Peonies are the very definition of spring. Their aroma can reach you from over a fence. The delicate, elaborate, luxurious blossoms bear the promise of a sweet summer on their overloaded stems. The only sad thing about a peony is how brief their tenure is in the garden. This spring, the peonies bloomed exceptionally late, delayed by a chilly, rainy April and May. Janna planted about 10 different varieties, and they bloomed in succession starting about two weeks ago, with only one bud left to burst. More heavy rain beat the blooms apart, and they were pretty much done-for in the landscape. I got the idea, though, to preserve the sweet perfumed blossoms as jelly, so we can enjoy the scent of spring into deepest winter.
I gathered about a quart of petals. These are best if home grown and known to be chemical-free. Pick out the brown petals and any green stem parts. Different varieties of peony have different aromas. Use the most fragrant blossoms you can find.
Add the juice of one large lemon. Sieve out the pulp for a truly clear result. As soon as the acid hits the peony tea, it changes from a sickly green to an appetizing pinkish-orange. Sterilize some jars (my recipe yielded about 4 1/2 cups total) and bring the mixture to a boil. Whisk in a package of pectin, and skim any scum from the surface. There won’t be much, but this step results in a clearer jelly. Bring it back to a boil, then dump in three cups of sugar. Whisk again, then bring it to a hard boil for one full minute. Again, if you haven’t made jelly from a pure liquid before, you’ll think your mixture is too thin. Resist the urge to add more pectin. The ratio is perfect. Ladle into jars, seal, and process for ten minutes.
I ended up with three half-pint jars, two half-cup jars and a small tupperware container of jelly to go directly into the fridge. It ended up as clear as stained glass, and a soft amber color. It jiggles satisfyingly on a spoon – the perfect jelly-set. On first taste, it’s almost as perfect as the legendary mimosa jelly I brought back from Nice: bright, heavily perfumed, slightly tart. This peony jam needs nothing more than to be spread lightly on an airy slice of bread to bring you fully back to a perfect day in May, when a ray of sun is piercing through a cooling gray rain cloud.
Peony Jelly
4 cups lightly packed peony petals
5 cups boiling water
Juice of 1 lemon
1 package of pectin
3 cups sugar
I so, so wish I had this before my peonies dropped all of their blossoms! I will definitely save it for next year. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great idea. I was going to do it last week but I made peony ice cream instead and then a violent thunderstorm crashed all our peonies to the ground before I could figure out a recipe for the jelly. I have to try this recipe next year when the peonies are in bloom again. Thanks for the recipe.
I used your method minus the pectin and some sugar to make a sage blossom syrup. It turned out lovely (it went from pink flowers to murky brown tea to vibrant orange syrup) and I cannot wait to give it to a more skillful mixologist for play. Thank you!
And by pink flowers, I obviously meant purple.
Thanks for all the comments! The more I eat this jelly, the more I love it. Amanda, that peony ice cream looks insanely good! Kate, I’m impressed you had so many sage flowers!
Aww thanks! It is. It’s all I can do not to devour it. I’ll have to make a bigger batch next year so I don’t feel a need to hoard it.
I was going to make this! You beat me to it. I followed a recipe for rose petal jam, but the petals were too chewy. I’ll have to strain them out, I guess. There’s something so lovely about those petals. Nice post!
I bet if you strained the infused rose petals out, and also candied fresh petals separately, you could add them near the end of the process for a better texture.
I had the same initial despondency making lilac ice cream and vinegar, but they both worked famously. Our peonies are bangin’ right now and I’ll be cutting some tomorrow to try this or a version thereof (I’m kind of obsessed with vinegar right now).
This is a great way to keep the perfume of flowers throughout the year. This spring, we made violet, dandelion, lilac, and black locust blossom jellies using this same method of steeping the flower petals. We don’t have peonies, maybe we can find a neighbor who does!
[…] week I read about peony jelly, and coming as it did on the heels of my lilac ice cream, I was excited to give peonies a shot. Our […]
i had such high hopes. i actually doubled the flower petals, hoping to get a potent tea- my peonies are pretty fragrant. followed the directions to the letter (yes, its a bit stinky), and when i added the lemon juice, nothing really changed color. i certainly didnt get that beautiful amber in the picture. the finished product geled nicely nad looks pretty, but just tasted like sugar, with a touch of lemon. thats it. sugar jelly. i have four batches of the stuff, so hoping i can pass it off as xmas gifts to people who wont notice or care…. 😦
[…] After googling a little, I found peonies are edible, but I could only find one recipe online (on an inactive blog: imperfecturbanfarm.com). […]
[…] was inspired by this post about sage blossom syrup and she was inspired by this peony(!) jelly. Otherwise I used the mint jelly recipe off the Certo liquid pectin package except for adding the […]