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A magical recipe for Rose Petal Jam made with wild rose petals and the simplest of ingredients.
In the sweetness of friendship, let there be laughter and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. ~ Khalil Gibran
There is nothing that heals the soul quite like the sea air, time spent with friends and Rose Petal Jam. Last week we spent a few glorious days on beautiful San Juan Island with dear friends Tonia Schemmel, her husband Mike and their two kids Zalee and Fin.
Why You’ll Love Rose Jam
Let me start by saying- this is no ordinary jam. In the past, Tonia has given me little precious jars of this -which I savor bit by bit and stretch out as long as possible because, to me, each spoonful feels as if it is infused with love.
It casts a magical spell over me, filling me with love for the world around me. I kid you not, there are days that have been completely transformed because of the miraculous effects of this jam.
This rose petal jam would make the perfect gift if you know someone who could use a little extra love. Truly.
Rose Petal Jam Ingredients
- Rose Petals- wild rose petals if possible. You can also sub-pesticide-free domesticated rose petals or dried, food-grade, rose petals Looking closely at the wild rose petals, you will notice something incredible. Is this coincidence? Each petal, surprisingly, is shaped like a heart! Their intoxicating scent melts away all tension.
- Organic Cane Sugar– we always try to opt for organic, when possible.
- Pectin– not only to thicken the jam, but to increase the volume of the jam, creating more jam!
- Lemon Juice- creates a vibrant color!
How to make Rose Jam
You can’t help but feel she is deeply connected with the earth and its cycles, her creative healing energy flowing outward and freely. She began foraging, long before it was trendy, making all sorts of tonics and elixirs—a true herbalist’s kitchen.
Living on San Juan Island gives her access to the fragrant wild roses that bloom all over the island in May and June, and the making of wild rose petal jam has become her yearly ritual. And I can’t help but feel a little bit of her heart in every batch. The recipe is surprisingly simple, and highlights the lovely rose flavor.
For this recipe, you’ll need to collect about two cups of rose petals, just lightly packed. Tonia describes this as pressing down on the petals just enough to make a perfectly comfortable “fairy bed.” If I were a fairy, I would be very happy sleeping here.
Step one: Weigh out two ounces of fresh petals.
Step four: Add the lemon juice….and watch the lovely transformation happen!
Step five: Mix the pectin with the remaining sugar.
Ways to Use Rose Petal Jam
- Spoon it over ice cream or yogurt.
- Spread it over buttered sourdough toast.
- Spoon it over pancakes, waffles, crepes, chia pudding or overnight oats.
- Serve with scones or rhubarb muffins!
- Add as a topping to desserts- like our Pavlova, Cheese Cake, or Olive oil Cake
- Take a spoonful right out of the jar!
Or spoon it right out of the jar, like Fin!
Hope you enjoy this lovely recipe and its magical effects.
xoxoxo
More recipes you may enjoy!
Rose Petal Jam Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 1 ¾ cups 1x
- Category: jam, sauces, condiments,
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Homemade Rose Petal Jam- a simple delicious recipe made with wild rose petals. A lovely gift, and delicious spooned over ice cream, pavlova or yogurt, or with toast, scones, crepes, or cake. Yields 1 3/4 cups.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of filtered water
- 2 ounces wild rose petals (approx. 2 cups lightly packed or to what would be a perfectly comfy fairy bed) (preferably collected 50 feet from roads, in a pesticide-free area) or 2/3 cup dried rose petals
- 2 cups organic cane sugar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pectin
Instructions
- Place water and roses in a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered.
- Add 1 ¾ c of sugar to the simmering petals. Stir to dissolve the sugar crystals.
- Add freshly squeezed lemon juice. Pay attention to the gorgeous vibrant color that emerges.
- Simmer 10 minutes over low heat.
- In a small bowl, combine the remaining ¼ cup sugar and pectin.
- While stirring the jam add the pectin/sugar mixture, sprinkle by sprinkle to ensure pectin incorporates without clumping.
- Simmer gently for 20 more minutes. It may seem quite loose for jam, but it will firm up as it sets. This does remain more of a silky syrup with luscious bits of petals.
- Place into Jam Jars- we like these weck jam jars.
- This keeps for 2 months in the fridge, also freezes beautifully and canning is always a brilliant option.
Notes
- You do not need to add calcium water to this recipe.
