Peony Jelly
This Peony Jelly is an exquisite tasting, mildly floral jelly that is great for gift giving and just enjoying on your morning toast.
We have gotten compliments with every jar that we have given our friends, neighbors and family.
What does peony jelly taste like? It has a mild floral flavor but you also get hints of strawberry and lemon…. maybe even peaches? It’s hard to describe, since many people have never heard of it and it is a totally different taste experience.
Did you know that peonies are on the edible flower list? There are actually many flower species that grow in most yards and gardens that edible. The list includes; lilacs, dandelions, honeysuckle, kousa dogwood, roses, sumac and many others.
New to canning? Start with our comprehensive article on “How to Can Everything“. It will walk you through all of the dos and don’ts related to canning.
What are peonies?
Peonies are a hardy, herbaceous perennial (lose everything above ground in the winter but the roots survive). They have been a very popular garden plant for many years.
They are long lived and are said to survive for at least a 100 years. Our white one was actually mine husband’s grandmothers, so it is easily 70 years old.
There are hundreds of varieties. Colors range from white to light pinks to deep magentas. They have humungous blooms.
Peonies have such a short bloom time is the spring. If you’re lucky, you may get 10 days out of them. We actually have two totally different varieties that bloom at slightly different times, so we may squeeze 2 weeks out them. Heat and rain can have a big impact on how long the blooms will last.
What you need
- peony blossoms – It will depend on the size of the individual blooms your plant produces, but our white one took 4 blooms and the magenta took only 3 because of it’s size. Don’t wait too long to harvest the blooms, you want the stamens (the little yellow things inside the flower) to become too large so they start to pollinate. They will get pollen in the jelly and change the color.
- water
- lemon juice – always use bottled lemon juice for canning.
- pectin – use any powdered pectin that you have on hand.
- sugar – just plain granulated sugar
How to make it
Step One
Cut off blossoms with a sharp knife, pruners or scissors.
Shake the flowers out well. They are actually pollinated primarily by ants, so you want to make sure you don’t have any in there.
Step Two
Remove the petals by twisting the base of them with your fingers. You can grab a large chunk of petals and twist.
You need about four cups peony petals.
Again, make sure not to get any stamens with the petals. (see photo)
Step Three
Rinse the petals off with cool water in a colander to remove any dirt or debris.
Add petals to a quart jar.
Step Four
Boil water. Pour the hot boiling water over the petals. Let the jar cool slightly.
Refrigerate overnight for best color and flavor.
Step Five
The next day, strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve.
Discard the peony petals.
Wash and heat canning jars and lids. Get your water bath canner heating up.
Step Six
Pour the liquid into a large pot. Add lemon juice and stir in pectin slowly. Heat on the stove over high heat. Stir until the pectin dissolves.
Step Seven
Bring the peony mixture to a boil that cannot be stirred down.
Add sugar all at once.
Step Eight
Bring the mixture back to a full rolling boil. Boil for one minute.
Remove from heat. If needed, skim off foam.
Pour or ladle hot jam into hot jars using your canning funnel. Leave ¼ inch head space.
Remove air bubbles.
Step Nine
Wipe rims with a damp paper towel.
Step Ten
Center lids on jars.
Screw on bands fingertip tight.
Step Eleven
Place jars in canning pot using your jar lifter. Process jars for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. See altitude adjustments in recipe notes below.
Let jars sit in hot water for 5 additional minutes.
Remove to your counter and place them on a kitchen towel. Let them sit 12-24 hours.
Check seals. Lid should not flex up or down when pressed in the center. Any jars that have not sealed can be reprocessed with a new lid or store them in the fridge and use them first.
Sealed jars can be stored in a cool, dark location for at least 12 months.
How to use peony jelly
Peony jelly is great on so many things. Some of our favorite uses are;
- On crackers or bagels with cream cheese, goat cheese or a nice aged brie cheese.
- Topping for ice cream.
