Dandelion Jam
Inspired by our friends at Wilds Play Natures Way in Bean. A magical place for children to imagine and play.
Ingredients
- Collect lots of bright, fresh dandelion blossoms(leave some for the Bees,collect them on your 1 walk)
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 package powdered fruit pectin (see in comments if you don't have pectin)
- 5 1/2 cups Sugar
- 1 Pint Water
Instructions
- Rinse the dandelions quickly in cold water and snip off the stems and green collars under the blossoms.
- Boil the petals in 1pint of water for 3 minutes. Cool and strain, pressing the petals with your fingers to extract all the juice.
- Measure out 3 cups of the dandelion liquid and place in a saucepan, Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 package of powdered fruit pectin (1 ¾ ounces).
- Bring the mixture to the boil. Add 5 ½ cups of sugar, stirring to mix well. Continue stirring, and boil the mixture for 2-½ minutes.
- Pour into small glass Jars and cover.
Notes
All things Pectin
Long before the invention of pectin powder, housewives used fruit as the source of pectin when they needed a gelling agent for jams and jellies
Fruits that are rich in pectin include quinces, peaches, and citrus. One way to get the gelling effect is to add any of these fruits to the fruit that you are using to make your jam. Lemon wedges are often added because of the pectin in the peel. You can also use citrus pith to make your own pectin by boiling the piths (the peels without the zest) from approximately 8 oranges in 2 cups of water with a little added lemon juice. You can also make pectin with apples by boiling 7-8 apples in 4 cups of water. In both cases, you will remove the fruit and reduce and strain the liquid to get a high concentration of liquid pectin.
Long before the invention of pectin powder, housewives used fruit as the source of pectin when they needed a gelling agent for jams and jellies
Fruits that are rich in pectin include quinces, peaches, and citrus. One way to get the gelling effect is to add any of these fruits to the fruit that you are using to make your jam. Lemon wedges are often added because of the pectin in the peel. You can also use citrus pith to make your own pectin by boiling the piths (the peels without the zest) from approximately 8 oranges in 2 cups of water with a little added lemon juice. You can also make pectin with apples by boiling 7-8 apples in 4 cups of water. In both cases, you will remove the fruit and reduce and strain the liquid to get a high concentration of liquid pectin.