This is a lovely, delicate, flavourful and fragrant jam. Heaps of fresh organic strawberries mixed with delicate rose petals to produce a very unique flavour that will brighten up any breakfast or tea. To aid the fragrance of the petals, rosewater is added at the very end. While most roses are edible, some of them have more flavour than others.
Red and pink roses are most often used for jams, and my recommendation would be pink roses. It is best to use home-grown roses that haven't been sprayed at all, but just to make sure, you need to wash them in cold water. Pick your favourite rose and enjoy it in every bite of this lovely jam. The final product is a rich a fragrant jam, not too sweet, with just a hint of tartness from the fresh strawberries. It also makes a beautiful homemade edible gift.
Ingredients
1 kilogram fresh organic strawberries
100 grams granulated sugar
20 rose petals (one small pink rose)
300 grams jam sugar (2:1)
½ teaspoon rosewater
Preparation
Remove the petals from the rose, remove the bottom section of each one and wash them gently in cold water. Make sure to remove any bruised or discoloured ones. You can leave them in cold water while you prepare the fruit. Wash and clean the strawberries, then dice them into a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Press them gently with a wooden spoon, sprinkle on the granulated sugar and leave them for about 30 minutes.
Place the pot on the stove, over medium high heat, add the drained petals and bring it to a boil. Let it boil, undisturbed, for about 2 minutes, then let the jam cook, stirring often, to avoid burning, for 30 more minutes. You can mash the fruit with a wooden spoon while it cooks. At this point, add the jam sugar, cook for another 5 minutes and remove it from the heat. Stir in the rosewater and fill the prepared jars. Yields 500 grams of jam.
