violets for jelly

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“Just a little way beyond, where the grass already had a good start, and where the ground was damp but not really wet, Peter found the little friends he had been sure were there.  On long smooth stems they lifted their beautiful blue faces to the sky whose color they matched.  Some were light blue, some were dark blue, and a few were even striped.  Each had a heart of gold.”  ~Burgess Flower Book for Children, Thornton W Burgess, 1923

 

 

 

Making Jelly

 

I took 2 cups freshly picked violets, plucked from the field, (with help from Grace) and poured 2 cups boiling water over the top.

We had to let them steep overnight in the refrigerator.

 

 

The next day, I strained the violets from the liquid.

This is the color of violets, before adding 1/4 cup lemon juice

 

 

After a stirring of lemon juice, the violet water instantly turned color, which was a thrill indeed.

 

 

I boiled the violet water with sugar and pectin, poured into jars, and processed for 10 minutes.

Yield:  4 cups

 

 

Grace and I watched Pride and Prejudice as I worked in the kitchen, on a Sunday afternoon. 

It’s the perfect movie, we discovered, for making such a sweet thing as violet jelly.

 

 

This morning, I took Seth and Sarah with me back to the field to pick two more cups of violets.

I wanted to try a different recipe, just for fun and to compare the two variations.

This time, violets were simmered in 2 cups of boiling water for 10 minutes.

 

 

After straining the violets from the water, I added the liquid back to the pan with pectin, sugar, and lemon juice.

After boiling for 5-8 minutes, I filled an 8oz jar with the jelly, screwed on the lid, and inverted the jar for about 15 minutes, and it sealed just fine.

This particular recipe made less jelly for the violets (only 1 cup), but it also used far less sugar and lemon juice, and didn’t take nearly as long to make. 

 

 

This is a jar from yesterday, and the lone jar from this morning.  Today’s is a darker shade of purplish.

 

 

Rich’s reaction to my violet jelly:  “Are you going to make grass jelly next?”

(was it bad that I briefly considered it?)

 

 

This is the truest photo for the color.  I used the leftover pan scrapings of today’s batch and served it over unsalted butter on piece of bread.

Isn’t it a beautiful color?  It tastes of lemon, field, flowers, and grape lollipop.  Quite satisfying.

 

 

For yesterday’s four cup batch I used this recipe.

For today’s one cup jar I used this recipe.

There are a lot of different recipes on the internet, I just browsed them until I found a couple that would work for me.

I hope you enjoyed the photos, I was quite excited to share this beautiful experience with my friends here. 

It’s been a joy to use my favorite spring flower to make a sweet treat for my family.  I plan to make thumbprint cookies very soon, using my pretty jelly to fill them.

 

“….who can look at the Meadow Violet nestling amid the young grass of the meadow and not love it?”  ~T.Burgress

 

 

 

 

0 thoughts on “violets for jelly”

  3. Thank you for this! I went to the webpage and it says you can also make this recipe with mint and lemon balm, both of which I have in abundance this year! Yumm yumm!!!

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  6. hi shanda…….thanks for the WONDERFUL idea!!  we have wild violets growing in our garden and even in our grass (after all, wisconsin’s flower is the violet!).  i’m definitely trying this, as it sounds positively lovely.  you are a dear for sharing!

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  9. I have never heard of that. Love the pix with the bread, jelly and violet. I have seen edible flowers in salads, etc.Love your husband’s comment. Mine would have said about the same thing. LOL (men, they just don’t appreciate stuff like this…LOL)

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  12. I had no idea you could make jelly from violets. We add them to salad and lemonade and tea, but jelly?As I read this Sophia asked “Mom, please oh please can we try this?” I told her if we can find enough violets, absolutely!What a Fun post. =) And you and Grace are right, Pride and Prejudice would be a perfect movie to watch while making violet jelly!Happy Monday to you. =)

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  16. This is new to me. So pretty. I have good memories of picking violets as a child. The neighbor lady had lots of them…and shared them with me. Thanks for stopping by my place. Nice to see you.xo

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  17. I have NEVER heard of violet jelly!  It is so beautiful…what a creative, fun thing to do!  And…thumbprint cookies are probably my most favorite cookies next to chocolate chip.:)

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  19. Another “soul satisfying” thing to do. How very like my Shanda-girl! One of the things that I’ve prayed for you is that God would give you creativity in your doing that brings you joy and gives an outlet to that ever working, beauty seeking brain of yours. The end result of this is a reward, for sure, but this process, documented for us to share and for you to remember, has to satisfy something deep inside that begs expression. I love you, Shanda. Beautiful post.

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