Soft Refrigerator Honeysuckle Jelly

I can tell when the honeysuckle is in bloom. I catch whiffs of it traveling on the wind through the open car windows when I'm driving, or in the evening when I'm sitting on my screened porch. I was inspired to use those fragrant flowers to create a jelly by Chef Bill Smith. Each spring, Bill uses honeysuckle blossoms to make a sorbet that he serves at Crook's Corner restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. One taste of that sorbet transports people. It takes me back to being a gangly nine-year-old searching out honeysuckle blossoms to suck the sweetness inside. (The children in my neighborhood call them honey suckers.) For Bill's recipe, check out his cookbook, Seasoned in the South: Recipes from Crook's Corner and from Home (New York: Workman, 2006). After many experiments, I discovered that I could use a honeysuckle infusion, as Bill does in his sorbet, to make a jelly. This recipe makes more honeysuckle infusion than you'll need for the jelly. I use the leftover infusion to make lemonade. This jelly is delicious poured over fresh sliced peaches.
By | March 15, 2014

Ingredients

SERVINGS: Makes 2 half-pint jars
  • 4 cups honeysuckle blossoms, packed but not crushed, green parts removed, including leaves and tips
  • 5 1/3 cups cool water
  • Juice of half a large lemon
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 4 tablespoons instant pectin (also called no-cook freezer pectin)

Instructions

Place the honeysuckle blossoms in a large nonreactive bowl and add water. Use a plate to weigh down the flowers so they're completely submerged and let them sit out overnight.

The next day, strain the juice from the blossoms and reserve. Measure out 1 2/3 cups honeysuckle infusion and place in a bowl. Add the lemon juice. Combine the sugar and pectin in a large bowl. Stir to prevent lumps of pectin in the jelly.

Pour the honeysuckle mixture into the bowl with the pectin and sugar. Stir briskly with a whisk for 4 minutes until the mixture is thoroughly combined and starts to thicken.

Ladle the jelly into clean plastic freezer jars, seal with lids, and place in the refrigerator. The jelly will be soft set after 24 hours and will keep for 1 month in the refrigerator.

Read the story + other recipes: Putting Up Pickles And Preserves


From Pickles & Preserves: a Savor the South® Cookbook by Andrea Weigl. Copyright 2014 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the University of North Carolina Press.

Ingredients

SERVINGS: Makes 2 half-pint jars
  • 4 cups honeysuckle blossoms, packed but not crushed, green parts removed, including leaves and tips
  • 5 1/3 cups cool water
  • Juice of half a large lemon
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 4 tablespoons instant pectin (also called no-cook freezer pectin)