Making lilac jelly (for the first time)

I will be completely honest. Before today I had never tasted lilac jelly and I was not sure what I had in store for me. In my best guess I assumed that lilac jelly would be potently floral and in your face tangy. I was in for a giant surprise when I tasted lilac jelly for the first time today when testing the set of the gel. Lilac jelly smells like a lilac bush but tastes nothing like lilacs at all! It is instead more like a sweet citrus cocktail! Sure there was a faint floral hint but the in your face flavor is citrus.
Lilac jelly is just as time consuming as violet syrup and is just as worth it. I started by plucking about 900million blossoms from their stems. Enough to fill a pint jar fairly packed in (I put the blossoms in a quart jar to steep in) Then I boiled 2 1/2 cups of water and poured it over the blossoms stirring them in so they released their air pockets. I allowed these to steep for 24 hours (only because I had to work 😋) then I strained the flowers and pressed all the moisture out. The liquid measured about 2 1/3 cups to this I added 1/3 cup lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of ball brand classic powdered pectin. I brought this to a full rolling boil for 1 min then added 3 1/3 cups of sugar. I returned this to a full rolling boil for 1 minute. Then I placed in jars to give away. As long as it takes to prep the liquid the jelly itself whips up almost effortlessly. I did not process this for shelf stability as I intend to gift it over the weekend however if one would like to can it up instructions for Kelly's can be found on the pectin container and in the ball blue book.

Lilac jelly
1 pint packed lilac blossoms
2 1/2 c boiling water
1/3 c lemon juice
3 1/3 sugar
3 tbsp ball classic pectin

Pour boiling water over blossoms and steep up to 24 hours
Strain blossoms and press as much liquid as possible from them
Add lemon juice and pectin stir over heat bringing to a full rolling boil
Boil 1 minute
Add sugar
Return to full rolling boil for 1 minute
Pour into clean sterilized jars

Lilac jelly will lady up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator. Enjoy!!!
From the sunset homesteaders to you, God bless!