I watched the kids collecting honeysuckle yesterday, picking flowers from the vines and sucking their sweet nectar, and it occurred to me- we should make honeysuckle jelly!
The kids thought this was a great idea, and were very easily persuaded to collect a couple cups of the flowers for me.
The recipe I used only made one pint jar. Which was okay ’cause this was my first time making this jelly, and I wasn’t sure how it would taste. Next time I’ll double it and use half-pint jars. Here’s how it’s done…
You’ll need:
- 2 cups honeysuckle flowers
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1/8 c. lemon juice
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 oz liquid pectin
First you need to make an infusion to draw the flavor out of the flowers. It’s very simple. Prepare the flowers by removing the tiny green tip at the base of the petals.
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a med. saucepan, turn the heat off, then add the honeysuckle flowers you’ve gathered and allow them to steep for about 45 min., stirring occasionally.
Strain the flowers from the liquid. I had a little over a cup of liquid after straining. You only need one cup of the infusion for this recipe. (Use any leftover infusion to make a honeysuckle sore throat syrup!)
In the same saucepan, stir together 1 cup flower infusion, the lemon juice, and the sugar; bring to a hard boil that won’t stir down. Add the pectin and boil for 2 min; reduce heat if necessary to avoid boiling over.
Ladle into a hot, sterilized jar. I don’t water bath my jellies, but you can if you want.
*What’s cool about this recipe is that it only makes one pint jar, so you don’t even have to can it really. Simply pour it into a glass container with a lid, allow it to cool, then store it in the fridge. Anyone can do it!
If you like the way honeysuckle smells, you’re gonna love how this stuff tastes! And if you want to try some more recipes, we wrote another article with 18 Delicious Flower Jelly Recipes.
Have you ever made Honeysuckle Jelly? Got a different recipe to share? I’ll definitely be making more of this stuff before the honeysuckles are gone. It is de-lish!!
A city girl learning to homestead on an acre of land in the country. Wife and homeschooling mother of four. Enjoying life, and everything that has to do with self sufficient living.
we’re always having to get rid of invasive Japanese honeysuckle from our property and keep it from choking out native shrubs nearby, this is something good to make so not even an invasive pest goes to waste! also my name is yours with one more syllable, funny finding this exact blog looking for a recipe, huh?
I just discovered that we have quite a bit of honeysuckle on our farm and I would like to try this jelly. After reading a few other recipes, I noticed that someone mentioned a difference in the sweetness between the white and yellow flowers. Have you ever experienced this?
Also, do you know if I could freeze the infusion and make the jelly later? Extremely busy time on the farm, but would love to be able to try this recipe before the honeysuckle disappears. Thank you for your help!
Is it possible to make honeysuckle freezer jelly?
I’ve never frozen it… maybe it would work?
Let us know if you try it!
Yes you can freeze the infusion, also you can freeze the flowers after you cut the green tip off. They look brown after frozen but this does not affect the color or taste.
Hello, I have this wonderful honeysuckle jelly recipe that never lets me down. What I want to know is can I use the recipe for any flower jelly I make. It makes a large batch, but that’s fine because I sell jelly every summer. Ive had violet and dandelion jellies not set. This really upsets me because picking those flowers is alot of work when you have a bad back. So if my honeysuckle recipe calls for 8 cups of tissane can I make tissane from any flower and use it in the recipe? I am really looking forward to your answer because they are all blooming right now.
Karen
natosaki@yahoo.com
I found your recipe soon after you originally wrote this post in 2011, and have referred to it SEVERAL times since then! (I even wrote a post on my personal blog that I used to maintain (I’ve since contemplated starting a new one focused more on our new little farm in the making) specifically so I could link to your recipe to find it every year when it blooms haha!) We just moved into a new house, and while there isn’t as much honeysuckle here as there was at my last house, a walk around the property has me just the right amount to make another batch! Thanks so much for putting this post together 6 years ago! 🙂 -Wendy
I’m so glad you love it, Wendy! 🙂 Best wishes to you on your new little farm!
Question on lemon juice…the 1/8 c., does this mean 1/8 CUP?
Found that it really takes a LOT of flowers to make up a mere 2 cups. It also takes a LOT of time to cut off all those tiny nibs. Also found that the older yellow flowers aren’t as sweet as the white ones. The second year I made this, I PINCHED the flowers off the nibs using my fingernails as scissors, so that I didn’t have to cut them off later. And only used the WHITE flowers. And got them when they were first blooming to be sure I had plenty. The second batch was decidedly better tasting, and also was a bit more spreadable (the first batch clumped). Yes, I’m going to make it again this year. My friends loved the pale golden color too!
