As autumn approaches, my garden is preparing for one final flourish before Day of the Dead (in Seattle that’s, aptly, The End…when my last marigolds will succumb to too much damp, the few remaining roses ‘forget’ to open fully, and quince stragglers, brown, soft and vinegary, lie on the ground).
In these late-August days, I’m thinking ahead: I need to make one more batch of fig-leaf syrup (my Desert King fig tree is so happy it’s two stories high, its leaves bigger than my head) and plan this year's assorted quince treats: savory, sweet and alcoholic. Our Russian quince tree (Aromatnaya) has so much fruit I'll be donating some to a pig sanctuary and a weed-chomping, underbrush-clearing goat herd. I’ll also make the final batches of rose jam.
I didn’t grow up eating roses. I don’t believe I tasted rose jam till I moved to New York City in my late teens. The first rose jam I ate was from Greece. I found the flavor too perfume-y and harsh. It wasn’t until years later when I drank a rose-flavored soft drink from India that I realized rose “food” could taste natural and delicious. I don't look at roses in the same way I used to: now, roses aren't just for garden spectacle, pretty bouquets or perfumes — they're "produce" I can eat and drink.
I’ve made rose jam using a variety of recipes — from Syria, Turkey, Greece, Pakistan, Lebanon, Israel. As we all do, I’ve tweaked these recipes to make rose jam that I love and love making. Today, I'm presenting two simple rose jam recipes: accent on rose and rose alone.
For rose jam, you’ll need fresh, organic, highly fragrant rose blossoms; dark pink and red roses make the best-tinted jams. I would no more color my rose jam with food coloring (of any type) than I would use rose water1 to augment the rose flavor.
Some of you cooks out there are about to exclaim: “HA! He ridicules rose water but uses…PECTIN! Heresy!” I do use liquid pectin in many jams and jellies. You can make your own pectin using apples (recipes abound online) or you can buy commercial pectin. I use pectin because it reduces cooking time. Many fruits, and especially FLOWERS, lose much of their character and delicate flavors the longer you subject them to high heat. Believe me: peaches cooked to the jelling point (220°F at sea level)2 taste different from peaches cooked quickly and set with pectin. Some of you may prefer a long, hot boil and the flavor it produces. I, usually, don't (exception: rich grape jams).
I make rose jam two ways and both styles of preparation are ‘classic’ techniques: rose jam with crushed petals and rose jam with whole petals. You will learn by trial and error which you prefer and most importantly, which roses are best for each technique. If your rose variety has really tough petals…crushing the petals will make for a “tender” jam. Robin Here at NST™ likes my whole-petal jam because she loves a bit of “chew” (she’s a marmalade fiend). The roses I use for my jams are Firefighter, Aromatherapy, Grande Dame, Perfume Delight and Double Delight (which has a powerful amber-rose scent I can't resist but little color, so I mix them with darker red-pink roses).
Version Number One: Rose Jam with Crushed Rose Petals
10 fresh (young), large, organic, super-fragrant rose blossoms
3 cups of sugar
Juice of four limes (this is to mimic the flavor of the rose soda from India) OR
Juice of two large lemons
2 cups water
2 tablespoons vodka
1. Pick the roses just after they are open (don’t use tight buds); picking in the cool of morning or late afternoon is best.
2. Separate the petals from the receptacle by grasping the entire rose blossom in your left hand while holding the stem in your right hand; pull. Holding the entire bunch of petals in your left hand, use scissors to snip away the white/lighter-colored bases of the petals. Discard the harsh-tasting base bits, but not before comparing their taste to the flavor of a fresh rose petal.
3. Place the rose petals into a colander with large openings (shake the rose petals to remove any debris, pollen); if you feel the rose petals need more ‘cleaning’ you may gently rinse them with some COLD water. I rarely do this because I feel I’m removing some of the fragrance. I’m not a chemist; I may be a fool.