- You can use food-grade, dried rose petals, (readily available in natural food stores, in the bulk herb section) 1/3 cup dried rose petals = 1 cup fresh rose petals.
- You can use organic domesticated rose petals without any pesticides.
- For a thicker consistency, add less water, or increase the pectin.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
- Calories: 135
- Sugar: 14.3 g
- Sodium: 2.5 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15.2 g
- Fiber: 0.1 g
- Protein: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: rose jam, rose jam recipe, rose petal jam, rose petal jam recipe, wild rose jam, wild rose jam recipe, wild rose recipes, wild rose petal jam, wild rose recipes, recipes with roses, rose jam, rose syrup,
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After reading about making the jam and the Elixir I can’t wait to start making both. It sounds magical. I have always loved roses and have them in my garden and a wild rose too. I did have a jar of rose jam once hat I bought in Bulgaria and loved it. I forgot all about it untill now . I love rose perfumes as well.
Nice Sheila! Roses are truly magical!
I absolutely LOVE this stuff! It is delicious added to herbal tea or poured over vanilla ice cream. It is actually really good mixed into oatmeal too.
I used 1 cup honey and 1/2 cup sugar because honey is a healthier option. I used chocolate mint tea for the water. I decided to remove the rose petals because I did not cut them up into smaller pieces before using them and they were just too big. The roses were from my yard. I did a ten minute waterbath after filling the jars.
Today I am making it again but am using all honey(healthier) with no sugar and in place of the water I’m using a combination of rose infused water and chocolate mint infused water(4 hrs in sunshine and then overnight in the refrigerator, absolutely amazing flavor).
Thank you so much for this recipe. I would have never thought of rose petal jam on my own.
★★★★★
Glad you gave this a go. Love that you made it with honey. 🙂
Living in Nova Scotia by the ocean is wonderful, but when you smell the wild roses…bottle them up and smell the nectar by the seas, pure Bliss. Thank-you. Excellent Recipe.
★★★★★
Beautiful, Bill totally agree- I pick on the seaside too, it is magical!
Sorry I found the answer to my question about the size of jars in a previous post.
It was stated 1 cup jars which should be 240ml.
I must have measured something wrong or simmered too long as I doubled the batch but still only got 3 250 ml jars .. but it’s delicious 😉
Glad it was good Judy! I will have to figure out the jar measurement.
What size of jars please 😉
Hi there! I was curious if anyone had tried this with raw honey? And if so how could I swap it out in this recipe?
Hi Kathryn, Have you tried the Pomonas Pectin? There are instructions in their package on working with alternative sweeteners like honey. Ive also made just straight up rose honey. Pour honey over a jar packed with rose petals (small petals work best) stir with a chop stick and let it sit on the counter a few days. I leave the petals in but you can also strain them out. So good! It will keep in the cupboard just fine.
Absolutely beautiful, I spent my Saturday picking rose petals by the sea and made your jam! So tasty and special! Now this is going to be my go to all summer! And I gifted some today too – wonderful gift!,
★★★★★
So perfect Kelly. It is one of my favorite things to do! Glad you enjoyed.
I am so in love with this recipe THANK YOU! My first garden ever, planted in Covid lockdown and growing lavender roses with an intoxicating fragrance. I have made this three or four times and each time, shared with special folks. Served warmed over vanilla ice cream or lathered on dense, crunchy toast… it is so delicious. Thank you soooooooo much! I have harvested some petals from past season and dried them. Looking forward to making more & including some meyer lemon juice from the lemons in the garden. Bless you for sharing xoxo
★★★★★
I love this Jacqui and meyer lemon sounds divine!
love this! I didn’t get that exact pectin and the package instructions say to add the whole box to a batch of jelly – way more! this is my first time, and it is VERY liquid-y – does it take time in the fridge to set? or should I add more pectin now?
Hi Kate, It is more of a loose consistency, it will set a little in the fridge. This is a recipe we need to revisit and refine!
Is it ok to use gelatin if I can’t find pectin?
yes!
I adore this recipe! I’ve got many roses in my garden so I’ll have the opportunity to make this for years to come.
Love this Dani!
This is the best rose petal jam recipe I have ever tried. It is a beautiful consistency and the taste is sweet, rose and a tiny bit tart. Perfect on toast. I have made four batches over the last year and a half with my always blooming floribunda tea roses. Highly recommend
★★★★★
Thanks Tawny, so great to hear!
