Kudzu blossom jelly is one of the best tasting jellies I’ve ever found. It has a concord grape taste, only better. The following is a recipe I found for the jelly. I have tried it several times and have always had to rebatch it due to it being a little too soft for my tastes. I’ll also include the instructions for rebatching.
(Kudzu blossoms are blooming in the South during August and September!)
Pick only blooms that are not located near major roadways or that could have been sprayed with herbicides.
4 cups Kudzu blossoms
4 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
5 cups sugar
Separate the flowers from the stem as you only want the purple blooms. Wash the blossoms in cold water, place them in a large bowl, and pour the boiling water over the blossoms. Refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours. Pour blossoms and liquid through a colander or sieve in to a large cook pot, discarding blossoms. The juice that is left over is a grayish color but when you add the lemon juice will turn deep maroon. Add lemon juice and pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar and return to a full rolling boil that can’t be stirred down, stirring constantly. Boil for exactly 1 minute. Remove from heat, skim off foam and quickly pour jelly into hot, sterilized jars, filling them to 1/4″ of the top. Wipe jar rims, cover with canning lids and screw on bands. Process in boiling water bath 5 minutes. Cool.
This recipe should make 6 half pints.
Due to the low acid content of these blossoms I’ve used the following rebatch method. I usually rebatch TWO batches of the jelly at once as it works pretty well.
Jelly too soft:
“When recooking and using powdered pectin, for each QUART of soft jelly or jam, measure 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water and 4 teaspoons of powdered pectin. Mix the pectin and water together and bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Add the soft jelly/jam and sugar. Stir thoroughly. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Boil mixture hard for 1/2 minute. Remove from heat, skim, pour into clean, hot containers and seal using new lids.
NOTE:
I use two batches of the kudzu jelly and double the “rebatch recipe”, using a whole box of powdered pectin. The resulting jelly is a firm jelly. If you like a little softer jelly, cut back on the pectin. It’s a very delightful jelly and for anyone who likes Concord Grape jelly they will simply LOVE Kudzu Blossom Jelly!