Just wanted to Share this - Violet Jam !

[Louiseh]

Hi all

I just wanted to share this, (unfortunatley not literally)

on our last stay over in Spain, I had a lovely night out in Valencia and ate in a little bar, we had (amongst many others) a dish of melted brie cheese with a little spoonful of violet jam, this was fabulous!

I have never come across violet jam before and it was incredible, luckily I was able to buy a pot of it, which is now waiting to be shared with some very fortunate friends.

Has anybody made violet jam before?

We have lots of violets in our garden in spain, and I would quite like to have a go but not sure how to ! (I have made jam but always the usual - strawberry etc)

Louise

[MKG]

Amazing - I can taste that. Brie and violet jam. Sounds like a target to me. Neutral-tasting fruit (has to be apple, surely?) for a base plus lots of violet essence (basically, make a violet-flavoured wine)? I'm guessing - but this is the kind of thing which, just occasionally, makes life worth living.

[old tree man]

That sounds fantastic , i love brie, and violet jam wow ! making my mouth water thinking about it.

Russ

[Louiseh]

It is without a doubt ' fab' and tastes devine.

Certainly a must for a speciliast jam maker, and also in Spain they make really great Tomatoe Jam, which is really sweet, I have brought some back and asked my friends to do a blind tasting they were all guessing

fruits - such as mango, etc, nobody could guess Tomatoe, my friends mum makes some it is gorgeous, but then have plenty of really great over ripe tomatoes to make it, again another one for a specialist jam maker, if only I could make jam, mine is always a disaster! Usually rock hard or runs like water!

[Silver Ether]

what a coincidence... I have just bought a copy of Country Kitchen and theres stuff in there about using violets ... there is a syrup recipe but not a jam one ...

[mybarnconversion]

Does it have a beautiful violet colour to it ... how close is the taste and smell to those little violet sweets?

I'd love to see a photo or two when you come to eat it!

[Louiseh]

Hi

It is a beautiful violet colour, and definitely smells of violets, I could tell instantly what it was,

As when we ordered it, we did not know what we were ordering, as the menu was written in Valenciana and not traditional spanish, and we do not know very much Valenciana,

I will definitly take a photo, but not for a few days, I will be opening it next weekend, although I do not know if it will come across in a pic!


Best wishes

Louise

[mrsflibble]

the first thing I thought when I read this was "omg, yum!" the second was "wonder if I could do the same thing when the lavendar flowers"


any ideas?!

[Silver Ether]

Well found this for lavender...
RECIPE

a hand full of organic, dried lavender blossoms
50g sugar
2 tablespoons of honey
150ml red port wine
100ml creme de cassis
120ml water

mix all ingredients in a saucepan and let cook for about 30 minutes until it gets all syrupy. then put in a sealable glass jar and keep in the fridge.
and this for violets ... not tried either


Violet Jam Ingredients
1 1/2 c Wild violet blossoms* 2 1/3 c Sugar
1 1/2 c Water, divided 1 pk (1 3/4 oz) powdered pectin
1 md Lime , juice of
Instructions for Violet Jam
Heres one I found in my "collectors edition" of Taste of Home. Untried by me. Rinse violet blossoms well and place in a blender. Add 3/4 cup water and lim juice; blend well. Gradually add sugar, blending until a smooth paste is formed. In a saucepan, combine pectin and remaining water; bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Add to blender and blend for 1 minute. Quickly pour into prepared jars or glasses and sea. *Be sure to use the common wild purple violet, not the African violet (often grown as a houseplant)

[MKG]

Common (???) wild violet? Where - where? Tell us ...

[hedgewitch]

This sounds totally divine!!
I have Violets galore in my garden and making a jam out of them really appeals to me.

I'm gonna give this a go chaps and chapesses so I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Cheezy]

Please do as I'm over run with them...well I've always assumed they're wild violets, waxy heart shaped leaves, purple(violet ) small flowers. Can't say they smell of violets,I consider them a bloody weed to be honest, but if HW comes back with a result I'll give it a go!.

[Ellendra]

I tried making violet jam once, but my dad decided he had to spray weedkiller on the lawn the morning I was planning to pick them. Grrrr.

So I made honeysuckle jam instead.

I think in the dandelion thread I posted a recipe for dandelion jelly, it can be used with any edible flower.

[Amaranth]

Louiseh, if there is an ingredient list on the jar, would you please post it? That would give us a start on the recipe.

[hedgewitch]

Trying to get a cupful of violet flowers is proving more difficult than I anticipated.