Rose Petal Mint Jelly

Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses.James Oppenheim, “Bread and Roses

This is the first of three recipes using rose petals (hopefully).  I have 21 rose bushes, about 12 different varieties- all came with the house when we bought it and we are just now getting the hang of taking care of them.  We had originally planned on digging them up because they are big water users, which doesn’t bode well for desert living.  Unfortunately, their sweet scent and beautiful color keep us hanging on, waiting for the next wonderful bloom.

So what do you do with 21 rose bushes and hundreds of roses?  Make stuff with them of course.  Rose petal jelly being on the top of the list.

This is a great gift (maybe a Mother’s day gift?).  The scent is amazing as well as the flavor.  Tea and toast with a bit of rose petal jelly.  Doesn’t that sound just divine?  Well it is.

Making rose petal jelly is really pretty easy, just a little time consuming. Here’s how to do it:

First, get your hands on some roses.  If you don’t have rose bushes, then maybe an aunt or Grandma’s garden or a neighbors.  Make sure they have not been treated with pesticides. They should be fresh, the tops firm to the touch and they should smell delicious.  Depending on the size of the roses, you may need 12 large (size of you hand) or 18-24 small (size of your palm of smaller). Pick your roses and give them a good shake.  The dead petals will fall as well as those teeny little critters. Keep the stems in water until you are ready to use them, which should be sooner than later.

Once you’re home with your roses, rinse in water and remove petals . Put petals aside in a large bowl.

You’ll need:

3-4 cups of packed rose petals
4 cups of water
4 cups sugar
Juice of one lemon
I sprig of mint (optional)
1 box of pectin
strainer
Sterilized jars (32-40 ounces worth, ie: ten -4 oz or five 8 oz)

1.  Place rose petals in a large sauce pan, cover with water. Bring to boil, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and cover with lid. Allow to steep for 60 minutes. Add the mint during the last 15 minutes.

2.  When rose/mint water has steeped, strain.

3.  Add the juice of one lemon and watch the murky brownish-pink water turn bright pink.

4.  Pour back into sauce pan and turn heat on high.  Stir in pectin and stir until dissolved.

5.  Add sugar to boiling mixture. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring continuously.

6.  Transfer the jelly to hot, sterilized glasses and seal according to manufacturer’s suggestions.

Making rose petal syrup is very similar to this.  Just leave out the pectin.  Syrup is really yummy on vanilla  ice cream, in your tea, on pancakes and as rose petal margaritas!!! YUM!

Enjoy!!

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15 Responses to Rose Petal Mint Jelly

  1. Shalet says:

    This is wonderful! I wish we had roses. I’ve tried growing them but the deer find them too irresistible! I may have to find a source of petals …

  2. You can use dried rose petals from an herbal shop or natural food store, I just know how much…maybe half (2 cups)?

  3. Heather says:

    You are an amazing endless resource for such a plethora of goodies! This looks beautiful and yummy! I may have to plant some roses! =) And I may want to be reincarnated as *you* in my next life!!! Happy Mother’s Day weekend to you.

  4. Shannon says:

    Wow, rose petal jelly just sounds so… luxurious! 🙂

  5. Maribeth says:

    How fortunate you are to have all those rose bushes! Beautiful photos. I also really like the activity journals in your previous post. Having the kids design the covers is great.

  6. Sarah says:

    All the pictures in this post are so, so pretty and make me very happy. Thanks for the visual treat!

  7. Alexis says:

    This makes me wish I had a bunch of rose bushes! We have one with fairly small flowers, I’d probably have to completely strip it to get enough petals for this recipe. Sounds delicious though – rose petal jelly – who knew? Apparently, you.

  8. Michelle says:

    Hey, see? Now you needn’t feel guilty about all that water. They earn their keep, right? I couldn’t live without roses of some sort, I even have two in my postage stamp-sized garden! I can almost smell the rose syrup now… mmmmmm.

  9. ~Ahrisha~ says:

    Regina~ ~ ~
    Tell us more about your roses. Do you know the names of any of them? I am just beginning a rose garden and will add a few each year. I have one called celciana. It’s an old rose with a magnificent fragrance. Only blooms once a year but oh my~ ~wonderful!~~Ahrisha~ ~

  10. I make rose petal jelly (no mint) with apple juice instead of water.

  11. Andie says:

    I bookmarked this post and totally want to try this come summer. I need my roses to bloom! Looks amazing. I’ve never tasted rose jam before so Im excited to see if I and the fam like it.

  12. christy says:

    so luscious! thank you for sharing the recipe!

  13. Zee says:

    Wow, this is probably good! I wish I could try it.
    My roses are very shy, in Flagstaff is hard to grow. I don’t know if we are having any this year.Let’s see if there’s any at the farmers market this evening.

  14. Audrey says:

    can we add honey to this? Can i know where the jar with white lid is from? I like this idea and wanted to do this for my wedding favors.

  15. Echo says:

    Have you ever made jelly’s using sugar subsitutes? I would love to make for my mother and sister but they can’t have sugar….

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