The Redbud trees had caught her eye. In all fairness, they catch everyone's eyes this time of year. They are not only beautiful, but plentiful here in eastern Missouri. And April is definitely their month to shine! No matter where you look you will find a random redbud. In the midst of evergreens, or standing proud by itself. It's one of the first signs that spring has arrived.
At no point while enjoying these beautiful hot pink blossoms did I ever think... hmmm... that would make a great jelly. I just felt they were beautiful to observe. That they heralded the arrival of one of my favorite times of the year. Spring.
And then my sister tells me that she's been reading about Redbud jelly and wondering if I had tried it. Of course I hadn't. In fact I was in a bit of disbelief. I mean I follow a ton of websites that are all about foraging and I am often amazed at the things that people have discovered, forgotten and rediscovered that are not only delicious, but healthy for you. You know that I immediately started looking for a recipe. I mean, if one existed, I felt we needed to give it a whirl. Although I was still quite dubious.
Those Ozark women were definitely on to something. As Hubs and I headed out to join them a bit later, I was chatting with him about it. We'd missed our original turn and were turning around on a fairly unused road. Redbuds all around. Well... we harvested a bag full, me insisting that it was far more than the two cups needed, Hubs insisting it wasn't close. Ummmm... I was right, but thankfully he was insistent. Because 3 little jars was never going to be enough as we later discovered.
After spending a bit of time with them before they headed out of town, we headed home for a few moments to prep those buds. Rinse, stuff, cover with boiling water and wait. Yep, step one involves waiting. We know how I feel about waiting.
I wouldn't get to make it until Saturday. Tick Tock, don't look at the clock. We went about enjoying the rest of Friday with Mom, who had made a rare visit to St. Louis. We chatted about a zillion things, I'm sure, round and round the conversations went, yet in the back of my mind I was thinking jelly!
Once I get a new thing to try in my head, well, I become a bit obsessive about it. And time was of the essence. If this turned out as yummy and beautiful as everyone was saying it would, we were definitely running out of time to harvest more of the flowers. Be still my mind!
Saturday morning, still not time. It did not stop me from peeking and wondering if folks were full of prunes. I kept looking at those jars, pale off white colored and doubting that I was going to end up with that vibrant pink jelly. I read so much about about it in between drive times and visiting. Evidently, it was a common fear. What did I have to lose? A couple cups of sugar and a bit of time?
After having breakfast with another sister, her Hubs and Mom we headed off for mom's appointment. While she was in her meeting, Hubs and I discovered an incredible kitchen gadget store down the road. We are both HUGE suckers for those kind of stores. I also felt fate drew us there. I needed cheesecloth for my jelly making and there it was. Everywhere in the store.
I wasn't sure how much time it would take. Old recipes are rarely accurate in that way. I was stunned at the simplicity and beauty.
Smashing down the water and flowers into the fine mesh strainer, yielded a beautiful purple liquid. I was more than a bit perplexed.
Oh well, maybe it would be purple... Added the lemon juice, pectin and sugar... POP! All the sudden that regal shade of purple was a trampy shade of hot pink! I prepped jars as it came to a boil, gently stirred and kept testing consistency. I saved a small bit for mom and I to taste. I was not canning it if it was horrible.
Surprise! Not only was it not horrible it was was incredible. It has a very soft grape like flavor and most delightful shade of hot pink ever. My sister returned from her quick trip north to see her in-laws to jelly to try.
Yesterday morning dawn bright and early, with Hubs and I making the most of our time, out in the sticks picking hot pink flowers, 3 small jars was never going to be enough. We had plans to meet everyone for baby sisters birthday breakfast and then I had to work all day. We were definitely on a time budget.
This time we filled 4 jars and I will make the jelly tonight. Takes about 15 minutes a batch, which will yield approximately 12 jars of hot pink heaven. We might share some. I'd say we will gather more this weekend, but snow is predicted tomorrow. There will be no flowers left after that hits.
We have definitely made a mark on the calendar to watch for the redbud blossoms next spring. Now I have moved on to dandelion's. I am going to ravage the uncared for garden beds at work. A few cups of blossoms will produce a different kind of jelly. I am anxious to try it.
Darn you sis... Have you ever... is the start of a statement that should never be said to me! Thankful for a Hubs that will walk in crazy land with me. And a sister that will challenge me to try things.
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