Scent and flavour: Crafting perfect wild rose petal jam

In July, the plant is covered with white-pink flowers. Although unassuming, they make up for the lack of decorative qualities with taste and aroma. Our ancestors already appreciated them. They made aromatic tea from rose petals or candied them in sugar and used them to decorate cakes and desserts.

However, the most popular product obtained from this extraordinary gift of nature was jam.

Wild rose jam was eagerly added to tea and other beverages. Over time, it became a traditional filling for donuts. However, the aromatic, sweet-and-sour "spread" can also be used in many other ways, such as enriching a sandwich, pancake, or omelette. Rose jam will also add flavour to oatmeal or a smoothie.

How to prepare it?

They not only have an enchanting, sweet-honey aroma and exciting taste, but they also contain many valuable nutrients. They provide a large dose of vitamin C, which activates the immune system, plays an important role in producing numerous enzymes, influences collagen production, and reduces the tendency to bleeding and gum bleeding.

The high concentration of ascorbic acid gives rose petals strong antioxidant properties. They support the body's natural defence mechanisms by neutralizing the harmful effects of free radicals, which accelerate aging processes and contribute to the development of cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease.

Other components of rose petals are also effective antioxidants, such as anthocyanins – plant pigments that reduce the risk of obesity, regulate blood circulation, and ensure capillary flexibility and proper permeability. They also stimulate the production of rhodopsin, a light-sensitive pigment found in the retina of the eye, protecting against macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, and many other vision problems.

Rose petals contain many other valuable compounds, such as tannins (proven to protect against cancer) or gallotannins (which absorb many toxic chemical compounds, and have anti-inflammatory and anti-diarrheal properties).

The best time to pick wild rose flowers is in the morning or evening. Choose fresh, healthy specimens without discolouration. At home, remove the petals, rinse them in warm water, and then dry them.

You should have about 500 grams of raw material. Crush the petals with the same amount of powdered sugar, preferably using a traditional method, in a mortar or pestle, or if necessary, you can use a blender. At the end, add the juice squeezed from one lemon.

After obtaining a homogeneous mass, transfer it to sterilized jars. If planning longer storage of the jam, the preserves should be pasteurized. Despite the passage of time, no more effective method has been found to prolong the shelf life and inhibit the development of microorganisms while preserving the taste of the products.

There are two main types of pasteurization. "Wet," when hot jars with preserves are tightly closed and placed, lid up, in a pot lined with a cloth, hot water is poured (the level should not reach the lids), brought to a boil and cooked for about 20 minutes, then taken out and turned upside down. "Dry" pasteurization involves placing jars with preserves in an oven preheated to 130°C for half an hour, and then, after turning it off, leaving them for another 30 minutes.