Wild Rose Water Jelly

To make wild rose water jelly one of the most important aspects is the quality of the roses. They must all be picked on the day you intend to use them. Processing requires picking, washing thoroughly and extracting the essence from the petals. To do the latter, simmer the petals in boiling water for 15 minutes — a ratio of about 6 cups of petals to 4 cups of water should do — take off the heat, cool, and strain through a cheesecloth into a bowl. You could also use a steam juicer to extract the goodness without having to strain.

The rose water can be covered and stored for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Here’s my Wild Rose Jelly Recipe:

Ingredients:

4 cups wild rose water
1 package fruit pectin
2 tbsp lemon juice
5 1/2 cups sugar

Instructions:

Prepare jars, lids and rings for canning. Whisk rose water, pectin and the lemon juice in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add sugar and return to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off foam. Put into jars and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes for either half-pint or pint jars. Makes about 3 pints or 6 half pints of jelly.