Nancy, I'm usually just a lurker here since I don't do any canning, but I couldn't pass this post up. My mother & grandmother regularly made rose petal jam. It was a skill my grandmother brought with her from Greece. I loved it's perfumy taste. No matter where she lived, my mother always had one special rose in the garden with deep, dark petals. She'd gather them up and make the jam. She'd always add some rose water to it too. However, I've never tried making the jam myself. Just recently I ordered some from Amazon that was very similar to what my mom made. The reason I responded to your post is because I have my mother's typed recipe. Bear in mind, that's it's a very old recipe -- probably dating back to the 60s. Perhaps it would give you an idea of what to look for in a more current version. The end result was a delicious sweet jam for breakfast toast. The addition of rose water gave it a definite rose flavoring. I've eaten other commercial rose jams that were sickeningly sweet but with no pronounced rose flavor. I think that's what happens if the rose water is omitted. ROSE JAM Andonia Zografos Select fresh petals of bright red roses. Cut away any white spots. With a scissors cut petals in small strips. Wash and drain. Measure 2 cups roses, packed down fully in cup. Add 1 1/2 cups water and boil together for about 10 mins. Must have at least 1 1/2 cups roses. A little bit more or less won't make any difference. Add 3 cups sugar and 1/2 lemon juice to roses. Bring to boil. At once stir in 1/2 bottle of Certo. Bring to rolling boil and boil for 1 min. Remove from fire and put in 1 tsp. of rose water. Skim off foam and put in jars.

What is your recipe for Lemon Balm jelly? We have been using this one but always looking for others. Dave 1 c. lemon balm 3 c. water 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 6 1/2 c. sugar 1 bottle liquid pectin Drop of yellow food coloring Directions: Steep lemon balm in boiled water 10-20 minutes. Strain. Bring infusion and sugar to a rolling boil, add pectin and cook and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat, add coloring, jar and seal. Process 5 mins. in BWB.

I made it once. Actually, I used a recipe for herbal lemon honey jam and infused it with rose petals. The rose petals I used weren't very smelly, so it was prettier than it was "rose" tasting. I would definately go for it if I had the right kind of roses! Otherwise, it's not going to give you much of a distinctive tasting jelly

The best roses to use are the real old-fashioned kinds: Rosa canina, R. gallica officinale, R. rugosa, R. eglanteria. The redder the flowers, and the more heavily perfumed they are, the better. However, any rose can be used. Rosehip Jam 2 cups rosehips 2 cups water sugar Cook hips in water until tender. Push pulp through a sieve. Add 1 cup of sugar to each cup of pulp. Cook until pulp thickens like jam consistency. Pour into sterilised jars and seal. Rosehip Leather Use soft ripe rose hips. It takes about 4 cups of rose hips to make 2 cups of puree. Remove stalks and blossom ends. Rinse in cold water. Put them into a pan and add enough water to almost cover. Bring to the boil and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Press through a sieve or strainer. All that does not go through the sieve is placed in the pan again. Add a little water, enough to almost cover, if you want a thicker puree, add slightly less. This time heat but do not boil so vigorously. Press through a sieve again and then repeat the process one more time. Discard the seeds and skin. Line a cookie sheet with plastic wrap. Spread puree evenly over the plastic but do not push it completely to the sides. Leave in the hot sun to dry for about 6 8 hours. Rosewater Boil 1 cup red rose petals with 1 cup water for about 10 minutes. Cover and leave overnight. Strain, discarding petals. Will keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge. It may be sweetened with a little honey before boiling if desired.