My love of roses continues to grow. Last year I tried to make rose petal jam and the results were technically edible though required some fine tuning.
This year I tried again. My first go was ok. A small batch which I was determined not to over reduce.
I wanted more so gathered another lot of petal. Sadly, I messed up the batch by overlooking the addition of water, hence making some distinctly burned caramel which was even too solid to get a spoon to dent in the jars. What a terrible waste, I feel guilty for having to throw it out, jars and all but nothing would budge it.
I tried a third time and took great care to ensure I read through everything thoroughly and kept checking for set.
The third batch was a success of which I'm very pleased. It has a lovely consistency and taste. Think rose and lemon Turkish delight in one bite. The recipe I used was in the Hedgerow Cookbook I bought from a National Trust place. It does have some lovely recipes inside.



I believe that all rose petals are fine to use, but the dog roses in hedgerows are a shortlived seasonal treat and it's that window of opportunity and excitement I enjoy. Seize the moment and jam it for months to come.
I would like to share more foraging exploits over the year. There's more and more we're dabbling in now which is exciting. Of course, not everything is a success but that's to be expected.