I went foraging yesterday and today - one of my more frugal and favorite pastimes. I love making jellies and jams (heaven knows why, I rarely eat them!) and I can't pass a flower or a plant without wondering what I can make from it. As I like to walk and am blessed with beautiful local trails just a hop, skip and a jump from my doorstep, I often see wild fruits and flowers just waiting to be foraged. Yesterday, I could smell the sweet scent of ripe wild strawberries as I marched down the trail. To either side, there was an abundance of wildflowers decorating the uncut grass. I spent about an hour and a half wandering up and down and off the trail picking berries and clover flowers (and sampling a few berries along the way!). I was zonked once I finally made it back home - the sun pretty near fried my brain - so I rested up and waited until evening to process the flower heads. I removed all the green and brown bits, leaving only fresh purple flower heads, which I then rinsed in cold, running water. I placed them in a glass dish and poured 4 cups of boiling water on top of them. That was it for the night. Today, once I finally dragged myself out of bed (not a good start to the day), I came down to find a lovely light pink infusion waiting for me. I strained the liquid through two layers of cheesecloth, leaving it to drip for about an hour. Then I transferred the liquid to a stainless steel pot, added 1/2 cup of lemon juice, and 8 cups of sugar. Brought the mixture to a full boil, added 1 packet of liquid pectin, boiled for about 2 minutes, then removed the jelly from the heat, skimmed off the froth, and transferred it to sterile mason jars. (I washed and sterilized jars and canning equipment prior to beginning the jelly.) It made 9 jars of a lovely honey-tasting clover jelly that is a beautiful, crystal-clear, pink shade.
Inspired by this success, and knowing that there were several very fragrant wild rose bushes growing along the trail and in my neighbor's garden, I decided that rose-petal jelly would be the next product. R, D & I headed out for an evening walk with the dog and several doggie bags in hand. With the guys' assistance, by the time we returned home, I had a bulging doggy bag of fragrant rose petals of deepest fuschia and pale pink. Compressed, I had about 4 cups of petals. This time, the process was much simpler. I sorted the petals to remove any green or brown bits, rinsed them, crushed them with a potato masher to release the scent, and then transferred them to a deep stainless steel pot. I poured 8 cups of boiling water on top, gave them a stir and set them on the burner to bring the mixture back to a boil. After about 5 minutes boiling, I strained them through two layers of cheesecloth. I was left with about 7 1/2 cups liquid, with I returned to the freshly cleaned pot. I added an extra 1/2 cup of water, a scant cup of lemon juice, and 16 cups of sugar. I brought this mix to a full boil, stirred in two packets of liquid pectin, and then brought it back to a boil for about 3 minutes. Again, I took it off the heat, skimmed the froth, and transferred it to sterilized jars. I made just over 16 jars of a gorgeous rosy red jelly that has a spicy tang to it.
Tomorrow, weather and health permitting, I'm heading out again to gather enough wild strawberries to make at least a couple of jars of jam.....
