Rose Petal Jam - Floral beauty in a jar

When I moved into the cottage almost 14 years ago, I found a few rose plants in the front of the house and was happy to see that these roses were full of fragrance. When my mum moved in with me, she loved the roses so much that we called them 'mums roses' and that what they are up to this day. One of my neighbours stopped by the other day and said 'your mum's roses smell beautiful again this year and what a pity that we can't preserve the fragrance'...... that got me thinking, how is rosewater being made..... and then, why not make jelly from it. Browsing through all my cookbooks I came across some ideas on how to make jelly from almost anything - so I simply used the method that I use for my lemon verbena jelly and it worked a treat.

One problem you have to look out for when making jelly is the pectin content of the fruit/flower/herb you are using and rose petals don't have any pectin. So adding a high pectin fruit is essential as well as using jam sugar rather than granulated or caster sugar. Some recipes will tell you to use granulated sugar - it won't set unless you add pectin to it. You can buy pectin in liquid form but also in powder form. It is not widely available (at least not in Cork) - the Organic Shop in the English Market has the powdered pectin while I got the liquid pectin from the Quay Coop shop in Cork.

When using extra pectin, follow the instructions. Some have to be added before the sugar while others are being added towards the end of the process. I am giving you here the powdered pectin version.

The result is simply beautiful - adding the lemon juice will intensify the colour and if using dark pink roses, the colour will be beautiful. A word about the roses - don't by the supermarket flowers, they are to 99% treated and can be nasty. If you have roses in your garden and you haven't sprayed them, use these. Otherwise ask your rose growing friends for some petals. Also, make sure that they are very fragrant - if they are not, the jelly will just be sweet and no flavour whatsoever will develop. I have made rosewater beforehand and used a few drops towards the end but if you don't have any, don't worry, the flavour will still be wonderful. Freshly baked scones go best with this jelly.


The recipe below makes about 1 jar of 250g

Rose Petal Jelly

• 6-8 heads of roses
• 300ml boiling water
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 pack of powdered pectin
• 300-400g jam sugar

Remove the petals from the heads, snipping of the white/yellowish part of the petals. Place them in a bowl and pour the boiling water over and leave to stand for 30 mins. 

Strain the liquid through a sieve, pressing the petals to get as much of the oil out as possible. You still should have about 300ml. Pour the liquid into a pan and add the lemon juice. Bring to the boil and sprinkle over the powdered pectin. Stir until dissolved. Add the jam sugar and stir until also dissolved. Bring back to the boil and boil rapidly for 1-2 mins. If using rosewater, add it now. 

Pour into sterilised jars and seal. 

Mr T called this elkelicious :-)

The Wild Table - A Foraging Day

Martin O'Leary will take us on a tour through the woods of Blarney. Come and join us for a day of fun and learn more about free wild food that grows right in front of us. Email biasasta@hotmail.com to secure your place. Price per person is €13 and includes information material and recipes. Children are welcome but need to be supervised. Appropriate footwear and clothing is essential. We are looking forward to welcoming you to the woods of Blarney.

Wild Food - Free Food - Delicious Food

Kitty Scully and I are currently running a series of garden workshops to help people creating their own kitchen garden. Kitty is covering the gardening side while I prepare the food for the workshops with seasonal ingredients. Of course, there is almost nothing left in a garden at this time of year and considering the cold spell we are experiencing these days, it will take a bit more time but there is still wild food readily available. Wild garlic and nettles are in full season now and Kitty went foraging for us and came with 2 bags of wild garlic and a bowl of nettles...

Yuk, nettles you might say, but don't disregard them - with a little of of TLC, you end up with a delicious soup. And it is much easier than you think. Wild garlic is the rage at the moment - and rightfully so, the taste of a freshly made pesto is just too delicious - and again, much easier to make than most people think.

When foraging, the best for beginners is to join an experienced guide - it is too easy to mistake wild herbs. Also, make sure to forage responsibly - don't rip out roots, just cut of the tops, when collecting elderflowers, make sure to leave some of the flowers on to ensure that the berries can come afterwards. Sustainability is just as important in foraging as it is with all kind of farming. And as a rule - if in doubt, don't take or eat it. When collecting wild garlic keep in mind that you don't need much to make 3 jars. Don't be tempted to make more - the pesto will last 3 weeks tops. So better to go out twice to make sure you get the best.

In late April/early May, we will have a foraging day, where we will be collecting wild food and prepare it afterwards for lunch/dinner. Final details will be published soon - register your interest by emailing us on biasasta@hotmail.com

The recipe below for the pesto is only a guideline. It all depends on how much wild garlic you have. Just keep adding the oil, cheese and pinenuts until you have the consistency you want. Keep in mind that Parmesan cheese is quite salty - so keep tasting the mix before adding more cheese. The traditional way of the Italian Pesto would be to pound the ingredients in a pestle and mortar but I am using a kitchen machine - life sometimes is too short.... but it depends on your preference really - if you got the muscle - do it.

Vibrant Wild Garlic Pesto

Wild Garlic Pesto

• Wild Garlic
• Olive Oil
• Pinenuts
• Parmesan cheese, grated

Clean the garlic leaves to make sure no grit, sand or bugs are present. Place the leaves in a kitchen machine with a metal blade and start mincing the leaves. With the motor running, add slowly the oil. When you have reached a pesto like consistency, add the pinenuts and give the mix a blitz again to crush the nuts.  Now add the Parmesan cheese - you will see that the consistency has changed again so you might need to add more oil. 

When you have reached the consistency you like, store the pesto in cleaned and sterilised jars - top up with oil to make sure that the pesto is covered. This will keep now in the fridge for about 3 weeks - always making sure that the pesto is covered in oil. 

Bon Appetit