Rosella Jam

We have had quite a magnificent crop of Rosellas this year thanks again to thoughtful planning by the gardener.  It only takes four cups of rosellas to make my jam recipe so that was my agenda.  It is a little bit of work to make the jam.  You first need to wash the rosellas throughly as little insects just love hiding deep inside the flowers.  Next you need to separate the flower from the green pod.  The pod is where the pectin is.  I find it easiest to run a knife around the bottom of each flower and they seem to separate quite easily.  Next step is to boil the pods until they are soft.  I was running out of time and didn't cook them quite as long as I should so in the end my jam was a little runnier than I would have preferred. After boiling the pods you then strain and add the juice from the pods to the flowers along with just enough water to cover them.  After that it is simply a matter of adding the sugar and boiling until the jam thickens.  The last step is to spread that delicious jam onto a well buttered piece of toast and ENJOY!

Rosellas washed and ready to be prepared

Pods separated from flowers

All that marvellous pectin from he pods

Bottled and ready to eat...