.

Step 2: Make Rose Tea

Put the kettle on and heat up 1.5 liters of water.

Get the petals off of the blossom.

I found it easiest to hold the flower in one hand and use the other to twist the green stork. You´ll have all petals in one hand and the other stuff in the other. Go and put that into your compost.

Once you have your petals, give them a quick rinse under the sink to get off any residual bugs or dirt.

You might want to save a few to put into the jelly whole. Now is the time to set them aside. I picked the most fragrant and vibrant. This is optional but gives the jelly something really special.

Put the roses into a pan and cover with 1.5 liters of boiling water and a lid and let them steep for at least 30 minutes. I let mine sit for a couple of hours.

Once the petals have steeped, turn your hob on and let the everything come to a simmer (don´t boil it at this stage). Let it simmer for another 15-20 minutes.

Either strain the petals out and put the rose tea into a large jar or fish out the petals and leave the tea in the pan ( you´ll have one thing less to wash up :) ). Put the petals into your compost as well.

Your tea might have a strange colour at this point. Don´t be alarmed. There is a solution coming up!

Step 3: Colour Correction

The first time I made rose petal jelly my tea turned brown-grey. I thought to myself, this does not look appetizing, I wouldn´t want to eat that. What happend? I put wonderfully bright petals into it and now it is gone.

But because of science your can get back the colour of the rose petals.

I don´t know how it works but once you add the juice of a lemon the colour changes back immediately to a popping red-pink.

If you know why that happens, let me know in the comments!

I tried to make a video but that didn´t turn out great. I´ll try again next year.

Step 4: Jelly Making

At this point you have a liquid which you can use to make jelly.

Now is the time to add the whole petals if you have set some aside.

Prepare your jars and lids by cleaning them in hot soapy water and rinse them well. Put them on a towel next to your hob to avoid a big mess. If you have a funnel get it ready. If you don´t you´ll have to be on your pouring-a-game!

There are a few different ways to make jelly but I would recommend to use preserving sugar to make it.

The rose tea is quite tart and you need the sugar to bring out the rose flavor. This is not a sugar free recipe.

Even if you just use Pomona´s pectin and don´t need the sugar to activate the pectin, make sure to add sugar.

Follow the instructions on the back of the package of whatever jelly making process you choose.

While you boil your jelly you can add a splash of rose water.

I had to mix 1 kg of preserving sugar with the rose tea and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for 4 minutes and immediately fill into clean jars, cleaning the rims before closing the lids.

I came out with 8 jars each 220ml.

Jelly Tip:

If you want to make sure that your jelly sets up properly put a small plate into the freezer and once your cooking time is done dollop a few drops onto the cold plate. The jelly will set up in a few seconds. When you can draw a line with your finger into the jelly and the line does not fill in on its own and it starts to gel up you know the jelly will set up.

Step 5: Safety

Let your jars cool overnight and check if they have a good seal. Label them with the type (Rose) and date (at least the year). Right now you might know what it is... I always forget once they are in storage no matter how hard I try to remember ;)

If there is a jar that has a failed seal use that up first. It will keep in the fridge for about a month.

The jars that have a good seal are good for up to a year. After that time they might start to change colour but if the seal is intact they will still be fine. If you see that a seal has failed once you put the jelly away throw it out immediately. Keep the jars in a cool dark place.