The colour and scent of rose petal jam come from rubbing the petals with sugar. Rubbing breaks the cells and releases the essential oils and the anthocyanin pigments. Petals that are simply boiled give neither colour nor scent.
Ingredients
For the roses
For the syrup
For jarring
Method
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Trim the petals
Cut off the white bases of the rose petals with scissors; that part is bitter.
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Wash them
Wash the petals gently in plenty of water and drain.
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Rub with sugar
Rub the petals by hand with 250 grams of sugar and a spoon of lemon juice for 10 minutes. The colour will deepen and the volume will shrink.
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Leave them
Cover and leave for 12 hours.
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Make the syrup
Bring the remaining sugar and the water to the boil and boil for 10 minutes.
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Add the petals
Add the rubbed petals along with their juice to the syrup and boil for 20 minutes.
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Add the lemon
Add the lemon juice, boil for another 5 minutes and test the set.
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Fill the jars
Fill the jars while hot, turn them upside down and leave to cool.
Tips
- Cut off the white bases of the petals, as that is where the bitterness comes from.
- Do not skip the rubbing; the colour and scent of the jam come entirely from it.
- Use unsprayed, scented roses. Florists roses have no scent and may have been sprayed.
Nutrition
Values are per serving and approximate.