We recently made our first foray into making jelly from flowers, and the results were tasty. We used a natural unbleached sugar for the first batch, and I had wondered ahead of time if it might affect the final color of the jelly. We ended up with a reddish product instead of the bright violet shown in the recipe. I resolved to find more violets, buy some white sugar, and test out my hypothesis.
I knew I needed a better source of blossoms and thought of a friend who had complained that his back yard is overrun with them. I know these friends don't use chemical fertilizers, weed killers, or pesticides, so I took a peek - oh my, violet lushness! I asked permission, then picked and picked and picked to my heart's delight. Four-plus cups of flowers later their yard was still glorious with spring color and I had enough violets to make not just jelly, but also maybe try out some natural egg dying.
After steeping, sugaring, boiling, and canning, here's the final color comparison:
The first batch, with a more reddish color, is on the right. The two jars on the left are the new batch. Does sugar affect your final color? Absolutely!
So now the question is: how important to health is the use of natural, unbleached sugar? Which jelly would you rather eat, the brighter one, or the one made using a less refined sweetener?