Hi, I just wanted to say your canning classes this past weekend were great! I really learned so much. Thank you for sharing your talents. I am so looking forward to trying this recipe this spring!
Well wishes your way, Dara
This was almost like candy it came out so sweet… I did what a previous poster did and just soaked the flowers in water in the fridge for a couple of days. Other than being too sweet for us, I think it was a nice recipe and will make it again, just reduce sugar.
When you remove the green tip, do you just pinch the tip off or do you pinch it halfway and pull it out like you do when you are eating the yummy nectar straight from the blossom?
Sara,
Just pinch the green tip off the end. Don’t pull out the stamen (I think that’s what that part is).
When I shared this post with my facebook gardening club, it had the beautiful honeysuckle jelly picture. But a day later that pic was replaced with an ad seeking donations. Won’t be sharing any more posts from here. Very disappointed…..
kristyreal,
I have no idea why an ad would be in the place of my photo. Did you share it on Facebook??
I have honeysuckle strangling out so many things on my new home place (my grandfather’s place). For those of you wanting to plant it…..it’s in the same category as wisteria and kudzu – invasive as all get out! Now I say: if you can’t beat it, eat it! I can’t wait to try this…..although I’m predicting that I’ll come in with more than 2 cups of flowers. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks for the wonderful idea! I picked flowers yesterday and made the jelly with organic sugar and liquid pectin. I canned my jars since I will be gifting some of the jelly. The jelly hasn’t “jelled” yet. I will put in the frig and cross my fingers. :0 )
Update 🙂 After a week and a half in the fridge our jelly set up! Thank you so much for the recipe I will be trying it with liquid pectin next 🙂 I have such respect for you! God Bless
Awesome, JoAnn!!! So glad it worked out for you. And thank you for your kind encouragement. Blessings to you.
I made this yesterday and I had never heard of it before but let me say it was some of the best jelly I have ever tasted! I love it!
That’s great, Robyn!! Good for you for trying something new and different 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I tried this today, best jelly I’ve ever had
Awesome, Brucecoletti!! So glad you liked it 🙂
I am so excited about this recipe! I tried it today but mine didn’t set up. Is it possible to reprocess it and add more pectin? I had to use powder because that was all I had – perhaps that is why…? I am new to all this 🙂
JoAnn,
Yes, the powdered pectin will make a difference. But don’t try to reprocess it. Just let it sit. Often over time jelly will set up, so I’d suggest just leaving it for a few weeks. Putting it in the fridge will set it more quickly. Worst case, you’ll have a lovely honeysuckle syrup 😉
Okay, we (the kids and I) just did this!
I used powdered pectin, since I didn’t have liquid pectin. I found the conversion is 2 Tablespoons powdered to 3 ounces (1 pouch) liquid. You have to mix the powder into the sugar, and add it all together.
We pulled the infusion that we had made yesterday out of the fridge, and tasted it. You could taste, subtly, the wonderful honeysuckle… and way overpowering it was this unexpected bitterness!
We persevered, though, not knowing how such a bitter liquid could make a good jelly.
After pouring it into the jar, and quickly grabbing another jar to take the little bit of extra I wasn’t sure would fit, I tasted the mixture that had already solidified on the stirring spoon. The bitterness was gone, and all that was left was pure honeysuckle bliss.
Thank you for this recipe!
Yay!! I’m so glad you tried it Miss M. Thanks for sharing how it went 🙂
I bet this would work with pears in the mix too. One of my favorite candies my aunt made is honeysuckle pear and the idea of turning it into a jelly makes me swoon..
Oooh, that sounds delicious, Amber! Wouldn’t hurt to try!
Hi There! Is it possible to do this with dried honeysuckle?
Hi Kelley, I haven’t tried it myself, but it would be my guess that the flavor wouldn’t be as strong. If that’s all you have it wouldn’t hurt to try though! 🙂
I did it, I did it! And it’s amazing! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. And yes, the flowers in the water and resulting emmulsion were on the funky side- but keep going. It all comes together in the end!
Yay!! So glad you made it, Mary 🙂
Well, I tried it again. This time I soaked the flowers in cool water overnight instead of boiling water for 45 minutes, then followed the recipe from there. Not sure what I was doing wrong the first time, but this time it worked. This morning we had pancakes with honeysuckle jelly for breakfast! Thanks!
Wonderful, Allyson!! I’m glad you kept trying 🙂 Enjoy!
Okay, I need help. I tried this twice and couldn’t get past the first step. The first time I let the flowers steep for 45 minutes and the second time I let them steep for only 20 minutes. Both times, the flowers turned dark brown and the liquid had a funny smell to it, like it had turned rancid. It didn’t taste good at all. What am I doing wrong?
