Transform the beautiful, yellow flowers on a Southwest Palo Verde tree into this delicious Palo Verde Flower Jelly – a mildly sweet, delicate yellow treat!
Every Spring, the entire Phoenix area is a huge display of color – as Palo Verde trees bloom all around town and the desert landscape surrounding area.
These little yellow flowers are known for their absolute beauty – but they are also known for their ability to encourage allergy sufferers to stay indoors. I say that comically because for a solid two month period, people like myself will blow through 10,000 boxes of Kleenex (pun intended!)
Palo Verde Trees are Special
Aside from being the Arizona state tree, the Palo Verde is a critical part of our Southwest landscape. Whether you are in Arizona or New Mexico, these beautiful trees produce bright yellow blooms like clockwork from February until the early part of May every spring.
Those little flowers are beautiful to look at, but can be such a mess to clean up. As they bloom, over time they fall to the ground, dotting the landscape with a carpet of beautiful, yellow flowers. Think of it as snow, except the desert form of snow – flower blooms! Lush yellow carpet, everywhere – a landscapers delight!
In Spanish, Palo Verde means “green stick”. There are two types, one of which can grow up to 30 feet in height. The Palo Verde products both seeds and flowers, of which both are edible. Yay for those of us who love to forage for creative foods!
Palo Verde Jelly
Jelly might not come to mind when you think of Palo Verde flowers, but it is definitely the first thing that came to mind for me. Making jelly from flowers/buds like the Palo Verde flower is not too different than the process used to make Lavender Jelly.
You’ll want to collect 1 C. of palo verde flowers to make this jelly. I would not suggest using flowers that have fallen and been trampled on (obviously!) If you are in an area with Palo Verde trees, I would suggest picking them off the tree.
Making this jelly couldn’t be easier. You’ll want to bring 3.5 cups of water to a rolling boil on the stove top. Remove from the heat and add the flower buds. Allow the flowers to steep in the hot water for 20 minutes; then strain them out (and compost) and put the stained liquid back on the stovetop.
Add the lemon juice and pectin and continue stirring until dissolved. Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil – add sugar. When the jelly returns to a hard, rolling boil, let it boil for 2-4 minutes (see below), stirring occasionally.
BOIL TIMES:
- 2 minutes for a soft gel
- 4 minutes for a medium gel
Testing the jelly: put a cereal spoon in a cup of ice water; take a spoon of the jelly and allow it to come to room temp on the spoon. If it results in a consistency that you are happy with, then the jelly is ready to be canned. If not, stir in a tsp or more of pectin and bring to a boil for an additional minute or two.
TO PROCESS THE JELLY:
Place jars in your water bath canner on an elevated rack. Lower the rack into the canner with the hot water. Add water around the jars so that the water covers the jars by at least 1″ (jars should not be touching). Cover the canner with the lid. Process the jars in your water bath canner for 10 minutes – the time starts when the water starts to boil.
Adjustments for Altitude:
- 1,001 – 3,000 feet: 10 minutes
- 3,001 to 6,000 feet: additional 15 minutes
- 6,001 to 8,000 feet: additional 20 minutes
- 8,001 to 10,000 feet: 25 minutes
After the jars have processed, carefully remove them from the water bath canner and allow them to stand upright on a towel as they cool. Let the jars sit, undisturbed for up to 24 hours. As they cool, the jars will seal (and you will hear a “ping”) – avoid pushing the lid down on the center of the jar until the jars are completely cooled. The jelly may take up to 24 hours to set.
Once the jars are cooled, check the seal by pushing the middle of the lid with your finger – it should not bounce back. If it does, the jars are not sealed and will need to be reprocessed. If you don’t want to reprocess, you can refrigerate those jars and use them first.
Label your jars and store in a cool pantry for up to 12 months. Once opened, refrigerated jars may be used within 3 weeks.
Using Palo Verde Jelly
Palo Verde jelly is great when eaten on top of sourdough bread, English muffins or biscuits. Yum and yum!
Palo Verde Flower Jelly
Equipment
- water bath canning pot with inside rack
- jar grabber
- 6 quart saucepan
- canning jars
- canning lids and rings
- jar funnel
- fine woven strainer or sieve
Ingredients
- 1 C Palo Verde flowers
- 4 C water
- 1/4 C lemon juice juice of 2 lemons
- 4 C granulated sugar
- 1 box Sure-Jell low sugar pectin
Instructions
Prepare the jars and canner:
- Place your jars, lids and rings in the oven and preheat the oven at 210 degrees F until you are ready to use the jars. This is important as you should place room temperature jars into boiling water.
- Fill the bottom of the water bath canner with water and place on the stovetop.
Prepare the jelly:
- In your saucepan, add the water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the palo verde flowers.
- Allow the flowers to steep, in the water, for 20-25 minutes.
- Strain the flowers and compost/toss. Keep the strained water and add your lemon juice and pectin and stir well to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat stirring frequently. Add sugar and continue to stir to combine. Once the jelly returns to a boil, allow it to boil for 2-4 minutes (see chart below), stirring frequently.
Test the jelly:
- Testing the jelly: put a cereal spoon in a cup of ice water; take a spoon of the jelly and allow it to come to room temp on the spoon. If it results in a consistency that you are happy with, then the jelly is ready to be canned. If not, stir in a tsp or more of pectin and bring to a boil for an additional minute or two.
Process the jelly:
- Place jars in your water bath canner on an elevated rack. Lower the rack into the canner with the hot water. Add water around the jars so that the water covers the jars by at least 1" (jars should not be touching). Cover the canner with the lid. Process the jars in your water bath canner for 10 minutes - the time starts when the water starts to boil.
After processing the jelly:
- After the jars have processed, carefully remove them from the water bath canner and allow them to stand upright on a towel as they cool. Let the jars sit, undisturbed for up to 24 hours. As they cool, the jars will seal (and you will hear a "ping") - avoid pushing the lid down on the center of the jar until the jars are completely cooled. The jelly may take up to 24 hours to set.
- Once the jars are cooled, check the seal by pushing the middle of the lid with your finger - it should not bounce back. If it does, the jars are not sealed and will need to be reprocessed. If you don't want to reprocess, you can refrigerate those jars and use them first.
- Once the jars are cooled, check the seal by pushing the middle of the lid with your finger - it should not bounce back. If it does, the jars are not sealed and will need to be reprocessed. If you don't want to reprocess, you can refrigerate those jars and use them first.
- Label your jars and store in a cool pantry for up to 12 months. Once opened, refrigerated jars may be used within 3 weeks..
Did you make this Palo Verde Flower Jelly? If you did, please take a second to rate the recipe and leave a comment below – how did it turn out for you?
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