Identifying Wild Violets
Your Practical Guide To Self Reliant Living
Violet jelly is an easy homemade flower jelly that will add stunning color to your toast, biscuits, and scones. Believe it or not, these bright spring blooms taste like fresh berries, making an exceptionally jelly long before the first fruit harvest of the season.
This past year kept us (and everyone else) at home more than usual, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a project out of all the tasty edible flowers growing all over the yard. We started with dandelion jelly, which tastes like honey and sunshine, and with that success, the littles and I started making floral jellies out of just about all the tasty edible flowers we could get our hands-on.
Many, I’ll admit, were underwhelming. I don’t really need to make fireweed jelly or bee balm jelly again. Others, like this wild violet jelly, totally blew my mind.
Believe it or not, violet jelly tastes like fresh spring berries rather than flowers!
Sweet and floral, with hints of blueberry and raspberry, wild violet jelly is going to be on our list each spring from now on!
Wild violets are pretty easy to identify, and they’re incredibly common. They prefer shady wet spaces, and you’ll often find them tucked into corners of your lawn near trees or on the north side of the house.
Here in Vermont, they grow wild near woods edges and bloom in late spring or early summer (May or June). In warmer areas, like the pacific northwest, they bloom as early as Mid-February.
My mom even has them in the high desert of California, where the seeds came in the pot along with a few fruit trees she planted. They don’t do well in the desert generally, given they like moist shade, but she attached drip irrigation to each of her trees. They’re now all surrounded by a carpet of wild violets that bloom all year round, right through the mild California winter.
The leaves of violets are a distinctive dark green heart shape, that’s a deeper shade of green when they’re deeper in the shade (in sunnier spots the color washes to a lighter green shade). The flowers themselves have 5 petals in a rough star shape and can be anywhere from deep purple, to violet and white.
If you need more help with your ID, I’d suggest this article on foraging wild violets.
While all parts of the wild violet plant are edible, it’s important to note that it’s also used medicinally. The actions are all relatively mild, so the quantities consumed in a bit of homemade violet jelly won’t really have much in the way of effects.
Historically, violet has been used as a respiratory herb (expectorant) and to treat hacking cough (the leaves, which contain soothing mucilage). It’s also used as a lymphatic tonic, to help with lymph edema and breast issues.
If you’re curious about the medicinal uses of violets, I’d suggest reading this article by the chestnut school of herbs, which covers both the edible and medicinal uses of violets quite comprehensively.
The main thing to know is that violets can be a very mild laxative, so don’t go eating a whole jar of violet jelly in a sitting. (Even that likely won’t have much impact, as it’s equivalent to a single cup of violet tea, which is well below a therapeutic dose.)
Making violet jelly starts with harvesting violets. I put my little ones (ages 2 and 4) to work and they entertained themselves for at least an hour harvesting a few cups of violet flowers.
Violets are prolific, but their flowers are quite small and it takes a while to harvest a meaningful amount.
For a batch of violet jelly, you’ll need about 2 cups of violet flowers (loosely packed). A batch is 4 cups of jelly or 4 half-pint (8 oz) jars.
If you want to make it easy on yourself, harvest them right into a quart mason jar and stop about halfway full. The next step is pouring 4 cups of boiling water over the flowers to make violet tea, which you can do right in the mason jar.
When you pour boiling water over the violet flowers you’ll likely get a surprise…a greenish or turquoise colored tea. That’s not exactly the bright pink color of the finished violet jelly, so what’s going on here?
The compounds that give violets their color actually change color in the presence of acids, like the lemon juice used in canning and jelly making.
Most fruits are acidic, and that low pH makes them perfect for water bath canning. It also brings out the sweet flavor of their natural sugars, and makes a fruit taste like fruit. Finished violet jelly tastes like fresh berries, and I imagine that’s because the same compounds that give them their color also color blueberries and blackberries.
(Both blackberry and blueberry juice will also take on a pink color when you add lemon juice. I actually add a bit of berry juice to my lilac wine, since lilacs don’t give up their color easily. It gives the whole beverage a stunning pink/purple color.)
Even if you’re thinking a turquoise jelly would be pretty neat, it won’t stay that way long. The pectin used to set the jelly actually contains citric acid to help activate the pectin, so no matter what you do it’ll be a pink/purple jelly.
Enjoy the unique color or turquoise violet tea while it lasts…
After making the violet tea, the next step is to add lemon juice (or citric acid). I think the lemon juice compliments the flavors of the flowers beautifully, but if you want a “pure” violet flavor you can use citric acid instead.
Citric acid is substituted for lemon juice at a rate of 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid powder per 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
This added acid helps to contrast the sugar in the jelly (thus dramatically improving the flavor of any jelly, floral or otherwise), and it also lowers the pH to help the jelly keep (whether it’s canned or not).
It’s really neat to watch the color transform as you pour the lemon juice into the violet tea. It’s a neat little feat of chemistry as the pink curls around the jar.
Violet tea changes from a blue/green color to a vibrant pink/purple with the addition of lemon juice. Starting at top left, when the first lemon juice is added and then continuing until all the acid has been added.
At this point, you should have a violet tea made from 2 cups of violet flowers and 4 cups of water. You’ve added lemon juice (or citric acid) and listened to your little ones (or friends) ooh and ahh at the color-changing magic. Now it’s time to turn this into jelly.
