Crystallised Rose Petals

Crystallised rose petals
Roses

Crystallised Rose Petals

It is early summer, the roses are blooming and it is time to make Crystallised Rose Petals!  I love using edible flowers in my cooking and roses are one of my favourites as they smell wonderful and come in some many fantastic colours –  ruby red, crimson, shell pink, soft yellow, pure white…. There is something very romantic and decadent about strewing rose petals over your home-made cake or dessert!

These sugary petals are really easy to make providing you have access to flowers that you know have not been treated with any chemicals.  If you have roses in your garden, or have a kind friend or neighbour who does, you are all set!  Don’t use roses that are sold as cut flowers as they probably will have been chemically treated.

You can crystallise any kind of edible flower.  It has the effect of both preserving the petals – if you don’t do this, they wilt very quickly – and also making them taste sweet and sugary!

It is very easy to make Crystallised Rose petals, in fact it is a great activity to do with children. However,  if you are planning on using them to decorate a cake or pudding, you do need to make them the day before to allow them time to dry.

Crystallised rose petals
Rose petals
Equipment:

Pastry brush, cake rack

Crystallised flowers
Crystallised Rose Petals
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Crystallised flowers

Crystallised Rose Petals

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: Baking ingredients
  • Cuisine: English

Description

Sugary Crystallised Rose Petals look beautiful as a decoration on cakes and puddings and add a delicious rose flavour.

 


Ingredients

Scale
  • Petals from 34 roses
  • 1 egg white
  • Caster sugar

Instructions

  1. Wash the rose petals and dry gently using kitchen paper.
  2. Paint each petal with egg white and then dip it into the caster sugar.
  3. Place on the cake rack to dry and harden.  This will take about 24 hours.
  4. Use to decorate cakes or puddings.

Notes

Make sure that you use rose petals that have not been treated with any chemicals.  The best place is from your garden as you will know what has been used on the roses.   Don’t use shop-bought roses unless they are specifically designated as being for culinary use.

The flavour will be better if you use strongly scented roses.

Keywords: crystallised rose petals

Crystallised rose petals
Rose petals

 

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Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam

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Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam

Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam

Easy-to-make Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam has all the fruity loveliness of strawberries but with a floral boost provided by the addition of Rose Geranium leaves.    This recipe is based on one in Sarah Raven’s Food for Friends and Family which is one of my favourite cookery books.  It is really easy to make and is fantastic on crusty bread or as an ingredient in cakes and puddings.   If you don’t have access to Rose Geraniums, you can add a little rosewater to the jam to add a floral accent.

Strawberries for jam
Strawberries

I grow strawberries in my garden but they are  not yet ready for picking.  Therefore, as it is half-term this week, I took two of my adolescent children with me to Primrose Vale Pick-Your-Own farm which is about a half hour drive from where I live.  My two gaming-addicted companions were somewhat reluctant at the prospect of this outing but actually enjoyed it a lot (and picked more strawberries than they ate!).  It is a good spot for a family outing, with a playground for younger children, an excellent farm shop and a cafe serving drinks and snacks and wonderful, locally-produced  Winstones ice-cream.

Pelargonium
Rose Geranium
About Rose Geraniums

There are a number of scented varieties of Rose Geranium (which are actually technically pelargoniums) and all have leaves that smell of rose –  I think they actually smell a bit like Turkish Delight!  I have two varieties –  Angels Perfume and Attar of Roses  –  which I bought from Herbal Haven which is a specialist herb nursery.

Rose Geranium leaves can be used in lots of puddings and desserts to add a subtle rose flavour.  I think this is a better way than using rose-petals as you only need a few leaves whereas you need loads of petals (and, really, who wants to destroy their roses?).

