Rose Petal Jam (with Fresh or Dried Roses)

Roses and Rose Petals Everywhere

Now y’all know I love my roses in the kitchen. Everywhere else too, but let’s stick to the kitchen for today! I use them in savoury dishes, in desserts and also in drinks. In fact, I have a few bottles of homemade rose liqueur proofing away in my mini cellar (really mini, like under the back stairs mini). Looking forward to that!

The aroma of roses and their accompanying musky flavour is just so incredibly enticing, like in our rose petal jam, you’ll be wondering why roses are not a regular fixture in your pantry.

I mean, just take a look at these recipes, we could do a spot the roses game:

Rose Petal Jam Recipe

As mentioned above, it is a very easy recipe. I give an optional step the night before, that you can omit, if you forget. To make rose petal jam, all we do is:

1. Wash your rose petals to get rid of dirt and bugs by swirling them in a large bowl filled with cool water. Then leave them to air dry, if you picked them yourself or they haven’t been washed by your supplier.
2. Then, look for any remaining bugs. This is especially important of you are using wild rose petals.
3. We rub the sugar and the rose petals together. This is to infuse the sugar with the musky aroma of the roses. This step (and the ones before) want doing the night before you start making your jam.
4. Place the rose petals, sugar, water and pectin in a saucepan bring to a rolling boil. This furious boiling is important for the pectin to get activated, so that your jam will set. If you see any foam forming, just skim it off with a metal spoon.   
5. Add the lemon juice and watch the magic take place in the change of colour and leave to simmer for a few minutes.
6. Check the set of the jam (or rose petal jelly, if you strain it, and as it’s also called). This is explained in the recipe card at the end of this post. 
7. Transfer your rose jam mixture to a sterile jar or jars, depending on the size of your jars. 

That’s it. Does that sound easy to you?

Note: if your jam is too runny, just place it back on the stove and cook it for a little longer.

Ingredients

Making rose petal jam is a very straightforward process. We only need a handful of ingredients:

• fresh or dried organic (or non sprayed) edible rose petals. This can be bought from a reliable source, or, use wild roses that you know haven’t been sprayed with pesticide. Don’t use roses from florists, you need to find a source that say edible roses, specifically. I get all my edible flowers (that I don’t grow) from an online supplier.
• white sugar.
• pectin (this is important, as roses don’t contain any pectin at all)
• lemon juice or lime, but to me, lemon goes better with the musky aroma of roses. Lemon juice only contains a small amount of pectin, so it’s not going to thicken your jam considerably. Lemon juice also brightens up your rose jam, giving it a vibrant pop of colour. Without it, your rose petal jam will be a sorry brown colour.
• rose water, for just a boost in that final perfume.

Rose Petal Jelly Recipe

You can convert this rose petal jam to rose petal jelly for a condiment with a smooth feel and texture by straining it before adding the pectin. So hold the pectin initially and just simmer the roses, sugar and water.

After straining, place it back on the stove, add the pectin and lemon juice and cook on a rolling boil. The longer you boil, the harder the set of the rose jelly. 

How to use this Rose Petal Jam

How do you use any jam that you love? Well, you can use it the same manner! These are just some of my favourite ways to use rose petal jam: 

• as a spread with scones, bread, croissants and so much more
• as a topping with pancakes
• to flavour rice pudding and anything similar like semolina pudding or chia pudding and definitely with yoghurt
• fantastic with ice cream, especially vanilla ice cream
• top Halawet el Jibn (Lebanese dessert, click for recipe)
• it’s amazing on a cheese board too
• it makes a quick pudding stirred into mascarpone or ricotta 

Love giving homemade gifts? Our rose petal jam makes a great foodie gift!

How long will this Jam Last?

Stored in sterilised jars, your homemade rose petal jam will last 12 months if kept in a cool cupboard.

You can extend this by giving it a water bath. Essentially, bring a large saucepan of water to a rolling boil and place your filled and sealed jars in. There should be at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) of water above the jars.

Bring the water back to a boil, place the lid on, and process for 10 minutes for these small jars we are using.

When done, left the jars out with heatproof tongs. Place on a cooling rack and leave to cool completely and undisturbed for 12 hours. Then store somewhere dark and cool for up to 2 years.

In both instances, once opened, store in the refrigerator and consume within a month.

Click here to read more on how to sterilise jars to store this rose petal jam, or anything else you make.

And now, shall we get our aprons on?

If you like the recipe and article, drop me a comment and if you’re feeling like a star, that 5-star rating! Thank you!

And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor.

Lin xx

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