Monday, March 14, 2011

Violet Jelly

 I know there are people who feel their lawn should be perfect with
 no weeds showing anywhere and they work very hard to achieve
such a lovely plot of grass. These same people would look at my lawn,
 if it can be called that, and think my only object was to grow those
weeds they work so hard to get rid of on their lawns. Well, not exactly
 but while they look at my lawn and see weeds I see FOOD! One of these
 weeds, the violet, has nearly taken over the whole yard and I have a terrible
 time every year keeping it out of the garden but it is also a very good food
source as well as a lovely flower.
Violets are a hardy perennial originally from the Pyrenees Mountains. The
violets in my yard produce a five petal, purple blossoms on long stems that rise
 directly from the center of the plant. The leaves are heart shaped with bluntly
serrated edges, covered in fine hairs.

I have always known that the violet flowers and leaves were edible and had tried
 the blossoms in salad but they have little or no taste. It was only recently that I
saw a recipe for violet jelly and decided to try it.
First comes the picking. You are going to need about 1 quart of violet blossoms
without the stems. If you have a yard full of violets like mine you will find this
doesn’t take long.
These you will need to put in a glass bowl and pour boiling water over them to
make an infusion. Leave them like this at room temperature overnight. In the
 morning strain these through a fine sieve and measure out two cups of the lavender
 colored liquid



.
            .
 Put this in a large pot on the stove and add thejuice of one lemon or two teaspoons of
bottled lemon juice and one package of commercial pectin   Bring to a boil and add 4 cups sugar. Return to boiling and boil hard for one minute while stirring.  Pour into hot sterilized jars, wipe rim and adjust lids.
Process in a water-bath canner for 15 minutes. This will make approximately 4 half-pints of jelly.


8 comments:

  1. OK, so if the flowers don't taste of anything in a salad, do they have enough flavour to be worth making into jelly?

    ReplyDelete
  2. It does have a very light flavor. I am not sure that I could decribe, sweet like a very light honey but different a well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well it is the prettiest jelly I have ever seen. I agree, I love to eat the weeds. I have animals though, so we have to be selective in where we eat the weeds ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, you truly are self sufficient. That is quite amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I haven't tried violet jelly but I did make Lilac jelly two years ago. I think it's probably much the same, it had a very light, honey like taste but was divine.
    Judy

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well, I am not as self sufficient as I would like to be. I didn't make the sugar or the pectin that went into the jelly, lol (though I do know how sugar and pectin are made).
    I would think lilac jelly would be quite similiar as well. Now, for those new dandelions I see blooming out by the mailbox...I do love fried dandelion flowers...

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'll try that one today. For another great use of violets have a look at my blog: http://pathtoselfsufficiency.blogspot.com/2010/02/spring-tart-and-another-award.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. Whether your prime concern is taste or variety, VaporFi got you covered.

    With vape juices which are created from food-grade ingredients, their vaping flavors are more smooth and consistent.

    ReplyDelete