Foraged Violet Jelly

Sometimes when I see or read an idea, I know instantly: I will do that.  I latch on to it and become determined to make it happen.  That’s how it was for me when I first heard of wildflower jelly.

Last year I made dandelion jelly first, but was sad to have missed the wild violet season. This year I was determined to make the violet jelly, so I did that first and next I’ll do some more dandelion jelly.

I got some blossoms from my backyard for my first batch.  But I didn’t have very many so later we went foraging through the neighborhood for more.  I knocked on a neibor’s door and she was surprised but more than happy to let me help myself to her patch of violets.

to make violet jelly you pour boiling water over the blossoms to steep them like tea.

I always strain it through a floursack towel to keep out all the dirt. (See what got left behind?)

The violet water is a deep blue color, but when you add lemon juice (the acidity is necessary to preserve the jelly) it turns a bright fuchsia color.

They really are beautiful.

Violet Jelly Recipe:

The basic recipe is all over the internet-

2 cups violet blossoms, stems removed.

2 cups boiling water

juice of one lemon

1 package pectin (I used sure-jel for these)

4 cups sugar

Steep blossoms in water overnight.  Strain.  Add water if needed to make 2 cups.  Add lemon juice.  Follow directions for your pectin–mine were: Add pectin to juice.  Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve.  Add sugar, return to rolling boil, and boil for one minute exactly.  Ladle into jars and process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.  (Makes 12 4oz jars)

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Violet Jelly with Honey variation:

I experimented with using honey instead of white sugar to make the jelly.  I use Pomona’s Pectin. I used one cup of the violet water and followed the directions in Pomona’s for a basic jelly.  It was 1T lemon juice; 1/4 cup honey; 1 tsp of the calcium water (that comes with the Pomona’s Pectin); and 1 tsp of pectin. (Makes 3 4oz jars)

Next time I will use a little bit more pectin because it was a pretty loose set, and I may add a bit more honey–it was a very mellow jelly.  It definitely has some floral hints to it and I could taste the honey.  Obviously the jelly was more cloudy from the honey, but all-natural instead.

All-in-all it was a very satisfying project.

Backyard Honey Ice Cream

I mentioned I was reading Keeping Bees with Ashley English.  Well, my boys couldn’t help but be excited about all the bee books around, and Jonas found the recipe for Honey Ice Cream in the recipe section of her book. He wouldn’t let us forget about it, so this week we made a batch of backyard honey ice cream.

It was absolutely delicious, as homemade ice cream always is.  And it is made with only natural ingredients and honey as the only sweetener.  I love when food can be so real, and so delicious.

Honey Ice Cream Recipe:

2 cups milk

2/3 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 large eggs

2 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon vanilla

 

Note: This is a custard-type ice cream which uses eggs, the eggs are heated on the stove top and need to be chilled completely before attempting to freeze into ice cream, so prepare the mixture in the morning, or the night before you want to freeze it.

Heat the milk over medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes.  Whisk in the honey and salt.  Beat the two eggs in a small bowl.  Temper the eggs by slowly pouring 1/2 cup of the hot milk into the eggs while quickly stirring.  Once they are mixed together you can pour the eggs mixture into the pot of milk without the eggs curdling.  Cook for an additional 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.

Allow mixture to cool completely.  Then chill thoroughly,  8-12 hours.

Prepare ice cream freezer.  Pour in milk mixture, vanilla and cream.  Freeze according to the directions for your ice cream maker.

Ice cream always comes out of the mixer a bit of a soft-serve consistency, if you prefer harder ice cream, transfer to a chilled freezer-proof container and freeze four hours to harden.

Enjoy!