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Last February on a whim I bought two pounds of dried rose petals. (In my defense they were practically a steal at less than $7 a pound…with free shipping!) Valentine’s Day was approaching and I had high hopes for them, with ideas like heart-shaped rose petal tea cakes, white chocolate rose petal mousse, rose petal sorbet, and rose petal punch dancing around my head. Since I posted no such recipes here, you can probably see where I’m going with this. :)
Pick a pretty color because your jelly will be *about* the same color as the petals.
Time eluded me and I put my rose petal ideas on hold…until now (well, a couple weeks ago, anyway ;) )! I finally decided it was time to make something with my rose petals, and the first thing I wanted to try was jelly…first of all because I’ve always wanted to try rose petal jelly, second because I didn’t feel like making something that required turning on the oven and heating up the house in the middle of the gruesome heat wave we were in, and third because there’s a ton of stuff you can do with jelly.
In the beginning I was a little skeptical to use dried rose petals (since I had only heard of jelly being made from fresh petals), but I soldiered onward, thinking all the while of the two pounds of rose petals in my pantry. I was glad I did since the jelly ended up being really pleasant; it was sweet but not overly so, and subtly scented and flavored of rose. The color was gorgeous – a deep burgundy – even richer in color than my rose petals looked. If you have fresh, organic petals you can use them instead of dried, just be sure to trim off the pointy white base of each petal since it has a bitter flavor.
Rose Petal Jelly (Adapted from Rose-Works and Creamer Chronicles)
(Yield: About 1 pint)
1 3/4 cups water
1 oz (about 1 1/4 cups) dried culinary rose petals
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons powdered pectin
1 cup sugar
Bring water up to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan; add rose petals and boil 1 minute. Cover the saucepan, turn the heat off, and steep the rose petals 30 minutes. Strain the water through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, making sure to wring the cheesecloth to squeeze all the liquid from the petals; transfer the steeped rose water back to the saucepan.
Stir in the lemon juice, then whisk in the pectin and sugar until dissolved. Bring to a boil on high heat and boil 5 minutes (stirring frequently), turning heat down as necessary so it doesn’t boil over. Transfer to sterile jar(s), cool to room temperature, and then store refrigerated.
I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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I made this recipe yesterday with dried red rose petals and I’m eating it now on homemade rose scented scones fresh out of the oven. The flavour of the jelly is sublime.
Can you water process this recipe and can it?
Kacie, I haven’t tried processing this jelly, but it may work. My biggest concern is that it’s a low-acid jelly, even with the 1 tablespoon lemon juice. If you decide to give it a try, please let me know how it goes!
Hi Faith!
Do you have a resource for organic edible dried flowers? If so please email me. If not organic still please send me a good vendor :)
thanks! M
Dear Edible Mosaic,
After trying out some other rose jelly recipes without much success for one of my unusual orders , I have attempted your rose jelly and it came out beautifully. Would you mind if I mention your jelly recipe in my new (coming out in November) unusual cupcake recipe section? I will, of course, place a link to your site immediately after the recipe
Thank you,
Christina
Christina, I’m so happy that you enjoyed my rose petal jelly recipe! You are absolutely welcome to mention my recipe in your recipe section, and thank you for the link!
Best,
Faith
I am back. I made another batch of this jelly, and as I was picking the petals from my garden, I noticed that I had a lot of calendula flowers, too, so I made a batch using them as a substitute for the rose petals as well. Both are delightful! The calendula jelly is a lovely pale yellow with a delicate taste.
I just tried your recipe, but with fresh petals from my garden. It is delightful! Thank you for sharing. :)
Hi, my name is Momochiyo, a composer and musician.
I just wonder…
Would you mind if I use your beautiful “Rose petal jelly” picture for my website?
Because I just wrote the music is called “Rose petal jam” for 3 flutes.
Much appreciated if you give me permission. Please tell me if you have any condition.
