Flowers in the Jelly?

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dragnlaw

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I've been looking over a recipe from Better Homes & G for Herb Jelly. They, of course, strain the liquid of the herbs once they have done the initial boiling. They then proceed in the normal way to canning the jelly.

I'm wondering if I can put a flower or leaf, depicting the contents, in the jar before the water bath? I was thinking of Mint Jelly or maybe trying to make some Sage Jelly, except what would I use a sweet Sage Jelly with? Chicken, pork, ravioli, cheese? What about Rosemary Jelly perhaps mixed with Mint for Lamb? Any suggestions?

Argh... just went away for about 40 min. to come back and see I had never press 'submit' - grrrr, dotty old dragn.
 
I have absolutely no idea whether this would be a problem or not, but the first thing I thought of was the botulism poisoning that people got from garlic packed in oil and canned several years back. I'm assuming you wouldn't want to sterilize the leaves or flowers, and they could potentially be contaminated and then would go into an anaerobic environment. You might want to do some research on including fresh herbs/flowers in jelly.

I'd also be worried about the fresh herbs/flowers turning a funky color or degrading over time.
 
My Macedonian neighbors from my old house used to pick the leaves and flowers of the scented geraniums that I grew in pots in my backyard every year and put them in a jelly.

For the life of me I couldn't understand why as the geraniums were citronella scented, and the jelly she made with them tasted like a citrus cleaning solution, but they loved them. And never got sick as far as I know.

But, blech!
 
very good points and the very reasons I asked. But I was hoping to go along the lines of when you are actually adding the flowers/leaves you are adding them to the very hot jelly coming off the stove - being jarred and into the bath for *** minutes.

I realize buds and thick stems would not suit but flowers like borage? violets? hmmm, of course, canning is usually done in late summer and violets are from the spring. LOL guess I'd better check my calendar! I used to put borage flowers in ice cubes all the time - was always a big hit.

the small leaves of mint, not the heavier more mature ones. Also thinking now that rosemary might not be a good candidate.

thank you medtran - I will research some more and see what I can find out. May not even be this year although I really want to take advantage of the mint before it devours the country side.

LOL, bucky - they probably grew up with that and could assimilate any 'extra's' the jelly produced. cleaning solution, oh boy...
 
I think this is risky because botulism thrives in an anaerobic, low-acid environment, which is what jelly is. Also, when herbs flower, the leaves become bitter, so making a jelly with herbs that have flowered may not result in a good-tasting product. And I don't think the nice look of most flowers or herbs will survive the water-bath process.

Another way to go is to use the Jam Labelizer website, where you can make and print customized labels based on their templates. A few allow you to upload images to use on the label. Since I make a lot of homemade goods for gifts, I spent the $5US for complete access; otherwise, some designs are free and some are not.

https://www.jamlabelizer.com
 
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The jelly my neighbors made wasn't bitter by any stretch (just disgusting - like citrus scented toilet bowl cleaner), and they would harvest later in the year when the plants were bolting
 
I think this is risky because botulism thrives in an anaerobic, low-acid environment, which is what jelly is.
While this is true, for the most part, people sometimes tend to forget that sugar (along with salt) also has antibacterial properties. It's not that bacteria don't "like" sugar or salt. It's that these substances pull moisture out of cells and causes them to dehydrate through plasmolysis, making it extremely difficult for microorganisms to survive, let alone thrive.

According to Harvard Medical School...
"Some foods, such as jams and jellies, do not require a pressure cooker because their high sugar level makes it difficult for Clostridium botulinum bacteria to grow."

I remember my grandmother sealing jelly jars with nothing more than paraffin wax, and no water bath processing. Her jelly was shelf stable for years.
 
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I remember my grandmother sealing jelly jars with nothing more than paraffin wax, and no water bath processing. Her jelly was shelf stable for years.

Once that method was tested, it was found to be unreliable and is not recommended. People can do whatever they want, but on a public forum, I don't think we should be advocating unsafe methods.
 
Actually, yes. Dandelion comes to mind.

You've never eaten anything bitter in a recipe?

The women in this community used to go down to the abandoned rail center down The Point and gather the dandelion greens and the mint that grew profusely there. They also used to go to the highway and gather the dandelion greens on the median strip. After a woman got hit trying to get to the strip, the police rightly put a stop to it. I even had some women knock on my door and ask for permission to remove them from my front yard. If you had any dandelions growing on your property, they found them and would remove them for you for free. There wasn't a dandelion that was safe in this town.

I used to eat them as a kid.
 
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Once that method was tested, it was found to be unreliable and is not recommended. People can do whatever they want, but on a public forum, I don't think we should be advocating unsafe methods.
I'm not advocating it at all, nor do I need a lecture from you. I've been safely canning my own foods for almost 40 years.

I'm simply saying that it was done that way in the past, and to underscore the point that sugar is actually a very good antibacterial on its own, with or without a water bath.

I ate a lot of my grandmother's jams and jellies growing up. The worst thing that ever happened was once in a great while we'd run across a jar where the seal had failed and there was some mold (mold and yeast are not affected by plasmolysis, as bacteria is). No one in our family ever considered her preserves to be "unsafe."
 
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Well guys, thank you ALL! I asked the question and I got the answers and opinions which cross all over the board which is what I wanted to hear.

I figured there would be a bit of discolouration but never thought or calculated on the bitterness factor.

My grandmother, mother & I did a lot of our preserves with the paraffin wax. I never saw mold on any of theirs but once in a while, albeit rarely, did on mine. I often thought about it and once discussed it with my mom. we sort of came to the conclusion a good and likely factor was where they were stored. I lived in an apartment and had only a closet to store, whereas both grandmother and mother lived in houses that had cellars and cold rooms. I realize that is not the only factor in why things spoil. At least it made me feel a bit better as I had been putting it down to not being fastidious enough in my endeavours! LOL.
And no, I am not endorsing, advocating this process either. I'm simply telling it like it is/was.
 
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