Saturday, April 2, 2016

Violet Freezer Jam - A Lovely Treat for Spring

To be such a small blossom, violets seem to be awfully polarizing.  I love them! 




Others call them vicious names like "WEED"!  Hopefully, this post will change the minds of those haters!  ;-)

 
 
 
Our yard hosts four different varieties of violets.  Two are purple, light and dark, along with one that is swirled and sort of gray.  We even have one that is yellow!
 
 
 
 
 
In Arkansas, the State Butterfly is the female Diana Fritillary, whose host plant happens to be violets.  Blooming in early Spring I think they make a beautiful ground cover for tulips.  Are you loving them yet?  Do you know they are edible?  To me they taste sort of like a blend of berries mixed with a few grapes.
 
 
 
 
Here is my fun little recipe for Violet Freezer Jam, sure to heal any winter blues!  ;-)  It is a blur of two recipes.
 
I made JIM LONG'S RECIPE FOR VIOLET JAM a couple of years ago and I recently posted a review of  COOKING WITH FLOWERS.  One recipe suggests placing the violets in a blender while the other one suggests making a strong tea with them.  I did both!  ;-)
 
 
 
 
Violet Freezer Jam
 
2 1/2 cups Violet Blossoms, no stems (rinsed and loosely packed)
Juice from 1 Lemon
1 cup Violet Lemon Balm Tea
4 cups sugar
1 box 1.75 ounces Fruit Pectin
 
First, prepare the tea so it can steep.  Place 1/2 cup Violets and 1 cup Lemon Balm leaves in a glass container, pour just over 1 cup boiling water on top of them and cover.  Let steep at least 20 minutes.  The longer it steeps, the stronger the tea will be. Strain to make 1 cup.  You may need to press the leaves to get enough liquid.
 
In a blender combine 2 cups Violets, Lemon Juice and Violet Lemon Balm Tea.  Process until smooth.  Pour contents of blender into a medium saucepan along with the sugar and pectin.  Stir constantly until mixture begins to boil.  Boil for 1 minute.  Skim any foam.  Pour into small, clean jars.  This is a freezer jam.  Let cool and then store in your freezer.
 
 


(You can see I was impatient and took photos before it was set!)
 
Isn't it a beautiful color?  I would describe the flavor as herbal lemon berry. 
 
Please tell me.  What do you love about violets?
 
;-)  -Marci

16 comments:

  1. Well I never would have thought of them as a weed. They are quite beautiful aren't they? Thanks for sharing your recipie.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Haven't seen violets in garden for many years, we live in western CO where it is very dry, don't see hydrangeas that much either. We have great deal of alkali in ground so hard to grow many things. Love to see violets on ground but never thought of them as edible. Think that's great they are so useful.
    Thanks for recipe, don't know if I'll ever use it but just never know.
    Happy weekend

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have tons of violets in our spring yard so I may give this a try. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is so pretty, Marci. I made a pink rose petal vodka one time. It is fun to eat what we grow in all sorts of forms. Beautiful flowers too.

    Wishes for tasty dishes, Linda

    ReplyDelete
  5. A wonderful recipe for molly-coddle ourselves, my dear Marci, I sincerely thank you for sharing it !
    I'm taking note, we have so many violets in full blossom, I want to try it as soon as I can !

    Hope your week is off to a great start I wish you wonderful days to come

    sending love to you

    Dany

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your recipe looks lovely. I have enjoyed making a violet vinegar--harvesting the blooms, rinsing and placing in a canning jar. Then I pour a white wine vinegar over them and let it set for about 2 weeks. Then I strain it. I use the vinegar to make a salad dressing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I once took a class on cooking with flowers. But I have never heard of this one. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  8. Marci I have just started to really love flowers. I t hink getting behind the camera really makes you notice things that you wouldn't otherwise. I had no idea that you could eat flowers. But it does make sense they are plants afer all. Thanks for joining us over at Sweet Inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  9. We had violets in our yard when I was growing up and always loved them. I have a few now, but not sure if I have enough to make you pretty jam. I will be watching for them though.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Violets have a beautiful colour. Never heard of Violet Jam before, sounds lovely xx

    #PoCoLo

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think they are beautiful and your jam sounds wonderful! :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am guessing that you must be in America as you refer to your garden as your yard and I am interested to note that some people you know refer to violets as weeds - that would never be the case in the UK where I am from (although I am now in France) - I used to love violet sweets as a child and as our local walks are full of violets now I might have to give this jam a go. #pocolo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In response to your email to me here is a link to the sweets I ate that were called Parma Violets (not that I think they contained any violets in them!) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parma_Violets
      Crystallized violets were also popular on cakes in the past.

      Delete
  13. What an interesting recipe - not something I'd ever thought of using for jam! And yes Parma Violet sweets were just fab! Thanks for linking up to #PoCoLo

    ReplyDelete
  14. The jam sounds so tasty and homey. Pinned and shared. Thanks for linking up at Welcome Spring

    ReplyDelete
  15. I had never thought of using violets to make jam before. It sure looks tasty! Pinned.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my Stone Cottage! I love hearing from you! Just recently, though, anonymous comments have been blocked.