- Flavoring or filling for cakes or cookies.
- Delicious on pancakes, waffles and French toast.
- Add it to flavor yogurt or cottage cheese.
- Adds a wonderful floral note to cocktails and mocktails.
- Give them as hostess or holiday gifts.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. All of the recipes on this site are based on one or both of these trusted sources. We just do a more thorough job showing you how to do it, step-by-step.
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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
Peony Jelly
Ingredients
- 4 cups peony petals
- 4 cups water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons classic pectin see recipe notes
- 4 cups Sugar
Instructions
- Shake your peony blooms after picking to remove any bugs or dirt. If you'd like you can rinse them in cool water.4 cups peony petals
- Remove the petals from the small green sepals that hold them to the branch. (See photo in article above.) Just twist the petals between your fingers while holding the stem and sepal with your other hand.
- Boil the water. Pour the water over the petals. Let this "tea" steep for a couple hours to overnight to achieve the color and flavor that you would like to use. I usually let it steep about overnight. (Put the tea in the refrigerator after it cools to room temperature)4 cups water
- Prepare canning jars and lids by washing and heating them before starting the jelly. Get your canning pot on the stove preheating.
- The next morning strain the peony tea through a fine mesh sieve to remove petals. Squeeze all of the liquid out of the petals.
- Add the peony tea, (you should end up with 3-3½ cups of tea) pectin and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil that can't be stirred down.2 tablespoons lemon juice, 4 tablespoons classic pectin
- Add sugar all at once. Stir constantly until the jelly comes to a full rolling boil again. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat.4 cups Sugar
- Ladle hot jelly into hot jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Remove bubbles if necessary.
- Wipe the rim of the jars clean with a damp paper towel to remove any debris.
- Center the lid on the jar. Screw on the bands fingertip tight.
- Process jars for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. After processing is complete, let jars rest in the hot water for at least 5 minutes so that they cool slowly. This will eliminate siphoning.
- Remove jars to the counter and leave undisturbed for 12-24 hours until fully cooled. Check seals. Push down the center of the lids. If they flex, they are not sealed and should be stored in the refrigerator and used first.Store jars in a cool, dark place for at least one year.
See all of my favorite tools and gift ideas on my New Amazon Store!Check out Binky’s Amazon Store!Notes
- The color of your lilac blooms will affect the color of the jelly. White blooms will make a slightly yellow jelly. Pink colored blooms will make a pink jelly. Meagenta blooms will make a darker pink jelly.
- Since the jelly is processed for more than 10 minutes, there is no need to use sterilized jars.
- This recipe is fine for a water bath canner.
- Use blooms that have not been sprayed with any chemicals, insecticides or inorganic fertilizers.
- Peony jelly is delicious on toast or a bagel with butter. It will transport you back to spring in the middle of winter.
- It makes an amazing peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
- Top a cracker or English muffin with some cream cheese and a dab of lilac jelly.
- Use it as a condiment for your grazing platters. It’s especially good with soft cheeses like brie, camembert, goat cheese or queso fresco.
- Use it as a filling for cookies, cakes and cupcakes.
Nutrition
Originally published June 9, 2022.
My last batch steeped and strained, but the peony tea been sitting in the fridge for about a week and I’m wondering if it would still be good to prepare or if it would end up being a huge waste of time. What do you think?
Since you are boiling it for such a long time, I’d say it is fine.
I’m wondering if you did it and how it turned out? I have boiled, steeped over night and removed petals. I could not finish and the tea has been in the fridge for 3 days.
I made the jelly. It is really good, especially with brie. Yours should still be fine to finish it.
Can you use stevia instead of sugar. For diabetic jelly??
Yes, you can. You must use low sugar/no sugar pectin. Do not use classic pectin or it will not set. It is also a good idea to make small batches and keep them in the refrigerator instead of in the pantry. Low sugar/no sugar jams will not be stable as long as full sugar jams.
Thank you!
You are very welcome!