Strawberry jam
So many strawberries!
Equipment

Heavy pan and a large sterilised jam jar (There are various ways of sterilising jars.  I think the easiest is to wash in soapy water and then put in an oven at 120 C for 15 minutes)

Ready for jam
Strawberries and Rose Geranium leaves
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Strawberry Jam

Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 1 jam jar 1x
  • Category: Jam
  • Cuisine: English

Description

A beautiful summer jam, perfect to make when strawberries are in season in June or July, which has the added twist of a hint of rose.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 500 g fresh strawberries
  • 500 g jam sugar (caster sugar with added pectin)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 4 Rose Geranium leaves (or a teaspoon of rosewater)

Instructions

  1. Wash the strawberries and hull them (remove the green leafy bit).
  2. Put the strawberries into your pan together with the lemon juice and the Rose Geranium leaves.   If you do not have access to a Rose Geranium plant, you can add a teaspoon  of rosewater if you want your jam to have a floral accent.  Otherwise you can make it without either – it will still taste really good!
  3. Heat for around 5 minutes until the strawberries have become soft and released their juice.
  4. Add the jam sugar and bring to the boil.  Then allow to continue boiling for 10 minutes until the setting point is reached.  (You can judge the setting point by putting a saucer in your freezer before making the jam.  Spoon some of the jam onto the cold saucer and leave to cool.  If the surface of the jam crinkles when you push it with your finger, it is ready.  If not, continue boiling and try again after a few more minutes).
  5. Remove from the heat and then pour into a sterilised jam jar.

Notes

You can sterilise your jam jar by washing it in soapy water and then putting it in an oven at 120 C for 15 minutes.

Keywords: strawberry jam, strawberry and rose jam, rose geranium jam

Strawberry jam

Strawberries and Rose Geranium leaves – ready for jam!

Strawberry jam
Strawberries

 

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Rhubarb and Vanilla Jam

Rhubarb jam

Rhubarb and Vanilla Jam

Rhubarb and Vanilla Jam

This quick and easy Rhubarb Jam, flavoured with vanilla, is tangy and delicious. Rhubarb has a long season, from early spring through to September. It is a great way to use up rhubarb if, like me, you have an over-supply in your garden.   

What you need to know about Rhubarb and Vanilla jam

  • It is a very simple recipe which only uses three ingredients – rhubarb, sugar and a vanilla pod.
  • Try and use jam sugar rather than regular caster sugar. Jam sugar has added pectin which means that the jam will set quickly without you having to cook the fruit for too long. This preserves the flavour.
  • Make sure you sterilise your jam jars before putting the jam into them. This will ensure that the jam lasts longer.
  • The quantities in this recipe results in one large jar of jam. It is very easy to multiply the ingredients if you want to make more jam. As rhubarb is quite tart, the rule of thumb is to have equal weights of raw rhubarb and sugar.
  • I use a vanilla pod to flavour this jam as I think the flavour goes very well with rhubarb. However, if vanilla is not your thing, you can leave it out and just make plain rhubarb jam. It will still taste very good. Alternatively, you can add another flavouring. Cardamon and star anise both go very well with rhubarb – just substitute three dried cardamon pods or two dried star anise pods for the vanilla pod.
  • This Rhubarb Jam is lovely on buttered bread. However, as with all jams, it can also be used as an ingredient in other recipes. It is a good filling for cakes or to add a tang to puddings such as my Bread and Butter Pudding with Rhubarb Jam

Other jam and preserve recipes

Making your own jam and preserves is really easy. They taste delicious, keep for a long time and also you know exactly what is in them. You can moderate the sugar content and also be sure that there are no artificial preservatives. It is also a great way to use a seasonal over-supply of a particular fruit.

My home-made jam recipes use seasonal ingredients and often have a bit of a flavour twist.   For example, my Strawberry Jam is flavoured with rose geranium.    I have some simple jams such as my classic Gooseberry Jam.

Some of my other preserve recipes are a bit more unusual.  I make a delectable Rose Petal Jam which can be used in lots of different ways.  I also have a Chilli Jam which is fantastic as a dip or with savoury dishes.

I also have a few recipes for fruit curds including a fool-proof recipe for classic Lemon Curd.  Fruit curds are  brilliant cooking ingredients in everything from ice cream to cakes.

