Dandelion Jelly

Source

Dandelion Jelly
Canning - Waterbath
Yield: 4-5 half-pint jars

2 heaping cups of fresh dandelion petals
(you'll need to gather about 4 cups whole flowers)
2 C boiling water
1/4 C well-strained, clear lemon juice
4 C sugar
3 oz liquid pectin (Certo)
food coloring (optional)

* Sterilize canning jars; keep warm until ready to fill. Heat flat lids in hot water, Preheat your waterbath canner.

You'll want just the yellow dandelion petals for this - not the whole flower head. You'll get SOME green sepals and that's fine - but try to minimize the amount of "green" and have mainly yellow petals for your infusion. It works best if you hold the flower by the end near the stem, and trim the petals into a bowl or cup, with sharp kitchen scissors.

Pour boiling water over petals and let steep from 30 minutes to 24 hours. Strain through a fine sieve, reserving the infusion. If not using immediately, refrigerate up to 24 hours.

To make the jelly, stir lemon juice and sugar into reserved infusion in a two-quart nonreactive or stainless steel pan. Bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Add the liquid pectin and continue to boil two minutes, skimming any foam that may rise to the surface. You can add a bit of food coloring if you'd like, use about 20 drops of yellow.

Fill jars to 1/4 inch headspace  Remove air bubbles, adjust headspace if needed, wipe jar rims, place hot lids and rings on each jar. Place jars on the rack in the preheated canner.

Process in a waterbath canner for 10 minutes.

How to use a Waterbath Canner

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