4. Put the cleaned rose petals into a large glass bowl, add the three cups of sugar and rub the sugary petals between your fingers until they are reduced to a pulpy mass (doesn't sound appetizing but it sure smells great). Do not use a food processor for this step; first, it’s a joy to smell and feel the rose petals and sugar in your hands, and secondly, the resulting pulp from a machine will not be as pleasing, texture-wise (it will be liquefied).
5. Add the vodka, stir, cover the bowl tightly with a double layer of plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for several hours (2-3 will suffice).
6. When ready to cook, put the rose pulp into a large stainless steel, high-sided pot, add the 2 cups water and citrus juice of your choice and cook over low heat until the mixture thickens: approximately 20-30 minutes or until the jelling point is reached. I never cook rose jam for over 30 minutes; if the jelling point has not been reached by this time, I use pectin to set the jam. If you use pectin, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for amounts and cooking time. (See links at the end of this post for detailed instructions on sterilization of equipment and jam-making processes, with and without pectin.)3
7. Place the rose jam into sterilized jars. I like to use a mix of 8 oz. jars and smaller 4 oz. jars; the 4 oz. jars are perfect test-gifts for those who may want to try a jam for the first time. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp, clean towel to remove all sticky jam residue, place sterilized lids/bands on the jars and seal in a water bath for 10 minutes. The jam tastes best if used within one year, but will last two years unopened. After opening a jar of jam, store it in the refrigerator.4
Version Number Two: Rose Jam with Whole Rose Petals
10 fresh (young), large, organic, super-fragrant rose blossoms
3 cups of sugar
Juice of two large lemons
3 cups water
1. Follow rose prep instructions (steps 1 through 3) from Version Number One above, and then put the cleaned, whole rose petals into a stainless steel, high-sided pot, add two cups water and one-half cup sugar and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for five minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and cover the pot with a clean, lint-free cotton towel (especially if you have dogs or cats and their accompanying fur floating about). When the rose-sugar-water mixture is room temperature, place the mixture into a large glass bowl, cover tightly with two layers of plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for up to one day.
3. When ready to cook: pour the rose mixture into a stainless steel, high-sided pot, add 2 and one-half cups sugar and the additional cup of water; bring the mixture to a boil.
4. After boiling the mixture for up to ten minutes, use a stainless steel or wooden spoon to remove any froth that forms around the edges of the pot.
5. Reduce heat to low, add lemon juice (watch the color of the mixture intensify) and simmer for 20-30 minutes (if the jelling point has not been reached by 30 minutes, I set the jam with pectin).
6. Follow step 7 in the first recipe, then eat leftover jam on a big slice of buttered toast, poured over yogurt, all by itself: you deserve it!
If either of your rose jams does not set and your “jam” is more of a syrup, don’t fret! Rose syrup is great to use on warm bread, in hot black tea, combined with cold sparkling water and fresh lemon juice, poured over ice cream or shaved ice, as a glaze for a cake, to scent vinegar, in drinks (try some rose and tamarind syrup in ice-cold vodka and lime juice with a splash of gin) or drizzled over sweet, vanilla-flavored rice pudding (full of almonds, pistachios, chopped dates or whole raisins, silver leaf as a garnish).
Happy cooking and enjoy the last days of summer!
1. I’ve wasted so much money on rose waters! The majority of rose waters I’ve tried do not taste “real;” they taste alcoholic, and their rose scent reminds me of beauty products. I’ll spare you the list of unsatisfying rose water brands, their countries of origin and their prices (from low to sky-high).
2. See additional info on the "jelling point," especially if you live at high altitudes.
3. For in-depth (and helpful) canning and canning safety instructions see Ball/Kerr’s website or the Department of Agriculture/National Center for Home Food Preservation online instruction documents.
4. The fact that my grandmother refused to refrigerate any jams (and we lived in the steamy South) and that I ate these jams all through childhood, probably accounts for the fact I’ve had food poisoning only twice in my life.
Note: all photos by the author.
I love rose jam, my favorite one is from Armenia. I have tried several other ones but that one is just perfect, doesn’t taste or smell artificial, the sugar amount is perfect. I also tried to do it myself, sometimes it comes out great ,but sometimes I am not satisfied with the result. I am going to try your recipes.