Other rhubarb recipes

I love the sweet-sour taste of rhubarb and, as I have a vigorous plant in my garden, I make lots of recipes with it.

In addition to this jam, I also make Rhubarb Curd which is great on a slice of bread but can also be used in other recipes such as Rhubarb Curd and Rose Ice-cream or as a filling for my Rhubarb and Vanilla Victoria Sandwich Cake.

I also make Rhubarb Compote which is like an unset jam made from a simple mixture of rhubarb and sugar. It is great stirred into yogurt or served with ice cream but can also be used as an ingredient in recipes such as Rhubarb Roulade or Rhubarb Fool.

I also use rhubarb in a good old-fashioned Rhubarb Crumble and also in Rhubarb Crumble Cake which is a simple loaf cake with a crunchy crumble topping.

Finally, I use rhubarb to make Rhubarb Gin which is great on its own or as the basis for a number of Rhubarb Gin Cocktails. It is really easy to make flavoured gin which is much cheaper than premium shop-bought brands.

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

rhubarb jam
Rhubarb jam

Rhubarb and Vanilla Jam recipe

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rhubarb jam

Rhubarb and Vanilla Jam

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 1 large jam jar 1x
  • Category: Jam
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This tangy Rhubarb Jam, flavoured with vanilla, is delicious and very easy to make. 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 600 g (1 lb) rhubarb
  • 600 g (1 lb) jam sugar (with added pectin)
  • 1 vanilla pod

Instructions

  1. Wash your rhubarb and cut into 2 cm (1 inch) pieces.
  2. Put the pieces into your saucepan along with the sugar.
  3. Cook on a low heat so that the fruit releases its juices and the sugar dissolves.  Add the vanilla pod.
  4. Turn up the heat so that the mixture is bubbling and cook for around 15 minutes.  By this time, it should be thickened.
  5. Sterilise your jam-jar and then pour the jam mixture into it.  Allow to cool and then cover with a lid.

Notes

You can sterilise your jam jar by washing in warm, soapy water and then rinsing well and allowing to dry off for 15 minutes in an oven set to 140C/120C fan/gas 1.

This jam will keep for six months if the jar is kept unopened.  Once you have opened the jar, keep it in the fridge and eat the jam within a month.

Keywords: rhubarb, jam

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

Lilac Sugar, Lilac Honey and Lilac Syrup

Jars of lilacs
Lilac Sugar

Lilac Sugar, Lilac Honey and Lilac Syrup – three easy ways to capture that wonderful fragrance for culinary use!

I love lilacs!  The lilac bushes are just coming into bloom now and we have bushes flowering in our garden and neighbouring gardens in a range of shades from white to palest mauve to rich purple.  Whatever the colour, they all have a fantastic, sweet, floral perfume, strongest when the sun has been shining as it has for the last few days.   Who wouldn’t want to catch a drift of the scent of lovely lilacs on a late spring day?

As well as making your garden more beautiful, lilacs are also edible and their wonderful scent can be captured in a range of ways and used in cooking and in summer drinks.  The flavour is not as strong as some highly-scented edible flowers, such as rose or lavender, but I think its delicacy matches the mood of late spring perfectly.   The flowers can also be used straight-off to decorate cakes, cookies and puddings.

I have included three ways in which the fragrance of lilac can be easily captured to create scented ingredients that can be put to culinary use.   The methods are really straightforward, particularly for the Lilac Sugar and Lilac Honey, and make a great project for children (and they can give the jars as gifts!).

sugar and honey
Lilac sugar and honey

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Lilacs and sugar

Lilac Sugar

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1 jam jar
  • Category: Baking ingredients
  • Cuisine: English

Description

Making Lilac Sugar is a really simple way of capturing the floral fragrance and making an ingredient that can be used to add it to a range of baked goods and puddings.


