Redbud Jelly: A Lesson Within A Lesson Within A Lesson
Photography courtesy of Neva (www.hindsighthomestead.com)
In northeast Tennessee’s early spring, one of the first flushes of color from the native forest comes from the Eastern Redbud tree. The purple speckles stand out brilliantly in contrast to the brown, barren foliage waiting to awaken from their winter slumber.
In addition to serving as a beacon for the approaching spring, Eastern Redbud is a wild edible and has traditionally been used for its medicinal properties. It seems that essentially all parts are useful. The flowers contain very high levels of vitamin C and can be eaten fresh, pickled or made into a tea. The taste is mildly sweet and somewhat tart. Seed pods, which resemble sugar snap peas, are a protein rich (22-27%) survival food. They can be prepared by steaming, boiling, stir frying, or roasting. Being described as a survival food generally leaves the impression that the taste is somewhat less than desirable. It reminds me of the great wise man of the outback Crocodile Dundee who once said “You can live off it, but it tastes like shit.” Young leaves are reportedly edible as well. I have not tried the seed pods or the leaves, but I plan to later this spring and this summer. Wish me luck. The inner bark contains high levels of tannins; bark and root extracts have been used to treat cold / flu symptoms as well as gastrointestinal distress (vomiting and diarrhea). Leaving nothing to waste, branches and stems have been used to make baskets and art.
Wild edibles are a gift from God. As farmers, we plan our gardens, sow the seeds, nourish the seedlings, protect the plants from adverse conditions, and hope that in the end they will produce a harvest. With wild edibles, you merely need to learn to identify them, observe and enjoy the harvest. It is much like the difference between hunting / fishing and animal husbandry.
Not all lessons are the lessons that they seem to be on the surface. This week (the first week of April) I asked one of the girls to do me a favor. We discussed redbuds and I asked her to gather some for a project. I looked up simple recipes for redbud jelly and sent them to her to read. We compiled them and came up with a standard jelly recipe which could be adapted to make jelly from many different edible flowers: make a tea, lots of sugar, some lemon juice and pectin. I asked her to complete the process from start to finish on her own. She quickly mastered the assignment. The final phase was for her to teach the process to her sisters. In short, she was able to learn a skill, but more than that, she learned how to teach herself a skill that she had never before performed independently and then teach that skill to someone else.
Basic Redbud Jelly Recipe
To make redbud tea:
8- 10 cups of fresh redbud blossoms
4-5 cups of boiling water
Basically, a 2 : 1 ratio of flowers to boiling water.
Sort the flowers and remove any debris.
Place them in a mason jar (2 quart works well) and pour boiled water over them.
Allow them to steep 12 - 24 hours, moving them to the refrigerator once cooled.
Strain and reserve the liquid.
To make redbud jelly:
4 cups of redbud tea (if you are short, just add water)
4 Tablespoons of bottled lemon juice
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 packet of pectin (we used liquid)
Bring the redbud tea to a boil in a large pot.
Add pectin and lemon juice and return to a hard (rolling) boil while stirring frequently.
Add the sugar and return to a rolling boil while watching closely and stirring frequently.
Once back at a rolling boil, continue to allow the mixture to boil, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
Fill jars to 1/4 inch head space and can using standard water bath procedures.
* Pre-clean / prepare jars and canning accessories. Start water bath prior to preparing to make the redbud jelly and properly sanitize. Jelly jars or 1/2 pint jars work best for these small recipes.
** This is a small batch recipe. These recipes do not multiply well. By that, I mean the finished product typically doesn’t gel properly.
*** This recipe can be used as a pattern and applied to other edible flowers.
