Making your own jelly is easy to do, but did you know that you can make jelly from honeysuckle blossoms? Learn how now!
Years ago, when I lived in Alaska, I learned about making Fireweed Jelly from the beautiful fire weed flowers that grow wild all over the landscape.
Here on the homestead we have another wild flower in abundance- honeysuckle. It grows all around the homestead and, at times, in place that I would rather it not.
But I decided to put some of it to use and create honeysuckle blossom jelly. I took the fireweed jelly recipe and altered it slightly to make this tasty spread.
To Make Honeysuckle Blossom Jelly you will need:
- honeysuckle blossoms
- water
- sugar
- powdered pectin
- canning jars
- hot water bath canner
- canning tools
- lemon juice
- saucepan
- cheese cloth
- sieve
- stock pot
To begin, you’ll need 4 cups of beautiful honeysuckle blossoms. It’s okay if they are a little yellow. Go through them and pinch off all of the green bits from the stem end of the flower. They are bitter and you don’t want that in the jelly.
Wash the blossoms under cold water and then place them in a sauce pan with water. You will simmer this together for 20 minutes to create a tea.
Strain the liquid through a sieve that is lined with cheese cloth. Squeeze the cheese cloth to get every bit of the tea from the blossoms.
Add the liquid to a large stock pot.
Stir in pectin and lemon juice, then bring this to a rolling boil for 1 minute.
Add in sugar, stirring continually, and boil hard for another minute. Test the jelly to make sure it has gelled. If it hasn’t let it boil just a little longer and test again.
Remove it from the heat.
Ladle the jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space.
Remove any bubbles with a bubble wand, then wipe the rim of the jars with a damp cloth dipped in white vinegar.
Place a lid and ring on the jar and place the jar in the hot water bath or steam canner. Do this with all of the jelly.
Process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.
When canning in a hot water bath canner (or steam canner) always make note of the processing time. If the recipe only has one time shown, that is generally for 1-1,000 feet of elevation. Visit this article to learn how to make adjustments to the recipe for YOUR elevation: How to Adjust Canning Recipes for Elevation
After the jars have processed, turn off the heat, remove the lid of the canner, and let the jars rest for 5 minutes.
Transfer the jars to a lined surface in a draft-free location and let them sit for 12-24 hours. You can cover your counter with folded kitchen towels, or use a cooling rack.
Listen for the “pop” of success!
Ever have Jelly or Jam fail to set? No problem! How to Fix Runny Jelly or Jam – Set Failure
The next day, remove the rings, test the seals, wash and label the jars. Store them away in the pantry.
Enjoy!
If you like this recipe, check out all of my other recipes and articles here on Cosmopolitan Cornbread about food preservation.
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Honeysuckle Blossom Jelly
Ingredients
- 4 c honeysuckle blossoms
- 4 c water
- 2 packages powder pectin, (1.75 oz. each)
- 2 Tb lemon juice
- 4 c sugar
Instructions
- To begin, bring to a boil the blossoms and water together in a large sauce pan then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for 20 minutes, creating a "tea."
- Strain the liquid through a sieve that is lined with cheese cloth. Squeeze the cheese cloth to get every bit of the tea from the blossoms.
- Add the liquid to a large stock pot.
- Stir the pectin and lemon juice, then bring this to a boil, boiling hard for 1 minute.
- Add the sugar, stirring continually, and boil hard for another minute.
- Remove it from the heat. Skim off any foam. (See note below.)
- Ladle the jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space.
- Remove any bubbles with a bubble wand, then wipe the rim of the jars with a damp cloth dipped in white vinegar.
- Place a lid and ring on the jar and place the jar in the hot water bath or steam canner. Do this with all of the jelly.
- Process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. ( See the note about adjusting time for elevation in the article above. Processing times for canning recipes are always give for under 1000 ft elevation. You must make adjustments if you live at a higher environment.)
- After the jars have processed, turn off the heat, remove the lid of the canner, and let the jars rest for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the jars to a lined surface in a draft-free location and let them sit for 12-24 hours. You can cover your counter with folded kitchen towels, or use a cooling rack.
- Listen for the "pop" of success!
- The next day, remove the rings, test the seals, wash and label the jars. Store them away in the pantry.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- As you forage for the blossoms, pick the freshest, brightest blossoms you can find.
- This recipe makes 7 half-pint jars of jelly or 14 – 4 ounce jars. I normally make a combination of the two.
- To prevent the jelly from foaming when it boils, you can add 1/2 teaspoon of butter along with the pectin. That way you don’t have to skim foam before jarring up the jelly. It is a safe and effective method.
Nutrition
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
Unit Conversions:
Unit Conversion for measurements (if displayed), going from US to Metric is an auto-generated conversion. If you are using the metric measurements, please double-check to confirm that these are accurate with your favorite preferred conversion tool.
This post was written in 2020, updated in 2024.
How would I adjust the amount of sugar needed if I’m using the low-sugar sure jell? Thanks.
This was so simple, and so good! Who would have known!
I made this as my first pectin jelly- it is one of the most beautiful and deliciously scented jelly I’ve ever seen or smelled!
Thank you so much for the wonderfully simple recipe!
Can you use dried honeysuckle blossoms to make the tea for this jelly?
I have never tried it with dried. If you do, I would be curious about the results.
Used this recipe and it turned out great! The flavor was excellent.