Lilac Jelly

Lilac Jelly

I have a ton of lilacs and they look and smell wonderful.  I googled "are lilacs edible" and found out that they are!  I also found a recipe for lilac jelly at this wonderful site:  http://the3foragers.blogspot.ca/2011/05/lilac-recipe-lilac-jelly.html .  I decided I had to try it.

Picking lilacs to make lilac jelly

I have deep purple, regular and white lilac trees in my yard.  I decided to leave out the white, in order to get more color (or so I hoped).

Plucking flowers of lilacs for lilac jelly

I sat on the deck yesterday morning and pulled the flowers off the lilacs, one by one.  At first I felt bad about this, but soon I entered a relaxed, zen like state.  The fragrance was absolutely amazing.  The recipe called for 2 tightly packed cups of flowers, and it took about an hour to get that many.

Rinsing lilacs

Next I rinsed the lilac flowers.  Aren't they gorgeous?

Getting ready to pour boiling water on lilac flowers

I put the lilacs in a sterilized jam jar, and put water on to boil, outside, so I wouldn't steam the house up.

Lilac infusion, or tea

I really, really hated the next step, but I did it. I poured boiling water over the lilac flowers...but not before apologizing first.  Poor flowers.  I put the lid on and headed out to camp so the flowers could sit overnight.

Front yard at camp, Goulais Bay, Lake Superior

The next day, I strained the flowers through a coffee filter that I placed in a clean strainer.

straining lilac infusion

I was very surprised by the color of the resulting liquid...a sort of orangy-brown.

Strained lilac infusion/tea

I added 4 tablespoons of lemon juice and wow, did it ever turn colors fast!  I love this deep, vibrant pink.

lilac infusion with lemon added

Next I added the pectin, and watched the color deepen. I was beginning to feel like a witch, or alchemist.

lilac infusion with lemon and pectin added

I added the 4 cups of sugar, and the mixture turned a milky pink. It came to a boil so quickly that it overboiled.  Next time, I need to remember to use a bigger pot.

lilac mixture with sugar added

The recipe said to cook it for 1 minute and then put it in a water bath for 10 minutes.  I, with my mathematically challenged brain, reversed the numbers and cooked it for 10 minutes, and watched it turn back into the original orangey-brown color.  Sigh.

Overcooked lilac jelly

Then I poured it into sterilized preserving jars...the tiny ones...and put it in a water bath for 1 minute.  Then I reread the directions and realized it should stay in for 10 minutes, so I left it in for 10 minutes, lol.

Lilac jelly in water bath

My  mother gave all of my canning equipment away and I didn't have the $50 bucks to buy a new starter kit so I rigged up a tinfoil pan with wire to set the jars on so they could be easily lifted out.  It looks awful, but it worked.

Finished Lilac Jelly

The finished lilac jelly tastes amazing, even though I overcooked it by 9 minutes, lol.  It is sweet, but with a touch of tang. It reminds me of candy (not caramel) apples. You know, the pretty red candy apples?  Sort of like that.  Very yummy.

Finished lilac jelly

I will defnitely make this again,and not cook it for as long next time.  I think I would have ended up with Lilac  Candy if I would have cooked it even a minute longer, lol.  Mine is very think...but yummy.

Next time, I will use a bigger pot, and NOT overcook the stuff.

If you try this, I'd love to see the results.  Take care!