Rose Petal Jelly/Syrup Take 2

 After making rose petal jelly a couple of weeks ago, our daughter let us come and pick some of her roses to make another batch. These roses were a mixture of dark pink and red, so we were anticipating a more colorful jelly for this batch.


We followed the same instructions as we did while making the rose petal jelly, with the exception that we followed the recipe exactly (using 4 c. of water and 4 c. of sugar rather than 5 1/2 cups of each).

We picked the roses and poured hot water over them for tea. It was so fascinating to watch, because the water turned blue first before eventually turning a beautiful dark pink.



We put the jar in the refrigerator and left it sit...for a few days since we left it in town. When we brought it home, we strained out the petals and put the "tea" on the stove to heat.


We added the pectin and brought it to a boil for 60 seconds. We added the sugar, brought it back to a rolling boil, and boiled it for another 60 seconds, following the recipe instructions. We added lids and canned it for 15 minutes.

Rose petal syrup with bean soup in the background

This batch was a bit odd. Most of the jars did not set, with the exception of the last jar we filled. It soft-set into a lovely jelly. Everything else turned out to be rose syrup, which I don't mind since I was hoping for a syrup to flavor lemonades and Italian sodas. This will be just perfect for that!

Why didn't the jelly set? I am sure someone more knowledgeable than I can tell you. My best guesses are that the pectin we used was a few years old, and that once again, following the "new" instructions that call for a shorter boil time once the sugar is added does not work well.

If you have any other guesses as to why this batch (where we followed the directions exactly) did not set, while the previous batch (where we did not follow the directions exactly and used more liquid) did set, feel free to say so in the comments. We look forward to hearing your insights!


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