
This Rose Petal Jam has a delicate botanical flavour and beautiful colour, and it is perfect for baked desserts, over ice cream or just straight out of a jar.

Hello, everyone! I hope you’re doing well. If you fancy floral flavours, I’ve bought a mid-of-July present for you – this Rose Petal Jam. I tried rose jam (honey) the first time ever 17 years ago (Gosh I am so old lol) when travelling to Bulgaria. It was amazing! I didn’t have many possibilities to try it after as it wasn’t easy to find it in Russia. Here in Canada, it could be challenging, too. As you probably remember, we moved to a new place this winter, and iI found a couple of rosehip bushes in a forest around our house. That’s how I was inspired to try making rose jam from scratch. Because why waste those precious petals, right? The jam turned delish. I have already made it twice this July, and I am not going to stop until all the flowers are gone.
Do you want a funny story about clumsy Ben? Well, right after finishing shooing of this jam, I needed to clean up space (The worst part of food photography, right?). It was hot (My backstage was outside), I was tired, and I rushed to get over with it. So, I tried to deal with two things simultaneously, and of course (Because that’s Ben!) those things happened to be the camera and the bowl with jam. Well, I have a message to share with you, my friends:
- Don’t tackle your camera and foods, especially sticky things like jam or honey at the same time;
- The half, if not all, of your jam, might end up on the ground. Bees will appreciate this;
- Cameras don’t appreciate being drizzled with any sticky substances like jam or honey;
- While cleaning the camera from outside might not be extremely hard, the most challenging part is the lenses, particularly that awful condensate;
- If you need to get rid of condensed, uncooked rice is an awesome solution (I tried it first-time ever, and it did work well!);
- If you’re trying to get your uncooked rice to absorb the condensate too fanatically (Ben’s way), you might end up with even more complicated issue – rice inside of the lenses (Ben’s motto “One step at a time when thinking and making decisions” lol)
Nevertheless, while I was concerned about the lenses, after two days of drying and cleaning, it works again.
Let’s talk about this delightful Rose Petal Jam.
- You can use any roses from your garden; however, despite the very intense and palatable aroma, their petals could be a bit harsh and chewy. I believe that rosehip bush flowers are ideal for this recipe;
- It’s very simple to make it. The longest part is picking the petals (Bees and flies might disagree!); still, if you find a bush or two with the abundance of flowers, that will take you 20 minutes. The cooking time, as per the Internet, is between 20 and 30 minutes, but I think it’s too long for rosehip as most of the petals basically dissolved (And I like to feel the texture.). Let’s say something between 15 and 30 minutes, depending on the type of your roses, would be my recommendation;
- The cooking process is a little bit magical. First, the petals will get wilted and pale, but as soon as you add lemon juice, the jam will regain an amazingly vibrant colour;
- Pectin or similar ingredients (But don’t use the gelatin, that would be a different result) is optional but recommended. It is fine without any thickening agent (The consistency will be more like syrup), but I used it. Choose pectin or similar component and follow the recommendations on the package. I used about 2 tablespoons for this amount;
- It is great in so many things. I have a couple of ideas on how to use this jam in other recipes, but honestly, I ate the first batch on its own, before developing any recipes. Fingers crossed – I will succeed with my second batch. Think of porridge, cake drizzles, and simply over your ice cream.
I hope you like this recipe and give it a try while the season of roses lasts. If not, please collect all the rose petals around your area and ship me.
Cheers!




Ingredients
- about 4 cups wild rose petals, lightly packed
- 2 cups of water
- between 2 and 3 cups of sugar
- Juice of 1 or 2 lemons
- 1 to 2 tbsp. of pectin or similar thickening agent, depending on preferences (not gelatine)
Instructions
- Check the petals as some small insects might be on them. Place in a saucepan with water. Simmer about 5 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of the sugar and stir to dissolve. Try the syrup and add the remaining sugar if it’s not too sweet.
- Add the lemon juice. The jam will change its colour. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, depending on the desirable texture.
- Incorporate pectin or another thickening agent as instructed on the package, stirring. You might need to immediately turn the heat off or continue cooking for a few minutes.
- Off heat. The jam will seem quite loose, but it firms as cooled. Once cooled, it will remain a silky thick syrup with some tender petals.
- This keeps in the fridge for at least two weeks.
- Enjoy!

Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
I must admit that I’ve never thought to make jam out of rose petals but this is both brilliant and beautiful! Glad your lenses are okay too!
I can relate to the cleaning up fiascos Ben! That’s a tough job in itself and from other’s perspective, I’m sure quite hilarious. Anyways, this jam is beautiful and vibrant and I love anything to do with roses! Pinning!
Wow Ben, your photos are GORGEOUS! I had no idea you could cook or even make jam with rose petals from your backyard! I have one rose bush right now but plan on moving and planting a whole bunch of them and next year I’m going to try this recipe for sure. Or, just wondering can we do this with dried rose petals? Like soak them and then use them? This jam has such a rich gorgeous color ! So pretty! And thanks for the tip on using rice to clean up sticky camera lenses!
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I’ve used rose flavoring in strawberry desserts, but never solo! Your jam sounds like a lovely summer treat!
P.S. So glad you were able to rescue your camera and lens! Yikes!
This rose petal jam looks so delightful!! I love floral flavours, so I’ll have to try this out!
If this isn’t the prettiest thing in the world, I don’t know what is!! I’ve never had rose or rose petal jam, and by the sound (and looks) of this, I have been missing out! I definitely need this beautiful jam in my life!!!
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Interesting! I had no idea you could cook with rose petals. I mean I’ve heard of rose petal extract and flavorings before…but I like that you made your own. And that was really kind of you to help out the local bee population, too. I’m sure they appreciated that! (Although they probably didn’t appreciate you taking all of their flowers. Haha.) Glad everything worked out with the camera – that was probably quite stressful!
This is sooo lovely Ben!!! I”m sure this jam smells so good. I’m often at a loss for gifts for my Mom and I’m thinking this would be such a good one! Hope you had a lovely weekend.