Best regards,
Momochiyo
Momochiyo, Hello and thank you so much for your kind words about my photo! Your work sounds lovely. I am honored and I would love it if you use my photo for your site. I would appreciate it if you could list my site (An Edible Mosaic) as the source of the photo, along with a link. Please be sure to send me a link to your site when the photo is up, I would love to see it! Best, Faith
This is absolutely lovely – just look at that “rosey” color!
:)
ButterYum
Thanks I’ll check and see if they still have the dried petals. The sorbet I made have wonderful. I made it from the jam I made and thought was a little to sweet but was perfect for sorbet I also used rose hips tea in the recipe.
Where can I order the dried petals? I use to make rose petal jam years ago when I had lots of rose bushes. I also made rose petal sorbet. Thanks
Diane, I ordered mine on Amazon. That rose petal sorbet sounds really lovely!
How beautiful! I love anything made with rosewater and so does my husband so this rose petal jelly wouldn’t last long in our house! Have you ever had rose hip jam, Faith? It’s very popular in my husband’s country (the former Yugoslavia), and if you like rose jelly, I’m sure you’d love rose hip jam. We buy it at an International grocery store down the road from us. Anyway, your jelly would make perfect Christmas presents!
how lovely. count me among those who had no idea this was possible–it’s something i HAVE to try!
You take the prize! In that top photo, you have managed to make something as ordinary as jam-smeared toast look like the most heavenly taste ever. Beautiful!
What a lovely idea for a jelly! I bet it is delicious and great that it is not overly sweet :)
What a gorgeous jam. Every year I think I will harvest some of my rose petals for use in the kitchen, but I haven’t accomplished that yet.
Mimi
Lovely jelly and I have just learned that one can indeed make it with dried rose petals! Relief!
What a gorgeous color and wonderful idea. I can only imagine how luscious it must taste.
I’m so amazed by your cooking skill Faith! Rose petal jelly? that’s soooo cool!!!!
It seems that we certainly have that in common…great intentions and time eluding us. I can’t begin to list the products I purchase with certain culinary adventures in mind ;o)
This jelly is certainly one that would be eaten by me only if you offer it to me Faith. LOL I’ve unfortunately never been a fan of Rose petal fragrance in my food. You never know, my palate could change at some point ;o)
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
Megan, I bought them on Amazon…wish I could remember the seller’s name! :)
hi faith, i came to visit you to say congrats for getting the wonderful awards from ambreen.
She gave the awards to me too. You do have a great blog . Have a nice day
roses…thats a real luxury..yum yum
How beautiful! This looks and sounds divine. As always, I love reading your posts. They always make me smile…and they make me want to get into my kitchen! Thank you for sharing all that you do. I hope you have a wonderful week!
I’m super excited to learn you can make jelly from dried rose petals, thank you Lovely Faith for sharing this one, it sounds delicious & I’ve been thinking lots about doing stuff with rose petals for ever so long. Tick Tock…. I do believe the time has come. :)
wow, how creative! everything looks beautiful!
Sounds very interesting. Delicious jelly and the color is so beautiful!
So cool! I never even knew rose petal jelly even existed. Hey, any time you get something at a huge bargain price and put it to use, it’s always justified to me. Glad you soldiered on and finished making the jelly because it looks beautiful with the deep burgundy colour in the jar. Glad you were satisfied with the end results.
Loved the colour of the jelly..Would love to taste it..
I have never tried rose petal jelly or anything with rose petals but would love too. The color is gorgeous and it sounds delicious:)
Beautifully special and tasty jelly!
wow!!..i really didnt knew one can make rose petal jelly!!!!…
Well, do you have any left over petals… you can still conjure up some of those magic recipes you listed… there is no deadline! The jelly looks superb! The first time I tasted it was in Nice, and I love it. Love the violet jelly, too – but the violets we grow here don’t have any flavour. Our roses do – thank goodness. I sugar my petals and save them for topping truffles and sweets…I do the same with some violets. They look gorgeous, but haven’t any flavour.
Great idea, to make your own jelly. It would be beautiful with cream cheese, too.
