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Clover Jelly
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Clover Jelly

Clover jelly has a unique fruity flavor that changes based on the clover flowers' color. Try red clover for a plum taste or white for a tropical pineapple flavor. If you have crimson clover, you can even make a jelly that tastes almost exactly like red currant. And they all have wonderful, sweet floral undertones, too!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Canning Time (optional)10 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Author: Ashley Adamant

Ingredients

  • 4 cups clover blossoms
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 to 4 cups sugar *see note
  • 1 box 1.75 oz pectin (Regular or Low Sugar)

Instructions

  • Harvest 4 cups of clover blossoms from a clean, unsprayed, and unpolluted area.
  • Pour 4 cups boiling water over the top of the flower blossoms and allow the tea to infuse for about 10 minutes.
  • Strain the floral tea into a saucepan or jam pot. Add the lemon juice, which will help bring out the best color in the jelly, but it's also required to balance the sugar in the recipe and help the pectin set. Beyond that, it adds acidity to help preserve the jelly, so don't skip the lemon!
  • Bring the mixture to a boil and add the powdered pectin, stirring to dissolve. Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute before adding sugar. (Note: Do not add the sugar at the same time as the pectin, or before the pectin, or the jell will not set.)
  • Add the sugar, stirring to dissolve (See notes on quantity). Bring the mixture back to a full boil for 1 minute before ladling into jelly jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
  • If canning, process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes (or 15 minutes above 6,000 feet in elevation). Otherwise, allow the jars to cool completely on the counter before storing in the refrigerator (for up to a month) or the freezer for up to 6 months.

Notes

Please be sure that the blossoms you use for jelly are, in fact, edible flowers, as not all flowers are edible varieties. Be sure that you only use unsprayed flowers (no herbicides or pesticides) that were harvested from clean locations (i.e., not roadsides or drainage ditches).
Beyond that, it's always possible to react to new foods, so please be careful when making big batches of things you've never tried before.

Sugar Amounts

If using standard pectin, you must use a 1:1 ratio of liquid to sugar. That means for 4 cups flower blossom tea you'd need a minimum of 4 cups sugar to get the jelly to set. That results in a very sweet "old-fashioned" jelly. To reduce the sugar, simply use low-sugar pectin instead and then make the jelly as instructed but using less sugar. I suggest sure jel low sugar, which is very dependable.
Lowering sugar will also lower yield, and the yield of 5 half-pints is for a full sugar recipe.
If using Pomona's Universal Pectin, the instructions are different, as that is a 2-part low sugar pectin, as that is a 2-part low sugar pectin. Most pectins include citric acid to help drop the pH, but pomona's doesnt. If you're using pomonas for a floral jelly, you'll need to increase the lemon juice to 1/2 cup (from 2 Tbsp). Follow the instructions provided in the Pomona's box for mint jelly.
If using liquid pectin, the order of operations is different (pectin is added last, sugar first). Liquid pectin also requires a lot more sugar to set (7 cups sugar to 4 cups liquid). I don't recommend liquid pectin because of the high sugar levels required for set, but it will work if that's your preference.
If you have Ball Flex Batch Pectin, you’ll need 6 Tbsp. (which is equal to a 1.75 oz box of other types of pectin).  That’s true for their regular and low-sugar canisters.