For years I disdained making Queen Anne’s Lace jelly, believing it to be merely sweet, without distinctive flavor. I’d heard lackluster reviews from fellow foragers, but this year I decided to see for myself and boy am I glad I did. Because Queen Anne’s Lace jelly has a lovely flavor: fruity, not too sweet…it kind of reminds me of juicy fruit gum, but less sweet, with longer lasting flavor, and no chemical aftertaste.
Most of the photos I’ve seen on line show Queen Anne’s Lace Jelly to be a pretty pink color. Mine, though very tasty, was more of a whisky gold color, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. So I made it again. I’d included stems in my first batch, because my pal Butter, who is one of the best cooks I know, said their flavor was as good as that of the flowers. I chewed on a stem and agreed, so I added them to the jelly.
I used only flowers in the second batch, thinking that might have affected the color. I also made sure to include only flowers with the telltale purple spot at the center of the umbel. The second batch was no pinker, although the flavor was slightly sweeter and more floral. Can’t say it was better. Can’t say it was worse. Can’t say it was pink.
I have no idea what makes the color different. I’ve asked everyone I know and some people I’ve never met. The best we came up with was that soil acidity might affect the color of the infusion, and subsequently the color of the jelly. But really, we were just flailing about. Still, since these were east coast QAL, grown in acidic soil, I suppose I’ll have to make another batch when I get back to the alkaline soils of the southwest.
What You’ll Need to Make Queen Anne’s Lace Jelly:
- 20 umbels of Queen Anne’s Lace
- 3 cups water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon Ball Classic pectin
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
The above amounts make four half pint jars with a smidge left over for sampling.
Note to novice jelly makers: You may adjust the amount of jelly you make, but keep the proportions as noted above. Do not make more than eight cups of jelly at a time. The reason for this is that the amount of time required to boil a larger amount of jelly can break the pectin bond, and you may not get a good jell.
If you are an experienced enough jelly maker to have your favorite brand of pectin, feel free to tinker with the above recipe to fit your pectin. I prefer a reduced sugar recipe, but I’ve found that many of the reduced sugar pectins produce a cloudy jelly. So I use classic pectin with the lowest allowable amount of sugar. (Don’t worry, instructions are on the package.)
What You’ll Do to Make Queen Anne’s Lace Jelly:
Bring the three cups of water to a boil, then pour them over the QAL flowers and cover. Let them infuse overnight, then strain the following morning. Throw away the flowers and transfer the liquid to a jelly pan.
Add the lemon juice and pectin to the QAL flower tea, and bring the liquid to a boil that can’t be stirred down. Add the sugar and whisk to combine.
When the liquid comes to a boil, continue stirring and boil for a full minute. Then, remove from the heat, skim the foam off the top, and pour into jars. Process the jelly in a boiling water bath for ten minutes.
Have you made Queen Anne’s Lace Jelly?
I’d love to know if yours turned pink or if you have any thoughts on what might make the difference with color. Let me hear from you!
I made the jelly three weeks ago pale pink in colour. Taste was amazing!Followed the gather web site recipe.
Can send pictures.
Isn’t the flavor surprising? I didn’t know what to expect, and I was really pleased. I’d love to see a photo of yours, but I don’t think you can post it in a comment here. Would you mind trying to post a photo of your jelly on my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/thebackyardforager/ If you “like” my page, you should then be able to post a photo in the comment section of the QAL jelly post. (Right now that’s the second post on the page.) I’d like to see what color you got.
I love the QAL jelly! Such a unique flavor.
I’ve made in the past and it seems as soon as you add the lemon juice it makes a reaction turning it a delicate pink and absolutely delicate flavor.
Am I the only person who does not experience the pink color? I’ve made it multiple times and the lemon juice NEVER produces that reaction. Still, I like the flavor, so I’ll keep doing it.
Mine turned pink as soon as I added the lemon juice. I added bottled, and I did it while the tea was just turned on heat. Not sure what, if any, makes a difference.
I’ve tried it a bunch of different ways, and it turns pink-ISH, but never the true pink I see in other people’s photos. Doesn’t matter to me…I love the flavor!
Just made my very first batch ever and mine came
out a golden amber color. My flowers were slightly past prime and were picked in an old horse pasture so maybe acidic soil? They infused for about 17 hours and the ‘hard’ well water was pretty dark when I pulled the flowers out. If it tastes anything like the QAL tonic, I’ll be happy as a clam :).
Sounds like your color came out like mine. Check here (https://backyardforage.wpengine.com/queen-annes-lace-jelly-recipe/) and let me know. To me, the flavors are different (between jelly and tonic); I hope you like it!
I have been wanting to make QAL jelly for many years but summer is busy and the plant came and went to seed before I had the time or sometimes even remembered. So that said 3 days ago I went out and picked the flowers using 30 flower heads ,because a few were a bit small,and infused them for around 18 hours.Followed the directions and Wa La I have a beautiful delicate pale pink Queen Anne a Lace jelly. This morning I tried it on wheat toast and really wanted to share my experience. My new favorite jelly is as stated… sweet but not to sweet, slightly fruity and just a joy to my taste buds.I am definitely making more to see me through the winter and as presents.
Yay, Tracy! I’m so glad you like it. Any chance you’d post a photo on my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/thebackyardforager/ ? I’d love to see the color you got.
I would like to make just the syrup to use in kombucha, not the jelly. Is that possible@?
