Good Morning dear readers,

Greetings from Bavejdon Vineyards & Orchards, located in the Antelope Valley of Southern California.

It is Springtime in the valley and here in the high dessert, so much life is emerging from Winter dormancy. Flowers are blooming, birds are flitting around building nests, baby bunnies are darting around and life is growing everywhere!

I love Lilacs! We have about 10 Lilac bushes growing around the perimeter of our property and right now they are blooming. This year they are beautiful and very fragrant. They bloom in a profusion of large clusters of blossoms in a variety of shades of purple & lavender. They have a very delicate yet distinct perfume. I couldn’t resist picking some to make a small bouquet for our coffee table. Their fragrance was so powerful that a short time later, I had to move it to the kitchen.

We keep trying to grow and make new products in order to support our small vineyard, so I end up trying many different things. I had an old recipe that I wanted to try, for making “Lilac & Rose Jam (another flower that grows well in the high-dessert.) Both jams turned out wonderful, slightly sweet, with a delicate fragrance. I did have to add a small amount of food coloring to get the correct lilac & rose shades. Unfortunately the recipe required a lot of petals for a relatively small amount of jam. While I really enjoyed its delicate taste, it turned out not to be viable for commercial production. Farmer Max also commented that he felt my homemade flower jam was a bit too “girly.”

In case you don’t mind “girly” jams, I am enclosing a copy of my recipe as well as some flower photos. I hope you enjoy them.

Rose Petal Jam 1 pound fresh rose petals (prefer red roses, raised without pesticides) Juice of 1 lemon 2 C. superfine sugar 2 Tb rosewater (found in middle eastern markets) Cut off the white ends of petals with scissors and wah and drain the petals. Cover with water in saucepan, adding the jice of1/2 lemon, and simmer for 30 minutes. Then drain In the same pan, make a syrup by boiling 2 1/2 Cups of water with the sugar and the remaining lemon juice for 10 minutes. Lett syrup cool, add the petals and leave for 24 hours. Bring the syrup and petals to a boil and simmer for 20 more minutes until the petals are tender. Add rose water. Add food coloring to color. Pour into a glass jar and let cool before closing.

No-cook Lilac Petal Jam Because the lilacs are not cooked, they retain their fragrance and color. Gently rinse 1 1/2 C. Lilac petals. Place in a blender along with the juice of 1 lime and 3/4 C water. Blend to form a smooth puree and set aside. In a small saucepan, combine 2 1/3 C superfine sugar, 1 1 3/4 oz packet of pectin and 3/4 C water. Place over high heat and boil for 1 minute. Add to lilac puree and blend 1 minute more. Add food color if needed. Let cool and pour into clean, dry (baby food) jars and store in refrigerator.

Chef Toni