Jams and jellies can preserve more than fruits and vegetables

I have lilac bushes in my backyard and each spring since I moved into my home eleven years ago, I would eagerly await the signs of blooms forming on the lilacs because their fragrance is one of my favorite scents. Every year resulted in disappointment, as the trees that grew near the lilacs produced too much shade for them to set flowers. Despite this, I did not remove the bushes because they were healthy, I am an eternal optimist, and more importantly, digging out established lilac bushes is an arduous task.

In September of 2018, a tornado ripped through our town and blew down five large trees in the backyard – one of them into my garage. (No one was injured citywide thanks to the warning sirens.) The following spring I was cautiously optimistic that the lilacs might bloom, but they did not and I thought perhaps they were just too old to produce flowers. But this spring was different – a couple of weeks ago I noticed tiny buds on a couple of branches. A closer inspection revealed dozens of buds. They have now burst into full bloom, and today I basked in their heavenly fragrance.

While this could be a timely metaphor about a massive disaster creating an unexpected positive outcome, my first thought as I took in the gorgeous scent was ignoble and selfish: I wondered how I could preserve this aroma longer than the few days the blooms will remain on the plants. Soaps or perfume did not interest me because while I enjoy the scent of lilacs, I do not want to smell like them myself. A serendipitous Facebook post provided the answer: make lilac jelly. It turns out that lilacs are edible and you can make a fragrant jelly out of the flowers. I don’t know why I was surprised, as nearly every edible plant can be used to make a jelly or jam of some sort.

In addition to the recipe I stumbled across, Michael Ruhlman also has a Lilac jelly recipe that uses liquid pectin instead of powdered. Tomorrow I will get cracking in the kitchen. In the depths of winter, opening a jar of lilac jelly will transport me back to the spring, with birds chirping and flowers blooming. I am going to take a walk around my neighborhood as well to see if there are other flowers or plants I can use to make a jelly or jam.

If the idea of making a jam, jelly, or preserve intrigues you, the EYB Library contains over 3,200 online recipes for jellies, jams, and preserves. Making preserves is not difficult and you do not need special equipment unless you want to process the preserves for long-term storage. Here a few Member favorites to pique your interest:

• Tomato jam from Food in Jars by Marissa McClellan
• Greengage jam from The Cottage Smallholder
• Peach butter from Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman
• Grapefruit marmalade from Annabel-Langbein.com by Annabel Langbein
• Marrow and ginger jam from BBC Good Food Magazine by Jane Hornby
• Classic strawberry preserves from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff and Rinne Allen
• Rich red plum jam from Serious Eats
• Apricot and lavender jam from Salt Sugar Smoke by Diana Henry
• Basil jelly from Sweet Domesticity
• Roasted tomatillo salsa verde from The Yummy Life
• Mind-blowing bacon Jam from Martha Stewart Living Magazine