Hera: good luck! Just got a new rose and it smells of roses and raspberries…can’t wait to make jam with that one.
Which leads to my question: Have you ever made a rose and berry jam? I’m thinking Lush Rose Jam in actual jam form…
mrsdarcy: oh, yes…I combine roses with lots of things for new flavors. Rose-cherry, rose-strawberry, you name it.
What brand do you buy and where do you buy it? I would love to try it.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find this here, I bought one in Armenia and then friends are bringing me some when they travel. The brand is Tamara, if I ever find it here, I will let you know.
Thanks!
Wow what an inspiration! Now I need to plant a rose garden!
meredifay: love roses…vases full of flowers all summer, not to mention jams.
The variety of roses out there just boggled my mind. I appreciate the list of tested fragrant ones to try out. Plus, the recipes sound great. Have you ever used the fragrant yellow Harrison roses for cooking?
meredifay: I’m a white-pink-red rose man…I don’t think I’ve ever had pure yellow roses in the garden.
Heritage hardy rose, the pioneers hauled them across the country as they moved west. My grandma’s house has some in the front yard.
Yum..yum…yum…(not that I will ever get around to making this :)!!!)
I do enjoy all foods with floral notes and this rose jam sounds extraordinary!
and as an aside, After 20 some odd years I finally got to step into an Annick Goutal boutique last Saturday ..because of your review the first bottle I picked up to sample was Sables…WOW! Is all I can say! I happen to love immortelle essential oil so I was smitten! and it lasted forever on my wrist…was huffing all night long! Definitely full bottle worthy!
chocolatemarzipan: I’m SO happy you like Sables…a wonderful perfume
Kevin, I love this post. As I read it, I kept thinking “Kevin, you’re the BOMB!” Would love to hear what you do with those figs. Bet it’s divine ???? Enjoy the remainder of your summer and your garden!
Ditto!
Laura: I’ll do a post on the figs!
Gorgeous photos, Kevin!
jALAPENO: Thanks!
Wow, this is great…thank you for sharing!
Filomena: you’re welcome!
Not sure I’ll get to canning this year, but I was *just* talking with my mother about making basil jelly. I’ve made different herb preserves, including a favorite–peach and lavender jam, and I adore nasturtium jelly. Never occured to me to try roses! But now it seems so obvious. I will be bookmarking this, in the optimism that I may get to make some preserves this year after all. Thanks for sharing, Kevin!
MR: mmmmmmmm…I can almost taste and smell basil jelly. After doing herbal infusions, you’ll have great success with roses
Not to encourage any more rosewater displeasure, but if you haven’t already tried it, Cortas brand is highly recommended by Victoria at Bois de Jasmin. It is food grade. I like it, but it is intense — only a tiny bit needed. It’s easily found in any store that carries Middle Eastern goods and is super cheap. (Their orange blossom is good too.)
She favouite is Mymoune but it isn’t as readily available. The information on real rosewater is useful. She also has ideas for food uses which you probably already know.
http://boisdejasmin.com/2013/02/10-ways-to-use-rosewater-perfume-beauty-food.html
Lindaloo: not at all! Some people may really enjoy the flavor of rose waters. The ones I’ve bought have almost always ended up on my skin as “cologne!” HA! I will say, if you love a certain rosewater brand, try it with a berry jam recipe…in those, in one tablespoon quantity per batch, it can be good.
This is a fantastic post. I’ve made rose jam, but wasn’t happy with the result: now I can see why. My method was clearly inferior to yours. I love rose water (I use both Cortas and Mymoune and there is also one from Iran that I like), but as with many rose perfumes, I don’t think it resembles real roses that much. I just happen to like the scent and flavour of rose water, too.
Very much looking forward to the fig post.
Annikky: it’s early morning in Seattle on a day that promises to be almost 90 degrees F…and my raspberry-scented roses are begging to be cooked. A hot day ahead! And I agree … the flavor of rosewater is a flavor all its own…very distinctive; as I said to Lindaloo above I can enjoy rose water in berry jams and cherry jam too. An infusion of rose geranium leaves can also give a great rose boost to foods.