I’ve never made kombucha (I’m not a big vinegar fan), but I don’t see why this wouldn’t work. Make the QAL infusion, then add the amount of sugar you normally would for a kombucha. And please let me know how it turns out!
Question– I have a citrus allergy so can’t use lemon juice. Is there something I can substitute for this so I can try this recipe as it sounds lovely.
Interesting question. Most jams and jellies include lemon juice because the acid acts as a preservative and also lowers the fruit’s pH to a level where the pectin can jell. I’ve read (but never tried!) that vinegar can be substituted for lemon juice, so you could try that. Since vinegar is more acidic than lemon juice, you’ll need to adjust the amount. But bear in mind that this may affect the flavor. I can’t speak from personal experience but I’m sure the almighty google will have some information for you.
What about Sumac Berries? They have that same lemon flavor.
Frances Ward (the comment after yours) used some sumac berries for added color, and I love that idea. But I’m not sure they’d be an effective substitute for the lemon juice because I don’t know what percentage acidity you’d get from a strong sumacade or from adding the fruit to the infusion. It’s the acidity of the lemon juice that helps the pectin bond form. If you try the experiment, please let us know how it works out.
You could try Sumac (magic acid), and then strain it, but it would add a red tinge to your jelly.
Yes, that would be beautiful! It would also change the flavor somewhat, depending on how much you use. That could be nice, but the first time I make something with a wild food I like to taste it on its own, to get a feel for it.
I am wondering if I can freeze the tonic? Then when ready to make the jelly bring back to the book and add the pectin and sugar steps????I have an abundance of the QAL flowers.
Just to clarify, the tonic and the jelly are two different recipes, with different ingredients and proportions. You don’t make the jelly from the tonic. You make the jelly from a Queen Anne’s lace tea. You could make the tea (the first step in the jelly recipe) and freeze that to use later in a jelly, but I’m pretty sure that freezing the tonic would remove the natural effervescence you get from fermentation. If I’ve misunderstood your question, please let me know.
I made QAL jelly for the first time last year. The color had a hint of pink if I used my imagination! This year I decided to make the same recipe, except I rubbed the berries from a few staghorn sumac drupes into the QAL/ water mixture once it was cool. I let that sit overnight before straining. The result was a beautiful pink! And the taste delicious!
Love that: if you used your imagination! That’s how I felt. The sumac fruit is a great idea.
Started making this last night. It was an almost greenish gold color as tea. As soon as I added the lemon and liquid pectin it turned a lovely pink lemonade color. Not sure if it will stay as pink after boiling and adding sugar. I got my QAL from an area between mountains and ocean in the PNW. And not all of them had the distinct purple center flower as some were a bit smaller. I did have a good amount of stem still on them as well. Hope that helps q little with figuring out how to pink it up:3
Congratulations! I’m not too concerned about the color of mine, because it’s pretty and delicious as is. But I’m glad yours turned pink.
I don’t undeterred what a jelly pan is. Also it says to put in jelly jars then a hot water bath so I’m guessing you put tops on the jars before that. For this hot water bath (because I’m new to this) are the jars boiling on a stove or is there a pot of water that was taken off the stove before putting the jars in.
Welcome to the wonderful world of jelly making! As with any new hobby, you’ll need to learn a new vocabulary and probably buy a few pieces of equipment. County Extension offices usually have good information on this subject. I just googled “jelly making basics” and came up with this: https://extension.umn.edu/preserving-and-preparing/making-jelly#filling-jars-and-heat-processing-336161 It’s got information on equipment and processing, and should be enough to get you started. Overall I find extension offices to have the most reliable information, but there are also some other excellent websites out there if you really get into it. Check out Food In Jars (https://foodinjars.com/blog/new-to-canning-start-here-boiling-water-bath-canning/) and Living Home Grown (https://livinghomegrown.com/preserve/)
I have my QAL seeping…I use Pamona so sugar can be reduced. Do you know the measurements for Pamona’s? It use calcium citrate I believe , maybe to add acid?
I’ve only used Pomona’s once and I didn’t like it because it produced a cloudy jelly and I like a clear jelly. (Now I use Ball’s low sugar pectin.) The flavor was fine, but not the clarity. I remember the Pomona’s pectin came with instructions on measurements. If you go to their website and look at the recipes section, look at the herb jelly recipe, which should work for you. You will already have your infusion, so skip that part of the recipe and pick it up from there. I suggest using lemon instead of vinegar as the acid.
My QA jelly looked beautiful while I was cooking I followed the instructions to a tee and my jelly is like water it’s not setting up any suggestions?
Jelly making is tricky business and there are many places where things can go wrong. Without being there to watch, I can’t tell you what the problem is. Some jellies take 24 hours to two weeks to set, so give it some more time. If it still doesn’t set, you may be able to reprocess, depending on the kind of pectin you used. If you decide to go this route, you’ll need to google “how to reprocess jelly that didn’t set.” There’s lots of info about that online, but I’d look for something from county extension with a .edu address. Good luck!
I’m curious about your use of the stems! Have you ever tried a jelly using only stems? Just raw, the stems seem much more carroty to me but I like them a lot (the flowers being, naturally, more floral).
I’ve never used the stems for anything. My guess is they’d be more appropriate for a savory application rather than something sweet like jelly.
I made huge batches of Queen Anne’s Lace jelly with my grandma every summer while I was growing up and I’d never heard if it being pink.
I am currently making QAL jelly and I’m curious if I was supposed to refrigerate the tea while it infused? Or was I supposed to leave it out?
no need to refrigerate