Oh me oh my! This is one of my favourite jellies to make and I literally “put this s&*t on everything!” But unlike Franks Hot Sauce, this is a sweet, honey coloured divinity that so far is delightful on literally EVERYTHING (well….on lots of stuff!) The obvious toast, biscuits, waffles, pancakes are adorned, but it also make a wonderful accompaniment on cheese and charcuterie boards as well as on baked salmon and pork. I have even glazed carrots with this!
Preparation:
To make this you must spend time with Mother Nature! You will wander, ponder and pick. Go on a sunny day and a little bit after the sun has bedazzled the fields. Go to a place that is not sprayed by your town. I go to friends farms or to this abandoned field near my home.
- Look for dandelions that are fully open and simply pop the heads off, place in your basket and carry on. Yes – bring a basket or a large bucket. You will want to gather enough dandelions to fill at least a litre with its petals.
- When you get home fill your kitchen sink with cold water and a tablespoon of white vinegar. I let the blossoms soak about 15 minutes and then rinse. I use my salad spinner to get the access water out. Allow them to air dry on a kitchen towel.
- Once dry you can start removing the petals. There is a groove to this and you will find you will get it when you are almost done! That is how life is. Mostly you want to make sure there are no green parts or stems left. You don’t need to tear every single blossom off. The green parts and the stem can be bitter is why we want to remove those!
- Place the blossoms in a large mason jar and cover with 3 cups of boiling hot water. Place on a sunny window sill for 24 hours. This “sun-tea” method allows for the best flavour extraction. You can skip this step and simply boil the blossoms and carry onwards with the recipe all in one go.
If you grow lavender, harvest some of that too. You won’t need much of it – about a tablespoon. Equally as nice is lilac blossoms. Be sure to wash those well too!
Now you are ready to start making your jelly!
Dandelion Lavender Jelly
Ingredients
- 1 litre fresh washed dandelion blossoms
- 3 cups boiling hot water
- 5.5 cups fine granulated sugar
- 1 package pectin crystals (57 g) I use Certo
- 1 tablespoon fresh or dried lavender
Notes
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Prepare your mason jars and lids aka sterilize! Once sterilized, evenly disperse your lavender amongst the jars. Keep jars hot and try not to let the aroma of lavender put you down for a nap!
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Prep the dandelion blossoms. Clean, pluck and then make a sun tea by placing the blossoms in a large mason jar and then fill with 3 cups of boiling hot water. Allow to sit in the sun for 24 hours.
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After 24 hours, strain your dandelion sun tea using a fine mesh strainer. A few blossoms sneaking through is ok! In fact, embrace it! I usually add a few in for looks!
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Add the 3 cups of your strained, sun infused dandelion blossoms to a large sauce pan. Add the pectin and combine bringing to a rolling boil.
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Once boiling, add sugar and stir well. Continue to stir and boil for about 2 minutes or until the mixtures coats a wooden spoon.
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Skim the jelly and pour into hot, clean, prepared mason jars (with lavender) and seal. Any that don't seal, you will have to refrigerate. Enjoy!
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*** If you do not wish to make the sun tea, you can simply boil 1 litre of blossoms in 2 litres of water, boil for 10 minutes or so, cool, strain and then proceed with the recipe!
