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
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Thank you for sharing this! I love Fin’s photos, they’re precious! Im sure going to try this. Love lots,
Vangie
I use unsprayed old-fashioned rose petals from my garden. Great as gifts and for afternoon tea with pikelets or scones.
How can i keep the jam for more than 2 months?
It freezes great!
Is it possible to use Ball pectin rather than Pomona’s? Would the sugar need to be adjusted?
Yes, but I do think you would need a little more sugar -as Pomona’s is for low sugar. I believe Ball Pectin does offer a low-sugar variety. Havent tried it Ball Pectin but I think it can be done!
Can I use rose petals from my garden that I have dried? There are no pesticides
It should be fine Julie. Just an FYI, I like the texture of smaller thinner rose petals here… the larger ones get kind of chewy. 😉
Must need a fresh lemon, not bottled and white sugar because mine turned out brown sadly.
Next batch I’ll get a fresh lemon & use white sugar. I’ll also up the amount of petals for a more concentrated flavour.
Oh no! sorry about that. Yes, try fresh lemon juice.
Perfect jam. Love it. Works every time. Thank you.
The jam turned out very fragrant, but I can’t get the bitterness out. Does that depend on what kind of roses are used?
Possibly yes. What kind did you use? Wild roses have the best flavor here.
My Aunt used to pinch off the white bottoms of each petal. She said she did it to keep the jam fom being bitter. I’ve always used the whole petal and I didn’t notice any bitterness. I’m guessing it has to do with the particular rose variety.
This is my understanding too. The white bit can be bitter. I don’t find that on the wild roses (Nootka variety) that I harvest- I use the whole petal.
This recipe looks good and i wish i could try it. But after slogging past 25 printer pages worth of pictures and others stuff that is not the recipe? I had to stop and scroll to the bottom to say this. OMG this is the worse case of self indulgent too much nonsense over the recipe posting i have ever seen in my many long years using the internet. Maybe 10% of the people who would enjoy this will make it all the way to page 33 it turned out. This is like an entire pinterest for a single paragraph long recipe.
Hi Biff did you print the whole post, or the recipe card at the bottom? Recipe card is located at the bottom is short and condensed.
Oh that’s a shame Biff. The recipe is really good. have made it several times now but I always just press “jump to recipe” which is marked quite boldly right at the start of the page.
i have used this recipe for 3 years now – everyone loves it – i do use more pectin for a thicker texture and i can mine in a water bath.
Thanks Marlys, how much pectic do you use?
Yes it is still in the refrigerator and never ended up thickening so it’s really not jam.🤷♀️According to the pectin instructions for fruit it needed way more than 1 teaspoon, more like 2 tablespoons? I think I may just try freezing it as icecubes to sweeten tea
We will re-test the recipe and get back.
Would adding more pectin make this congeal more? I followed the steps but it is pretty much syrup
Have you refrigerated it yet? it should thicken.
yes
Mine turned out a bit more syruppy than jammy. I think more pectin would help.
I’m in the middle of making this with backyard roses. Am I supposed to stir constantly while it’s simmering? Also is simmering like medium heat?
Medium-low or low heat, just simmer gently. Stir occasionally. 🙂
I live in Alaska, and the wild roses are everywhere. I can’t wait to try this recipe this summer!!
I’ve made this a few times over the past few months. Each time I am equally delighted at the process. Needless to say, it’s a family favourite and makes for a wonderful personal gift. Thank you Sylvia
I used granulated white sugar and 2 cups is much too sweet. If I decrease the sugar content, will it affect the amount of pectin I use?
I’m so sorry Marilyn- I’m not exactly sure how this would affect the recipe and pectin amount. If you do try, will you let us know?
Hi Sylvia,
I have just made this and the rose petals are quite bitter. I am keen to make it again, any tips on how to get rid of the bitterness?- I should advise that I have not yet let it set so maybe the bitterness will be gone once set?
thanks x
Hi Andi, sorry about that. What kind of petals did you use?
Hi and thanks for reminding me of my amazing home:)
This wild rose calld Rosa damascena after Damascus, Syria.
The French Crusader Robert de Brie, who took part in the Siege of Damascus in 1148 at the second crusade, is sometimes credited for bringing the Damask rose from Syria to Europe. The name of the rose refers to the city of Damascus in Syria, known for its steel (Damask steel), fabrics (Damask) and roses.
The most city famous with this kind of flowers is Damascus, the capital of Syria, because it is the origin of it, and it takes it name from it. Also Hama, Allepo, Homs, and other Syrian cities and villages. Rosa × damascena is optimally cultivated in hedge rows to help protect the blooms from wind damage and to facilitate harvesting them. Gathering the flowers is intense manual labor. There are about 20–40 days per year when harvesting occurs, depending on the cultivar grown. The roses are gathered by hand and brought to a central location for steam distillation.
I love this. I never put the two together before, so thanks for connecting this for me. I’ve actually been to Damaskus, when I was a young girl, and will never forget the winding maze of the old markets. Anyways appreciate this Lana.
So easy! Thanks.
This is a traditional indian jam called gulkand, would be nice if you mentioned the original source of this recipe.
Interesting! I’ve never heard of this. My friend made up the recipe, living on the island with the roses. But I will be sure to look this up. Can you tell me more about how your serve it? Or what you serve it with?
Hi there! Last night I made a homeade wild rose water by “distilling” rose petals in a pot. (I recommend looking up the recipe if you love rose water!) It takes about 30 mins of simmering the roses, then the vapor or condensation is caught in a separate bowl. Soni ended up with a very concentrated rose petals infusion. I could not get myself to throw it and the rose petals out because it was so fragrant, so I looked up a recipe and found yours and it is perfect!
Awesome Yummy
Thanks Colleen and glad you like it! 🙌
I grow roses organically in GA and do have fragrant roses. I must try this.
I made this while quarantining from home and it was a very nice and positive activity. The jam was delicious and brought back memories of rose water perfume I made as a child and rose flavored Macarons I had in Paris.
Love it, great to hear!
Wow…
I was wondering if o could use this same method and recipe but swap the rose petals for fireweed flower?
I’m not sure and unfamiliar with it- if it is edible it should be ok? Does it have a good fragrance?
Yes it has a great smell to it. People generally make it into a jelly, but the flowers are so pretty….
Yes, you can. I live in Alaska, and fire weed jelly is very popular.