Red Bud Jelly

Imagine my surprise when one of my Facebook friends posted about making jelly from the flowers of the Eastern Red Bud tree! As you can see by the faint, yet prolific, fuchsia hue around my backyard, there are many flowers to harvest for such a project!

So I set about gathering six cups of the blooms. It was a little sad to strip the trees, but this tree is pretty invasive, and I gathered from the ones where I don't necessarily need more seeds to take root next year. 

You pour six cups of boiling water on top and steep the flowers for 24 hours. The infusion results in this incredible shade of pink!

Kind of fancy-looking in a wine glass, and I *may* have added some Malfey gin con limone after I sampled the taste of the pure juice. The juice was delicious both pure and enhanced! The juice does have a tiny bit of a bean after taste, which is not surprising as the tree belongs in the bean family.

The jelly was easy to make. I used this recipe. The jelly took a few days to really set, so have patience. I put it in the fridge a few days to speed the process.

Delicious product enjoyed on some home-made bread with butter! Yum! The taste of the jelly is not as distinctive as the juice, but sweet and light. You can't beat the fun pink color!

Enjoy the warming weather, and hope that you are safe and healthy!