:)
Valerie
PS: I do apologize. I can’t seem to get out of my blogging slump. I am always inspired when I read your work, Faith. I am forcing myself to catch up on my own posts just recently and have posted about 4 posts in three months until very recently – not at all like me. And, I do miss this kind of exciting motivation!
XO
How beautiful that is!
I have some dried culinary lavender that has suffered the same fate! I love this jam and it’s a great way to use the rose petals and be able to enjoy them for days on end!
The color is absolutely gorgeous! I am sure it tasted amazing too! But I must say, I do love the idea of white chocolate rose petal mousse and rose punch dancing around your head =)
Love rose petals! I love them in my tea too. Your jelly looks marvelous.
Love it! I’ve never even heard of rose petal jelly but it sounds sooo lovely, perfect for an elegant English tea…or any time. :)
I can just smell the floral aroma over the computer screen. :)
I’ve always wanted to make a rose petal jelly but didn’t know how! Thanks so much Faith! :D
My mum sent me rose petal preserves last summer and it is the most amazing thing ever. I love eating a scoop every morning with some cold milk. Love that you have a recipe for the jelly.
You certainly chose a stunning color! Beautiful photo of the dried rose petals. I’ve never had rose jelly and would love to try it!
Awesome recipe- I can’t wait to make this beautiful jelly (hoping I can dry rose petals from my garden to do so)…ps I am adding this to a spring recipe round up I just posted on my blog ;)
This jelly is so beautiful! Did you can a few jars too? I’m going to be making some jelly with strawberries this weekend. I picked them up this afternoon at a local farm.
I bought some Rose Petal jelly in a cheese store and LOVED it. We ate it with cheese but I envision French Macarons.I remember it was 5 bucks for a tiny little jar. I would love to make this recipe. I see you bought your petals on line. Where did you buy them?
Wow jelly looks extremely glossy and fabulous..
I love floral jellies these days… I think they are remarkable! Rose from dried roses is new to me… good for those of us without a rose garden! The color is just spectacular!
The rose petal jelly looks scrumptious. And you’re right, the color is stunning. I recently made a spice mix using dried rose petals. It was wonderfully aromatic and lovely. I can only imagine your jelly.
I would never have imagined rose petal jelly! You are so creative!
Oh my gosh…what an amazing idea! I always get sucked in by deals like that…I once bought 25lbs of coconut flakes :)
Now that would be perfect in a doughnut. Sounds like a plan to me!
Those rose petals are so pretty, I’d buy a bunch too :D. I’ve never made my own jam, but I do buy some great rose petal jelly from Fortnum & Mason.
*kisses* HH
You come up with such interesting recipes. I’ve cooked with rose water, the petals must make a lovely jelly, it sure does look fantastic. Have a great weekend, Faith!
Oh rose jelly is lovely, an Iranian restaurant here serve it with a fun jam selection at brunch. I think the secret of rose jelly is for it to not be overpowering like you said. OK so you ara at 1 pound 15 ounces now in rose petals?
how neat! I had no idea you could even do something like this! I love it.
Wow, interesting! I’ve never tried rose petal jelly but I bet it has a lovely and delicate flavor. Great for afternoon tea. :-)
Your pictures are as beautiful as a poem!
I am a total rose-addict! Your rose jelly looks and sounds gorgeous!
Never cooked with them but have heard about the exotic dishes made of rose petals n this is surely one of them! The color of the jelly is spot on ~ You have a real talent with food.
US Masala
the jelly looks absolutely beautiful, gorgeous color. So talented!
The color is wonderful, Faith. As long as the flavor is not overly perfumey I’d love it!
I ”find” myself baking lods of stuff too :-)))
Ha ha , and yeah i can be quite a hoarder too , and i love it , and more so if there were these rose petals , wish i could buy some too :-)
And it was worth the wait , this rose petal jam is deliciously amazing!
Pretty pink too!
That just looks so amazing and I can only imagine how wonderful it TASTES! I love rose petal tea; jam? WOW, I want that!
A beautiful jelly! It must be very fragrant.
Cheers,
Rosa
you are truly amazing…jus wanna reach thro the screen n have a piece..:P
Tasty Appetite