Ingredients

  • Caster sugar
  • Lilac flowers (as with any edible flowers, make sure that you know that these have not been sprayed with pesticides etc)

Instructions

  1. Wash your lilacs and pull the little flowers off the stems.
  2. Sterilise your jam-jar.
  3. Put a layer of caster sugar in the bottom of your jam-jar (about 1 cm deep).  Next add a similar layer of flowers.  Repeat until you have filled your jar.
  4. Put a lid on your jar and leave it in a cool place (larder or cupboard) for at least one week.  At the end of this time, the sugar will have been infused with the perfume of the flowers.
  5. When you wish to use your sugar, you can sift it through a wide-meshed sieve to remove the flowers.

Notes

You can sterilise your jam-jar by washing it in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.

Although preparation time is only 15 minutes, you will need to leave the sugar for around a week to allow the lilac flavour to infuse.

 

Keywords: lilac sugar

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Honey jar

Lilac Honey

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1 jam jar
  • Category: Baking ingredients
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This is a way of infusing honey with the scent and taste of lilac.  It can be used as a spread on bread or toast or as a culinary ingredient.


Ingredients

  • A small jar of honey (avoid honey that is strongly flavoured and, if there are any small producers near you, try and use that and support your local bees!)
  • Lilac flowers (as with any edible flowers, make sure that you know that these have not been sprayed with pesticides etc)

Instructions

  1. Wash your lilacs and pull the little flowers off the stems.
  2. Sterilise your jam-jar.
  3. Fill your jam-jar with the flowers.
  4. Pour in honey into your jam-jar until it reaches the top.
  5. Put a lid on your jar and leave it in a cool place (larder or cupboard) for at least one week.  At the end of this time, the honey will have been infused with the perfume of the lilac flowers.
  6. When you wish to use your honey, you can strain it through a wide-meshed sieve to remove the flowers.   If the honey is too viscous, you can strain it more easily if you warm it slightly by putting the jar in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes.

Notes

You can sterilise your jam-jar by washing it in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.

Although preparation time is only 15 minutes, you will need to leave the honey for around a week to allow the lilac flavour to infuse.

Keywords: lilac honey

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Jars of lilacs

Lilac Syrup

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1 jam jar 1x
  • Category: Baking ingredients
  • Cuisine: English

Description

Making syrups is a traditional way of capturing the flavour of herbs or flowers, in this case lilac, so that they can be used as culinary ingredients.   This syrup can add flavour to baked goods, puddings and cocktails.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 350 g caster sugar
  • 500 ml water
  • Around 30 g of Lilac flowers (as with any edible flowers, make sure that you know that these have not been sprayed with pesticides etc)

Instructions

  1. Put the water and sugar into your small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
  2. Add the lilac flowers and simmer uncovered for around 15 minutes.
  3. Sterilise your jam-jar.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat. Pour the liquid into your jam-jar through a sieve to remove the flowers.
  5. Allow to cool and it is ready to use.

Notes

You can sterilise your jam-jar by washing it in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.

Keywords: lilac syrup

Uses for Lilac Sugar, Lilac Honey and Lilac Syrup

Sprinkle the Sugar over pancakes or waffles or drizzle with the honey or syrup

Use syrup to make soft drinks (one part syrup to four parts water) or as a basis for cocktails

All can be included as an ingredient in baking – cakes, cookies and scones – or puddings and making icing.  Just replace normal sugar or syrup in your recipes with flavoured versions.

The honey and syrup can be used to sweeten whipped cream – lovely with scones or pastries!

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Dandelion Syrup and Dandelion Jelly

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Dandelion Syrup and Dandelion Jelly

Dandelions and waffles
Dandelion syrup and waffles

Dandelion Syrup and Dandelion Jelly

If your garden, like mine, is currently over-run with dandelions, stop a minute before uprooting them and consider how they might be used more constructively.

At this time of year, I spend a lot of my gardening time trying to clear the unwanted crop of dandelions.  They seem to pop up overnight and, where the previous evening I have a bed of beautiful and elegant spring flowers, the next morning they have been joined by a number of  shaggy yellow interlopers.  It is as if several cast members from EastEnders have stumbled onto the set of Downton Abbey!