Allyson,
My first question would be… and not at all to belittle you… are you SURE you’re using honeysuckle? My second question would be, are you removing the green base at the bottom of the flower? The flowers will darken as they steep, that’s normal. Are you tasting it BEFORE adding the lemon juice and sugar? If so, try to run through the entire process, and allow it to sit for a couple of day before trying. Don’t give up! 🙂
I use the Domino Light:Sugar & Stevia Blend w/low sugar pectin. Never had any problems.
Since the pectin calls for 1/2 the sugar of the recipe, I use 1/2 of the Blend.
My mother is diabetic and this works great for her.
Honeysuckle jelly? We have a whole fencerow full of it. I will definitely give this a try when it blooms out.
Mmmm… honeysuckle! I’m diabetic, but I’d love to try this. Would it work if I substituted Splenda?
Oooh, I don’t know, Missie. I’ve never tried canning with a sugar substitute. Maybe?? Let us know if you try it, how it turns out 🙂 It may not set up, but it would still probably taste good.
I am so excited to get this recipe. Hoping to be able to get a variety of “floral” jellies for gift packs for the holidays. This will be a great special addition. I am already using rose and bluebonnet, now I will be able to do honesuckle and paintbrush, as well as the cactus that I have done for years, and my lavender. This late in the season, it will be next year before some of these will become a reality, but that is OK – ust gives me extra planning and planting time.
Inviting you the Carnival of Home Preserving on my blog today and every Friday. Hope to see you there. Laura Williams’ Musings
oooh this sounds fun! We just bought an old house with a million overgrown honeysuckle bushes. This just might be perfect 🙂
This is so original, how cool!! If i can get enough flowers this year I would love to try it!
so ironic…. my husband and i were just taking a walk on some local trails the other day and smelled an AMAZING flower. Had not clue what it was… turns out it was Honeysuckle! So glad I saw this post! 🙂 Now I want to get a few bushes of my own… and make some jelly next year!!!
No way! My kids are going to flip!!! I have to try this. 🙂
Do you get 2 cups of the tiny green thing s or the flowers themselves. I have native indian paintbrushes that are honeysuckles.
Ashley,
You need 2 cups of blossoms… the entire flower 🙂
If I pick the honeysuckle blossoms how can I store them until I can make the jelly? I have a friend who lives an hour away who is letting me pick hers but I have to work a 9 hour shift and then drive home an hour, can I pick them and put in a zip lock bag in the frig till I get home with them? TIA…
Pop them in a freezer bag and freeze them. They’ll keep. 🙂
Makes me want to plant some honeysuckles! I remember eating them as a kid at a family friend’s house all the time. Yum!
I found a recipe for making dandelion wine that I am going to try out. Of course, this is not kid, friendly, but the hubs and I enjoy a glass of wine now and again. And what better way than to make it using a weed! 🙂
I just made this! It’s still cooling but I tasted what I could on the spoon, LOL, and it IS gooood!!! Can’t wait to try on toast, or any other yummy item it will go on. 😀 I will totally be making this again!!!
I can’t wait to try this! Is it possible to use honey when making it? We really try to go easy on the sugar.
Blessings!
Lori,
Sorry, I really don’t think honey would work for making jelly. I wish it did though, I’m trying not to use so much sugar myself!
I just tried your recipe and I think it was wonderful! I may tweak it just a bit (reduce the sugar just a bit) to better suit my family’s tastes. I’ve also taken the liberty of passing along a link, to this page, to a number of friends. I’m sure they will like it too.
Thanks for posting this recipe…I never would have considered making jelly out of honeysuckle blossoms otherwise.
Thanks again and keep up the good work!!
We love honeysuckle, I never thought about infusing them to make jelly. Thanks, we will have to give it a try.
This sounds like so much fun! What a cool deal to be able to pick some flowers from your yard and turn them into something edible. I really wish we had honeysuckle around here, I would totally try it… Maybe I could do Sagebrush jelly instead? 😉
I may get my kids out to gather honeysuckle this week, but I have to say you are one superwoman to just have a baby and then even attempt to make one jar of jelly!
Anita,
LOL… nursing baby in one arm, stirring with the other 😉
Ive never heard of it either, i’ll bet it smells great! does it taste just like the honeysuckle nectar?
Sandra-
Even better! 🙂
That is cool! I have never heard of this before. I might have to try it sometime!
I’ve never heard of honeysuckle jelly, but it sounds delicious! My children love to pick them too and what a fun thing for them to do and mama to make:)
I’m going to copy this reccipe and try it this coming week!
THANKS!