Recipe for How to Make White Clover Jelly
This recipe for how to make white clover blossom jelly turned out to be my favorite edible flower recipe. First of all it is the easiest, without having to pull flower petals or separate from little stems. Plus white clover blossoms are abundant for a long period of time and the clovers turned into a beautiful pink floral jelly and it is such a delicious jelly! There are different species of clovers including crimson clover blossoms, red clover and white clover. For this recipe I used white clover which is very abundant in the early spring and on into the summer. It is easy to pick several cups of white clover flowers to make this delicious jelly. See my list of other flower jelly recipes at the end of this article.
You would not think when you look out into your yard and see this seemingly plain white flower that it would turn into such a delicious beautiful jelly.
Health Benefits of White Clover
This article from WebMD states that white clover contains a lot of essential vitamins and minerals. Including vitamins A, B2, B3, C, and E as well as magnesium, potassium, chromium, and calcium and that the clover may provide health benefits and possibly boost the immune system.
Basic Steps for Making White Clover Jelly
- Pick the white clover flowers
- Remove the stems from the flowers
- Add 4 cups boiling water to the flowers
- Add lemon juice
- Place in refrigerator for 24 hours
- Strain the flowers from the liquid
- Add liquid to the pot and bring to a boil
- Next add the powdered pectin, bring to a boil for one minute, and stir continuously
- Add 4 cups of sugar, stir to dissolve, and boil for 1 to 2 minutes
- Ladle the jelly into canning jars and water bath can for 10 minutes
Detailed Steps for Making White Clover Jelly
The basic process starts with picking the white clover flowers. Pick 2 to 4 cups of fresh clover flowers. Remove the stems from the flowers.
Place the flowers in a large bowl or quart mason jar. It helps to use the canning funnel.
Add 4 cups of boiling water to the clover flowers. This will infuse the flowers and make white clover infusion. It was interesting that when I added the water, the infused water was greenish.
Add 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice to the white clover tea. After adding the lemon juice, the tea turned clear.
But then after a while it turned pink.
After the tea cools put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Then the next day, strain the flowers from the tea using a fine mesh sieve, cheese cloth or coffee filter.
Next add the white clover tea to a large pot or saucepan and add a package of powdered pectin. Stir it to dissolve the pectin. Heat on high heat and bring to a full boil.
Add 4 cups of sugar slowly to the white clover jelly mixture and stir to dissolve. Bring to a full rolling boil and let boil for 1 to 2 minutes.
Skim off any foam.
Turn off the heat and ladle the hot jelly into the canning jars. I used 5 half pint jars and 1 4-oz jar. These sizes are often referred to as jelly jars.
Fill the jars to 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe jar rims with a damp cloth or wet paper towel and remove air bubbles.
Add the lids and then place the hot jars in the water bath canner using a jar lifter. Process at a full roiling boil for 10 minutes. I use the Ball electric water bath canner and love it.
Remove the hot mason jars from the boiling water bath with a jar lifter and place them on a dish towel on the counter. Do not disturb for 24 hours. Note: Sometimes it takes at least a day or more for the jelly to completely set up. Most of the time they are not quite set when you remove them from the canner.
Low Sugar Option
If you want to use less sugar for this homemade jelly, use low sugar pectin instead of regular and add less sugar to the recipe (as little as 1-½ cups).
Enjoy!
Enjoy the beautiful sweet white clover blossom jelly with the slightly floral taste. It is so fun to make delicious floral jellies from different edible flowers, and so fun for kids also. The different jellies make great gifts!
See my website at www.HawkPointHomestead.com for more flower jellies including my dandelion jelly recipe, redbud jelly recipe, lilac jelly recipe peony jelly and apple blossom recipe. Also for my canning recipes and other favorite great recipes, plus posts about other homestead-type activities, such as gardening and raising chickens.
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White Clover Jelly Recipe
A delicious floral sweet jelly made from white clover flowers
Ingredients
- 2 to 4 cups of White Clover flowers
- 4 cups of water
- 1 package powdered pectin
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 4 cups sugar
Instructions
- Pick the white clover flowers
- Remove the stems from the flowers
- Add 4 cups boiling water to the flowers
- Add the lemon juice to the tea
- Place in refrigerator for 24 hours
- Strain the flowers from the liquid
- Add liquid to the pot and bring to a boil
- Next add powdered pectin, bring to a boil for one minute, and stir continuously
- Add 4 cups of sugar, stir to dissolve, and boil for 1 to 2 minutes
- Ladle the jelly into canning jars
- Wipe the rims and remove the air bubbles, add lids
- Water bath can and process for 10 minutes at a rolling boil
- Remove the jars and place them on a dishtowel on the counter
- Do not disturb for 24 hours
Notes
Note: Sometimes it takes at least a day or more for the jelly to completely set up. Most of the time they are not quite set when you remove them from the canner.
Hi Terri,
White clover jelly is my favorite wild flower jelly as well!! Thus far I have made clover, dandelion, lilac, lavender, peony, honeysuckle and violet. I hope to soon try apple blossom, redbud, day lily, queen anne’s lace, and goldenrod (I have redbud and apple blossoms frozen for later use). I have a question…all the recipes I’ve seen thus far call for the lemon juice to be added at the same time as the powdered pectin, when you begin to boil your infusion. Is there any benefit to adding it to the infusion itself? Does it create a prettier jelly? I love the pink hue of your jelly…mine turned out to be more golden, even though your clovers look exactly like mine. I suppose it could also be that I use organic sugar, which does seem to darken things a bit. Any thoughts?
How cool! I had not thought of lavender, goldenrod or Queen Anne’s lace! I need to try them. One that I did just think of and look up is Elder Flower Jelly. I recently discovered 3 elderberry bushes behind my house and they have the most beautiful blossoms. I think I might do that next and scout around for Queen Ann’s lace and goldenrod. About adding the lemon juice to the infusion. Yes! I think that makes a difference. I saw it in one of the recipes I looked up, and have been doing it ever since. In my white clover recipe, I showed the difference after adding the lemon juice, because I thought it was so cool. Thanks for commenting!
Thank you!! I’m definitely going to try adding the lemon juice to my infusion next time!! 😊
I’m excited to try this! I do have a question though. As far as adding the pectin to the tea. In both of the bullet points directions it says to bring the liquid to a boil then add pectin and continue to boil. However, where the directions are written out, it says to add the pectin to the liquid then boil, which is how I’ve made other flower jelly before. Just wondering which way is correct. Thank you!
Great! I can’t wait until you try it. White clover jelly is my favorite. Yes, you are right! There is an inconsistency. Thanks so much for pointing it out so I can correct it, but yes boil the liquid first.
So life got in the way and now my flowers have been sitting in their lemon water bath in the fridge for 3 days instead of 1. Can I still use them for jelly, or do I need to start over?
I would taste it and if it tastes ok and not spoiled, I would use it. I am not an expert, but it should be ok. I have left mine in for 2 days before!