Dandelions are actually both nutritious and delicious and all parts – roots, stems and flowers – have culinary and therapeutic uses.   The roots are traditionally used to make  tea and as a basis for Dandelion and Burdock, a beverage produced since the Middle Ages and still consumed by those who wish to reinforce their hipster credentials.  The stems and leaves can be used raw in salads or cooked, and combined with other spring greens, add a refreshing bitterness to stuffings and pies.    The flowers do not taste bitter and have a lovely, floral, spring-like flavour – matching their cheerful colouring and feisty attitude – which can be captured in syrup or jelly or used as a baking ingredient.

I have provided recipes for Dandelion Syrup and Dandelion Jelly below.  They both start off with the same process of creating a “dandelion tea” by steeping the flower petals overnight in water, and are excellent ways of using all those pesky intruders in your garden.  If you can’t beat them, eat them!

Soaking dandelion flowers
Wash your dandelions

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Dandelion Syrup

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 2 jam-jars 1x
  • Category: Baking ingredients
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This is a beautiful, fresh, floral tasting syrup, flavoured with dandelions, which can be used on waffles, ice-cream or as a base for cocktails.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 100 dandelion flowers – make sure that these have been grown somewhere that has not been treated with pesticides or fertilisers
  • 500 ml water
  • 300 g caster sugar
  • Juice of half a lemon (optional)

Instructions

  1. Wash your dandelion flowers in a bowl of cold water to remove dirt and small insects.
  2. Cut the petals off the flowers just above the green sepals.  You do not want to include the green bits as these will be bitter.
  3. Put the petals into a heavy pan with 500 ml of water and heat to simmering point and then remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool. Then place the pan containing the water and petals in the fridge overnight.
  4. The next day, strain the liquid through a sieve to remove the petals and return it to your heavy pan.
  5. Add the sugar and lemon juice and simmer gently uncovered for around half an hour until the liquid is thick and syrupy.
  6. Then transfer the syrup to a sterilised jar or bottle.

Notes

You can sterilise your jam-jar by washing it in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.

Uses for Dandelion Syrup include:  Pour over pancakes or waffles; Use to make soft drinks (one part syrup to four parts water); Use as a basis for alcoholic cocktails.

Keywords: dandelion syrup

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Dandelion honey

Dandelion Syrup and Dandelion Jelly

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2 jam-jars 1x
  • Category: Baking ingredients
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This is an unusual jelly which is flavoured with the fresh, floral scent of dandelions.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 150 dandelion flowers –  make sure that these have been grown somewhere that has not been treated with pesticides or fertilisers
  • 500 ml water
  • 500 g  jam sugar (this is caster sugar with added pectin)

Instructions

  1. Wash your dandelion flowers in a bowl of cold water to remove dirt and small insects.
  2. Cut the petals off the flowers just above the green sepals.  You do not want to include the green bits as these will be bitter.
  3. Put the petals into a heavy pan with 500 ml of water and heat to simmering point and then remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool. Then place the pan containing the water and petals in the fridge overnight.
  4. The next day, strain the liquid through a sieve to remove the petals and return it to your heavy pan.
  5. Add the jam sugar and bring to the boil.  Then allow to continue boiling for 10 minutes until the setting point is reached.  (You can judge the setting point by putting a saucer in your freezer before making the jelly.  Spoon some of the jelly onto the cold saucer and leave to cool.  If the surface of the jelly crinkles when you push it with your finger, it is ready.  If not, continue boiling and try again after a few more minutes).
  6. Remove from the heat and then pour into a sterilised jar.

Notes

Although preparation time is only 30 minutes, you will need to leave the mixture overnight (see step 3) to allow the flavour to infuse.

You can sterilise your jam-jar by washing it in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.

Uses for  Dandelion Jelly:  Spread on crusty buttered bread; Use as cake filling.

Keywords: dandelion jelly

Yellow, shaggy dandelions
Dandelion flowers