Lilac Jelly
Lilac jelly is a light floral jelly with all the flavors of spring lilacs.
Servings: 5 half pint (8 oz) jars
Ingredients
- 4 cups lilac blossoms
- 4 cups water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 to 4 cups sugar *see note
- 1 box 1.75 oz pectin (Regular or Low Sugar)
Instructions
- Separate 4 cups of lilac blossoms from their stems, carefully removing any green parts.
- Pour 4 cups boiling water over the top of the lilac blossoms and allow the tea to infuse for about 10 minutes. It should be a turquoise color (which will change to pink when lemon juice is added). If it's not, you can add a few mashed blueberries of blackberries at this step for color, but that's optional.)
- Strain the lilac tea into a saucepan or jam pot. Add the lemon juice, which will adjust color, but it's also required to balance the sugar in the recipe and help the pectin set, so don't skip the lemon!
- Bring the mixture to a boil and add the powdered pectin, stirring to dissolve. Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute before adding sugar. (Note: Do not add the sugar at the same time as the pectin, or before the pectin, or the jell will not set.)
- Add the sugar, stirring to dissolve (See notes on quantity). Bring the mixture back to a full boil for 1 minute before ladling into jelly jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
- If canning, process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. Otherwise, allow the jars to cool completely on the counter before storing in the refrigerator (for up to a month) or the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
A note on sugar...
If using standard pectin, you must use a 1:1 ratio of liquid to sugar. That means for 4 cups lilac tea you'd need a minimum of 4 cups sugar to get the jelly to set. That results in a very sweet "old-fashioned" jelly. To reduce the sugar, simply use low sugar pectin instead and then make the jelly as instructed but using less sugar. I suggest sure jel low sugar, which is very dependable.
Lowering sugar will also lower yield, and the yield of 5 half-pints is for a full sugar recipe.
If using Pomona's universal pectin, the instructions are different as that is a 2 part low sugar pectin. Follow the instructions provided in the Pomona's box for mint jelly.