Make One Beautiful Peony Flower Jelly From Blossoms

Recipe For Jelly From Peony Blossoms

Peony Flower Jelly Is stunning! It tastes somewhere between peach and strawberry jelly, and yet there is the unmistakable essence of the amazing fragrance from the showy, short-lived blooms.

Safety update: this peony jelly is for the refrigerator or freezer, not pantry canning. The earlier water-bath directions have been removed because no matching tested canning process has been established. University of Maine Extension recommends freezing unvalidated flower jellies or refrigerating them for no more than two weeks.

Peony Blossoms Last For 7 Days, But Peony Bushes Can Live 100 Years

Peonies are one of the most stunning of all the flowers of spring. The blooms are large and showy, and the incredible fragrance wafts far through the air. The plants are hardy, able to survive the harshest winters and live for a hundred years with virtually no care.

Peonies symbolize love, romance, and prosperity. When their first small round buds appear, they’re no bigger than a marble. It’s impossible to imagine how the blossoms can become so huge and loaded with so many petals! You can often find them blooming profusely in abandoned cemeteries.

Peonies downside? Those gorgeous, pillowy, romantic blooms only last about a week, and then they wilt and drop petal by petal until they are gone. Use the dreamy petals to make beautiful jelly and preserve them in a new and amazingly delicious form. Make some peony flower jelly to enjoy while we wait until another spring.

People ask, “what does it taste like?” In my opinion, it tastes somewhere between strawberry and peach, and it is a little bit tart. The floral essence comes through, but it isn’t strong or overwhelming.

How To Turn 8 Cups Of Flower Petals Into Beautiful Peony Flower Jelly

Use only correctly identified, food-grade Paeonia lactiflora petals, a species listed as reported edible by NC State Extension. Do not use florist flowers, roadside flowers, or plants with unknown pesticide exposure. Wash the petals, remove stamens and all other flower parts, then measure eight cups, lightly pressed down. Avoid edible flowers if you have relevant flower or pollen allergies.

Put the prepared petals in a large pot with one washed, sliced lemon and enough water to barely cover them. Boil for ten minutes. Cool promptly in shallow heat-safe containers, refrigerating within two hours, or within one hour if the room is above 90°F. Cover and steep for eight hours or overnight in the refrigerator at 40°F or below.

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After steeping, the peony blossoms have lost their loveliness but never fear, and their essence is very much alive! You have created a batch of peony tea!

Strain out the petals and lemon. Measure four cups of this peony tea for one batch of jelly; add a little water only if needed to reach four cups. The infusion may make extra tea: freeze any surplus promptly for another batch. Each batch needs its own four cups of sugar, one 1.75-ounce box of regular powdered pectin, two tablespoons of lemon juice and one teaspoon of butter. Do not double the jelly batch.

Please refer to the recipe card for tips on successful jelly and jam making. The number one rule for me is to have everything you need ready before you begin!

Prepare clean, heat-safe half-pint containers and clean lids; choose freezer-safe containers for portions you will freeze. Have seven containers ready, allowing for variation in the original reported yield. This is not a shelf-stable preserve, and a lid that seals as the jelly cools does not make it safe for pantry storage.

Measure 4 cups of sugar into a container and set it aside.

Put four cups of peony tea in a tall stockpot. Add two tablespoons of lemon juice, one 1.75-ounce box of regular powdered pectin such as Sure-Jell, and one teaspoon of butter to reduce foaming. Bring to a boil, stirring until the pectin dissolves.

While the mixture boils, add the sugar all at once. Keep cooking and stirring until the mixture begins to boil again and comes to such a boiling point it cannot be “stirred down.” Set a timer and cook for exactly one minute. You do not need a thermometer.

Remove from the heat and carefully ladle the hot jelly into clean, warm, heat-safe containers. Leave at least half an inch of headspace for freezing, or the space required by your freezer-container manufacturer. Keep the batch in small containers so it cools promptly.

Wipe the rims with a clean damp cloth and fit clean lids according to the container manufacturer’s directions. Do not process this jelly in a water bath. The original canning photograph below is retained, but it does not show the corrected refrigerator/freezer storage method.