Good morning,
I only have the low sugar pectin made by ball. I’m assuming this will work just fine but notice that a lot of chefs and homesteaders use the Pomonas. I’m wondering if you have any thoughts on using the Ball pectin and if you have any thoughts on using one over another variety of pectin.
Thanks!
That should be just fine Britt.
Hello! I’ve looked for fresh edible roses everywhere!!! would using dried edible rose petals work the same??
yes, they work!
Well that didn’t turn out as planned.
Oh shoot- can you be more specific Jude?
Great quote from Gebran Khalil Gebran!
thanks so much!
Sounds very easy to make and am planning on making some for a valentine’s present only I don’t know where to find wild roses around here so will be using home grown ones
Sounds lovely! Just make sure they are not treated with herbicides!
Hi! We would like to feature your recipe on our Rose Geek Facebook page. Please let me know that is ok.
Hi Kimberly thanks for asking- As long as you link back to the recipe itself- feel free to grab the photo. 🙂
This jam is a delight in every way…a joy to make from my own roses and delicious as well….thank you
★★★★★
Thanks Jane. Roses are so magical!
“I love this recipe!..
This deliciousness has blessed my feed. Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors—it’s how you combine them that sets you apart.” best suits on this recipe..❣️
Thank you for sharing this savory recipe! I am preparing to make this as gifts to my loved ones for the holiday. Ordered wild roses on Etsy from a harvester with great reviews. My question: The recipe says yields 3 jars, what size jar?
Thank you very much!
I think they are a 1 cup jar. 🙂
Amazing 😍 thank you so much for posting this. Using roses from my home, small and large size petals. I have found the pink, salmon roses for me are the best flavor…love the tart and tanginess if the lemon, such a wonderful flavor and put a little lemon zest in while I was at it. Making a bunch as Christmas gifts. My mom brought over a ton of petals from her garden as well. Since I found it when my were almost done blooming. Thank you…I use ball (brand) pectin and just use more of it than your recipe, I did three times your recipe with three tbls pectin, I also add two extra cups of petals and one half to one cup chopped strawberry to add a little extra sweetness…yum so glad I found this recipe.
★★★★★
Love it! I’m so glad you made this work for you Heather.
Thank you for sharing this. My question is this do they have to be wild rose petals? Everyone I’ve talked with thinks I’m crazy and apparently I’m nuts when i say wild roses. 🤣
I’m so excited to make this for my daughter.
Tracey
Wild roses tend to be thinner and breakdown more quickly. But you may check through the comments here, many people have used cultivated rose petals! Just make sure they are not sprayed.
My grandmother made rose jam from the roses in the garden. ( many many many years ago, when I was a little e kid). They were not treated with anything, and they were not wild roses. It was absolutely great in every way. Smelled and tasted heavenly. Unfortunately, we no longer have that.
What a lovely memory!
My first taste of rose petal jam was at my Aunt’s house when I was 6 years old. My family is Greek and my aunt’s recipe is identical to this one. I was captivated by the flavor just like you were.
There are only three things I would emphasize. First, there are different “families” of rose scents. Some are more like perfume (damask). But the only ones that are suited for making jam (in my opinion) are the clove scented roses.
Many of the rugosa type roses have a strong clove scent (and doubled flowers, so your petal gathering effort is cut in half!). My Aunt’s rose bush was a rugosa called “Hansa” but there are many rugosas out there, and some have even naturalized along sandy beaches in coastal areas. I was honored to get a cutting of my Aunt’s bush when I got a house of my own, and I’ve been making jam ever since.
Another detail I would add is one that helps me know when it’s done simmering. The petals will eventually take on a translucent look. You can almost see through them. You’ll notice the change. It’s kind of hard to describe, but you’ll understand when you see it. When I see that change, I know it’s very close to being done.
And lastly, I’ve had seasons where my rose bush just hasn’t done well and I don’t get many flowers. Not to worry! I’ve had good success freezing small batches of petals for a few weeks until I have enough to make the jam. It seems to lose a bit of flavor, but it’s better than nothing!
Thanks for the great article!
★★★★★
This is great Mike. Thanks so much for the helpful thoughts. This is the first year I have tried freezing rose petals, I am glad to know it works!
Thank you for sharing this! I love Fin’s photos, they’re precious! Im sure going to try this. Love lots,
Vangie
★★★★★