The Joy of an Empty Pot

Everyday vegetarian recipes from a Zen Buddhist monastery.

Manzanita Blossom Jelly

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​These beautiful blossoms make delicious Manzanita blossom jelly. Beware! If you share this unique jelly with a friend, they may want their own jar.

Makes 4 half-pints

Manzanita blossom jelly in jar spread on English muffin

Manzanita Blossom jelly served on an English muffin.

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Some Trivia About Manzanita Blossoms:

Manzanita Blossoms

​     Manzanita blossom jelly is a special jelly recipe for readers who live on or near the West Coast. Also, it should not be confused with jelly made from Manzanita berries. To begin with, Manzanita is an evergreen shrub or small tree that lives along the coast, in the Sierra foothills, and up into the mountains. In the spring, Manzanita generally produces large clusters of beautiful white to deep pink blossoms. For example, the cluster that you see to the right is about 3 inches across. The blossoms eventually produce small berries that are a food source for a wide variety of wild animals, including bears and coyotes.
    However, our interest for now is strictly in the blossoms. For the most part, the blossoms regularly appear in late winter to the end of Spring. They are currently in bloom* (early April) here in the Sierra foothills. Wikipedia says that Manzanita can ordinarily be found in southern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States, and throughout Mexico. 

Ingredients for making Manzanita blossom jelly

Ingredients for Manzanita Jelly:

8 cups Manzanita blossoms
4 cups water
1 (1.75 oz.) package Original Sure-Jell powdered fruit pectin
2⅔ cups granulated sugar
4 half-pint (8 ounce) canning jars with rings and lids

Instructions for Manzanita Jelly:

1.  Before cooking the 8 cups of blossoms, you should soak the freshly picked Manzanita blossoms in cold water for 5 minutes. Drain the blossoms in a colander.
2.  Place in a 3-quart pot and add 4 cups of water.
3.  Bring the water to a boil.
4.  Boil gently for 20 minutes while stirring occasionally.

5.  Place a colander over a 2-quart saucepan and line with a clean dish towel or pressing cloth. Pour the cooked blossoms into the colander so that the juice is collected in the saucepan below.
6.  Let the blossoms rest and drain for about 3 minutes before pressing.
7.  Let the blossoms cool off a bit before squeezing them since they will still be very hot. Bring the four corners of the pressing cloth together over the colander, twist to close, and squeeze out any extra juice. You can use a potato masher if you like, but squeezing by hand will result in the most juice. Discard the cooked blossoms when done.
8.  Measure the Manzanita juice to make sure that you have 2-2/3 cups. If there is not enough juice, then add fresh water to make up the difference. Similarly, if there is too much, continue to simmer gently until it is reduced to 2-2/3 cups.

Cooking the Manzanita jelly:

9. Return the juice to the 2-quart saucepan and stir the Sure-Jell powdered fruit pectin into the juice until dissolved.
10.  Bring to a full boil while stirring.
11.  Add 2-2/3 cups of granulated sugar and continue to stir until all of the sugar is dissolved.
​12.  Finally, return to a rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Above all, be careful and watch to make sure that the Manzanita blossom jelly does not boil over.
13.  Finally, remove from heat, skim foam from the top of the jelly, pour into hot sterilized jars, and seal.
14.  Lastly, process the Manzanita Jelly for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Remove from pot and allow to cool.
I hope you finally are able to enjoy the natural, unique flavor of this colorful Manzanita blossom jelly.
​
Manzanita blossom jelly with English muffin.

Manzanita blossom jelly on an English muffin

If you enjoy making this jelly, you may also like to try our Tangerine Marmalade or Apricot Jam.  Better yet, if you can find some wild blackberries, you may like to try our recipe for Blackberry Jelly.

Notes:

* The bloom period for Manzanita blossoms varies greatly due to location and variety of Manzanita. Since some plants live almost at sea level and others live in the mountains at 6000 to 7000 feet, they can bloom anywhere from the winter time to late spring.
Manzanita blossom jelly in jar spread on English muffin
5 from 3 votes
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Manzanita Blossom Jelly

These beautiful blossoms make delicious Manzanita blossom jelly. You may find that if you share this unique jelly with a friend, they may want their own jar.

Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Keyword canning, homemade, jelly, Manzanita blossoms, pectin, Sure-jell, wildflower
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Cooling off 2 hours
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 64 Tablespoons
Calories 42 kcal

Ingredients

  • 8 cups Manzanita blossoms
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 pkg. Original Sure-Jell powdered fruit pectin
  • 2 2/3 cups sugar
  • 4 half-pint (8 ounce) canning jars with rings and lids

Instructions

  1. Soak the freshly picked Manzanita blossoms in cold water for 5 minutes. Drain the blossoms in a colander.

  2. Place the Manzanita blossoms in a 3-quart pot and add 4 cups of water.

  3. Bring the water to a boil.

  4. Boil gently for 20 minutes while stirring occasionally.

  5.  Place a colander over a 2-quart saucepan and line with a clean dish towel or pressing cloth. Pour the cooked blossoms into the colander so that the juice is collected in the saucepan below.

  6.  Let the blossoms rest and drain for about 3 minutes before pressing.

  7. Let the blossoms cool off a bit before squeezing them since they will still be very hot. Bring the four corners of the pressing cloth together over the colander, twist to close, and squeeze out any extra juice. You can use a potato masher if you like, but squeezing by hand will result in the most juice. Discard the cooked blossoms when done.

  8. Measure the Manzanita juice to make sure that you have 2-2/3 cups. If there is not enough juice, then add fresh water to make up the difference. Similarly, if there is too much, continue to simmer gently until it is reduced to 2-2/3 cups.

  9. Return the juice to the 2-quart saucepan and stir the Sure-Jell powdered fruit pectin into the juice until dissolved.

  10. Bring to a full boil while stirring.

  11. Add 2-2/3 cups of granulated sugar and continue to stir until all of the sugar is dissolved.

  12. Return to a full rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Be careful and watch to make sure that the Manzanita blossom jelly does not boil over.

  13.  Remove from heat, skim foam from the top of the jelly, pour into hot sterilized jars, and seal.

  14. Process the Manzanita jelly for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Remove from pot and allow to cool.

Recipe Notes

The bloom period for Manzanita blossoms varies greatly due to location and variety of Manzanita. Since some plants live almost at sea level and others live in the mountains at 6000 to 7000 feet, they can bloom anywhere from the winter time to late spring.
 

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • admin says

      The blossoms have more color and much more flavor. Also, they are available at a different time of year than the berries.

      Reply

  4. Valentine says

    How many of the little half-pint jars does this recipe make? Thank you, I am excited to try this recipe!

    Reply

    • admin says

      Congratulations. I hope that everything works out well and that the jelly sets up properly. Be sure to let it set for a good 24 hours before testing.

      Reply

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