Wow – this is amazing. Never thought of using roses for food, I always assumed one would need, like, equipment, and difficult-to-source ingredients. Too late for my roses this year, but I’ll bookmark this and give it a try again! Might we also get a post on the fig-leaf syrup?
I don’t have a lot of stuff to harvest, but I do soak my sour cherries in brandy and I make a tarragon cordial, which works very well with soda water (and gin).
Tippie: yes, fig leaf syrup will be ASAP! Your cordial sounds refreshing!
Echoing the others in requesting information on fig leaf syrup. We have a lot of fig leaves, though we never get any figs anymore because of the squirrels. I got one ripe fig from our four trees last year and not a single one this year.
MikasMinion: ah…that IS a small harvest! My tree is close to the house and two almost-20-lb cats “guard” that tree. Thankfully we get amazing figs in the markets here in Seattle. I’ll do the fig leaf post next week.
One of our trees is in the garden where it should be safe, but we have thinned the squirrel population to only the very sneaky and intelligent ones. Four to six small feline guards and still nightly rodent raids on every fig beginning to lighten and swell. The commercial figs offered in TX are abysmal, so yet another reason I should go north for a summer vacation
1) What a wonderful post! I make a crab apple jelly that is strained and then I add fragrant, macerated rose petals. It’s a VERY soft set and I do use Pomona’s pectin in the setting. I use this jelly in baked goods. If I am doing a Victoria type sponge with a cream filling, for example, I mix the cream with this jam. VERY GOOD. Also, if you make homemade ice cream, dairy or vegan, add this jam instead of vanilla as a flavoring.
2) As you probably know, we have tons of wild plum and apricot trees down here in the PDX metro area. I like freezing some of the fruit for pies and stews in the winter. As a byproduct, there are the seeds, which you can crack open and make a richly flavored syrup. I make a couple of bottles of syrup mixed with the plum seed kernels and rose petals. It’s a wonderful- rich bitter almond flavor combined with a rich cooked rose petal flavor, and it’s damn good to serve in ice cold drinks and to flavor foods.
3) There are fig tree all over PDX, so I am looking forward to the fig post!
(Public Health Alert: Just so that you know, there is the teeniest amount of cynanide- it would not even kill a fly.)
Ede: I crack open the apricots too and use for “crunch” in apricot jams…adds zing. I had no idea there were lots of apricots growing down in Portland! Stay cool these next few days…yikes, over 100 degrees F in Portland tomorrow and Saturday.
Hey Kevin:
I was surprised to find them as well! Mostly in the Milwaukie and Hillsboro area. Blink and you will miss them!
And yes, hot hot hot. Will be hiding indoors with lots of water!
Oh, Ede, we really need to make an excuse to get together some time! I have spent many late summers and autumns gleening fruit around town and then fogging up my kitchen making preserves with the harvest! I would love to learn the plum kernel syrup! SO many plum trees, and I find the fruits tend to be annoyingly buggy . . .
Hey there!
Let’s do this! It’s really easy and fun, and with all the fruit for gleaning it’s really easy to get a lot of plums and plum kernels. tarts made with Italian prunes! Oh yes, and imagine serving with a yogurt sauce flavored with rose/plum kernel syrup.
As for the bugs- annoying, but shows that the fruit was not sprayed, and hey can be rinsed off anyways.
Lovely post, Kevin! I can’t remember if you like pickles, but I once had some delicious home-made sour pickles in the mountains of North Carolina. Each small cucumber had been wrapped in a grape leaf. Googling reveals that grape, oak, cherry, or fig leaves can be substituted for alum to make pickles crisp. The grape leaves also imparted a unique flavor, and I imagine fig leaves would, too.
Although one could eat the grape leaves, I don’t think that was the intention. There is a recipe on the Splendid Table website that calls for just adding some leaves, rather than wrapping each cucumber.
Noz: thanks…and I do love pickles…but eat them rarely since so few have that great crispness. VERY interesting about the oak leaves.