The process is pretty straightforward, but the order of operations is important. I’m using regular powdered pectin, which is pretty standard and is made by many brands, but this happens to be a box of Sure-Jell (Mrs. Wages and Ball Canning also make powdered pectin).
With powdered pectin, you cannot add the sugar at the beginning. If you do, the jelly won’t jel. (Liquid pectin is just the opposite, and is added at the end.)
Strain the flowers out of the violet tea and pour it into a deep saucepan. Add the powdered pectin (and lemon juice if you didn’t already). Bring the mixture to a hard boil for 1 minute, then add the sugar. (Note: The color will change even further when you add the powdered pectin, as it also contains some citric acid.)
Return the mixture to a boil for 1 minute, before ladling into jelly jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
(If using liquid pectin instead, use 7 cups sugar to 4 cups violet tea( with lemon juice added). Bring the tea and sugar to a boil, then add the pectin at the end and stir it in. I generally avoid liquid pectin because it requires astronomical amounts of sugar to gel, nearly a 2:1 ratio of sugar to liquid.)
Homemade violet jelly is thick enough to hold a spoon but smooth and spreadable on toast and scones.
I personally love violet jelly just the way it is but feel free to experiment a bit to match your tastes.
You can make a low sugar variation by using low sugar pectin, which is made by just about every pectin maker and each has its own specific instructions. I like Pomona’s Pectin when I’m making low sugar recipes.
Adding other edible flowers, or a bit of fruit is an option too.
Canning is completely optional and simply allows you to enjoy violet jelly year-round (or pack it up and give it as shelf-stable gifts). You can always make this as a refrigerator jelly, in which case, you’d just need to keep the jars in the refrigerator and use them within a few weeks.
My preference is always canning, because it lets me enjoy all the flavors of my yard in the winter months (when I’m desperately missing them). If you’ve added the recommended amount of bottled lemon juice (or an equivalent amount of citric acid), the jelly should be the right pH for canning.
Be sure to pour the violet jelly mixture into canning safe jars that take 2 part canning lids. Leave 1/4 inch headspace (no more, or the jars might not seal properly).
Seal with 2 part canning lids and process the jars in a water bath canner. (If you’ve never canned jam or jelly before, I’d recommend you read this tutorial on water bath canning first.)
Looking for more ways to use violets?
Violet jelly is a delicious floral treat with the surprising flavor of fresh berries. Enjoy a fresh jelly with these wild spring flowers, long before actual berries come into season!
If not canned, the jelly should be stored in the refrigerator and used within a few weeks. Properly canned in a water bath canner, sealed jars should keep at room temperature on the pantry shelf for at least 12 months.
The lemon juice is not optional in this recipe, it creates acidity which helps balance the sugar in the jelly, giving flavor and helping to activate the pectin. You may substitute 1/2 tsp citric acid in place of the 1/4 cup lemon juice for a more neutral flavor that will still give the proper acidity.
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Looking for more ways to preserve wild foraged treats?
Preserving more than just violets this spring?
Wow, what a delicious looking jelly! And best of all it’s free!!! I use the same recipe when making crabapple jelly. The trees around me are Dolgo crabs. You can use just about any crabapple to make jelly but the smaller fruits tend to be too bitter for me. The trees have never been sprayed and are not near a major highway. Something everyone needs to watch for when foraging for free goodies! The color of crabapple jelly is about the same but the taste is tangy and delicious. Thanks for the great recipe.
God Bless and stay safe…
You’re welcome and thank you for sharing. So glad you found it helpful.
Might be a dumb question but is a wild violet the same as an African violet?
That’s a really good question! No unfortunately it’s not, they’re completely different species and to the best of my knowledge, African Violet is not edible. Wild violets are viola species, and African violets are a completely different plant (Saintpaulia sp.).
Oh my! My yard is chock full of these little beauties, so I’ll be making lots of jelly. Thank you SO much for this blog… Now I REALLY can’t wait for Spring to arrive❣❣❣
Wonderful!
Good morning Ashley, I have been reading your articles for some time now and enjoying them immensely. About the last 5 yrs I have been making Chamomile jelly the same way using my German Chamomile flowers which luckily reseed and regrow each year . I will definitely do this one also, can’t wait for them to show there little faces here in NJ. Thank you so much for this jelly recipe.
Lucy
Wonderful! Now I have to try chamomile jelly, it sounds divine!
So excited to make the violet jelly-I just thought they were pretty little flowers!. My grandchildren will be delighted as they love my jams and jellies. Yipee! thank you
I am just in the process of making this wonderful jelly, they are in the canner as I am writing this. I followed your recipe to a tee, yet I have come out with six and a half 8 oz jars, instead of four. Can´t see how you come up with four half pints by using 4 cups of water and 4 cups of sugar ? Now I am hoping that it will still set up as it still seems very liquid, I´ve just taken them out of the canner,,,,,could it be that 4 cups of water is too much ?
Ooops. That is a type-o in the recipe yield, yours should set nicely. The yield should be 6 half-pint jars (as it is with the dandelion jelly recipe since they’re essentially the same floral jelly). I’ll go in and correct it. Thanks for the heads up!
And they did, they set up beautifully and taste wonderful ! Many thanks for the great recipe, I will try dandelion and red bud as well !
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I’m an off-grid homesteader in rural Vermont and the author of Practical Self Reliance, a blog that helps people find practical ways to become more self-reliant. Read More…
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