Refrigerate promptly at 40°F or below, within two hours of cooking, or one hour above 90°F; do not leave the jars out overnight to set. Once chilled, freeze the portions you will not use within two weeks. Allow additional refrigerator cooling and setting time beyond the listed eight-hour infusion.

Label each container with the preparation date. Keep refrigerated and use within two weeks, or freeze. Thaw frozen jelly in the refrigerator and use promptly. Discard the entire container if mold or other spoilage appears; do not scrape mold off and eat the rest.

The original jelly was made without food coloring. Flower colors and flavors vary; do not substitute other flower species into this recipe or borrow its proportions for pantry canning.

If giving this jelly as a gift, keep it cold and include its preparation date and refrigerator/freezer storage instructions. It is lovely in thumbprint cookies or simply spread on bread.

But for now, I am happy to enjoy it very simply, on bread, while sitting on the bench overlooking my flower bed. I’d love for you to come and sit by me.

Peony Jelly

Yield: 1 batch (have 7 half-pint containers ready; yield varies)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours 40 minutes

Peony jelly for the refrigerator or freezer, not pantry canning. One jelly batch uses 4 cups of strained peony tea. Time includes an 8-hour refrigerated infusion; allow additional refrigerator cooling and setting time.

4.5 Stars (13 Reviews)

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Ingredients

• 8 cups prepared food-grade Paeonia lactiflora petals, washed, non-petal parts removed
• 1 lemon, washed and sliced
• Water, enough to barely cover petals; use 4 cups strained infusion per jelly batch
• 4 cups sugar, per jelly batch
• 1 (1.75-ounce) box regular powdered pectin, per jelly batch
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice, per jelly batch
• 1 teaspoon butter, per jelly batch

Instructions

1. Use only food-grade, correctly identified Paeonia lactiflora petals. Avoid florist or roadside flowers and unknown pesticide exposure. Wash petals and remove all non-petal parts. Do not use flowers if you have relevant flower or pollen allergies.
2. Measure 8 cups of prepared petals, lightly pressed down. Put them in a large pot with 1 washed, sliced lemon and enough water to barely cover.
3. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.
4. Cool promptly in shallow heat-safe containers and refrigerate within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F. Cover and steep for 8 hours or overnight at 40°F or below.
5. Strain out the petals and lemon slices. Choose a tall stockpot for the jelly.
6. Measure 4 cups of strained peony tea for one batch; add a little water only if needed to reach 4 cups. Freeze any extra tea promptly for another batch.
7. This recipe is refrigerator/freezer-only, not a tested pantry-canning recipe. Do not water-bath process it, and do not double the jelly batch.
8. Wash and rinse heat-safe half-pint containers and clean lids. Keep containers warm for filling; use freezer-safe containers for freezing. Have 7 containers ready; the original reported yield varies with fill level.
9. Measure 4 cups of sugar and set aside. The remaining ingredients are for one batch using 4 cups of tea, not all the infusion.
10. Combine the 4 cups of peony tea, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, one 1.75-ounce box regular powdered pectin and 1 teaspoon butter in the stockpot.
11. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the pectin dissolves.
12. Add all the sugar, stir, and return to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil for exactly 1 minute.
13. Remove from the heat. Carefully ladle into the prepared containers, leaving at least 1/2 inch headspace for freezing or the space required by the container manufacturer.
14. Wipe the rims with a clean damp cloth.
15. Fit clean lids according to the container manufacturer. A lid that seals during cooling does not make this jelly shelf-stable.
16. Refrigerate promptly at 40°F or below, within 2 hours of cooking, or 1 hour above 90°F. Do not leave the jars on the counter overnight to set.
17. Label with the preparation date. Use within 2 weeks refrigerated; once chilled, freeze the portions you will not use within that time.
18. Allow additional refrigerator cooling and setting time beyond the 8-hour infusion. Thaw frozen jelly in the refrigerator and use promptly. Keep gifts cold with storage instructions; discard the entire container if mold or other spoilage appears.

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