Lilac Jelly!

I have always loved when springtime burst open the first flowers of the season.  Yes, my allergies take a beating.  I become a leaky, itchy mess, and in times like these, that can be dangerous.  

BUT!  Lilacs.  The runny nose and eyes are so worth it for these beautiful blooms!  (And the allergies really only last while the leaves are coming out. So, it's manageable.  

The tiny perfect flowers clustered together have such a delicate and precise appearance to them.  Ours even have little yellow centres.  Then there is a scent.  Oh my!  My whole driveway smells so fragrant at this time.  

The sad part of it all is that like many spring flowers, the blossoms do not last long.  They fall off in a matter of days.  

If only there was a way to preserve that first springtime feeling all year long?

Why not make lilac jelly???!?!?

Yes, that is what I said.  Lilac jelly!

Jelly...made from lilacs!

How could that be you ask?  

Well lilacs are one of the many lesser known edible flowers.  There are many others too.  Violets. Dandelions. Clover.  Those are some that I know about anyways.  

I will share with you my jelly journey.  

Now, I have made lilac jelly 3 times now.  And last couple times.  It did not set.  So today, I will be boiling again a bit longer to get the jelly to set.  I have made note in the instructions. 

Here is the how to on Lilac Jelly:  

1.  Pick lilacs.  Earlier is probably best.  You are going to want to have enough flowers to fill a 1 L glass mason jar, so have fun picking.  Watch for bees...

 I just can't help the pictures! 

2.  Now that you have a basket full of stems you will need to remove each individual flower.  Remove all green parts.  This is a very time consuming and tedious task.  I like to do while watching TV.  Stuff a 1 L jar with the flower.  Jam it in there until you can't seem to stuff anymore in.  

3.  Pour boiling water over the flowers.  Put lid lightly on jar and leave to steep overnight.  I left mine on the counter, but you can place in the fridge if your "tea" is cool enough.  

4.  In the morning, gather your tools to strain your tea.  If you have a jelly bag and stand, that is the best tool.  I have a jelly bag stand (I call it an apparatus), but I never replaced the bag, so I just used a steamer (you can use a colander), lined with about 3-4 layers of cheese cloth.   Pour your tea with all flowers into the strainer and leave to drip. 

5.  When dripping has almost stopped.  (I went out to work in the gardens), gather cheesecloth so the flowers are in a ball and squeeze the rest of the tea out.  

6.  Pour your tea into a measuring cup to see how much you made.  Then add to a clean pot.  

7.  My double batch of tea made 4.5 cups of tea.  I added 6 cups of sugar to the pot (Some online recipes say that you should add all the sugar at once, I didn't) and the juice of a lemon.  The lemon juice made my colour change to a bright pink!

8.  Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.  Cook for about 1 minute (These are the instructions from the certo package.  

9.  Have all of your other supplies ready to go.  Your jars should have been scrubbed, rinsed and sterilized.  I like to sterilize in the oven. (225 degrees for 10 minutes).  Your lids should be put in a pot of water.  Turn on to get boiling.  

10.  I used 2 packages of certo and followed the package instructions for raspberry jelly (but used less sugar because, well 6 cups was plenty sweet enough.  My jelly did not set.  It almost did, but not to the right jelly consistency.  You can use a frozen plate to check the gel while you are making jelly) I have done some research since completing my jelly.  I doubt that lilac flowers have a lot of natural pectin, if any at all.  All other recipes have you cooking the jelly with the certo or pectin in the mixture.  The package insert says to remove from heat.  So, I will be cooking my jelly again with the certo in it until it begins to gel!  

11.  Ladle jelly into prepared jars.  Wipe rim.  Set seal and close rim finger tight. 

Et voilà! Springtime preserved!

****My suggested measurements for a single batch would be 2 1/4 cups of tea with 3 cups of sugar (taste to make sure you like the level of sweetness), juice of half a lemon.  I would strongly suggest using the plate method to check for gel.  (set plate in freezer when you first begin.  Set a small amount of jelly on the frozen plate.  Set back into freezer for about a minute.  Take out and run your finger nail along jelly.  If it ripples and doesn't drip, you have jelly!)

****Tip:  When boiling seals, alternate up-down to keep them from sticking together.  ;)