Peonies are flowers that instantly make any room feel more elegant. Their blossoms are large and fragrant and create an enchanting visual spectacle. While having fresh-cut blossoms around the home feels like such a treat, their life span in a vase is only about five days, depending on how you care for them.
The good news is there are several ways you can enjoy your peonies for much longer, including turning them into a delicious edible treat. Yep. Peonies are edible and have been used for an abundance of applications: in medicine, as salad toppings, as tea and in sweet drinks.
If you’re in the market for a sweet and fragrant treat, this delicious jam recipe featured on Yey Food may be right up your alley. The flavor of the jam is described as being “somewhere between strawberry and peach” — slightly tart, with light floral notes peeking through.
To make the jam, start by collecting enough peony flower petals to fill eight cups when lightly pressed down. It’s possible to use fewer cups, but using more petals gives the jam a more concentrated flavor with an intense burst of fragrance.
After this, gather your flowers and put them in a large pot of water with an entire sliced lemon, letting it boil for 10 minutes. After it’s finished boiling, take it off the heat and let it sit overnight in the fridge.
At this point, you’ll discard the petals and lemon slices and pour some of the remaining liquid into a stockpot along with lemon juice, powdered pectin and butter. Boil the mixture until the pectin is dissolved, and then add in sugar.
Let the mixture come to a boil again while constantly stirring. Take the mixture off the stove after it has been reduced as much as possible. Carefully pour it into your jam jars, leaving about an inch of space to the brim, then cap your jars.
To get the full details on how to care for your jam after you cap it, head on over to Yey Food for the complete recipe.
This jam is absolutely beautiful and would make a great gift. Feel free to spread atop toast and biscuits, or use it in a cookie recipe.
We hope you try it!
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Check out Simplemost for additional stories.
