Primroses carpet the ground under an old hawthorn tree in our garden, the clothe the soil with a fragility and light, their gentle perfume is a delight. Primula vulgaris is a native plant, a wild flower that is always welcome in our garden. Each year they bring freshness and beauty to the Spring.
Their flowers appear delicate but they are robust plants. The petals of each flower untie at their bases to form a narrow tube that attached to the green stalk. Given a gentle tug, they detach easily from their bases. You can munch them and they taste nice, an unique flavour. I imagined a jam made from them…
Based on recipes for rose petal jelly and adapted to include some apple for abit of body here is a jam I made from primroes petals gathered in our garden last weekend. It is deilcious, a flavour which is a mix of fruity sweetness and a late hint of turkish delight…
Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 litre of primrose flowers. When foraging for wild food, do not collect flowers, leaves or fruits from beside busy roads, or areas where they are exposed to possible pollution.
- 2 cups of water
- 1½ cup of fruit sugar Ii used Fruisana, a fructose based sugar which is lower in calories and has a lower GI rating than ordinary sugar).
- 2 Apples, peeled, cored and diced finely
- Juice of one lemon
Method:
- Wash the flowers in cold water.
- Add the flowers petals, water, lemon juice and apple pieces into a saucepan
- Cook with a medium heat until the apple pieces are soft (about 15 minutes)
- Slowly add the sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved
- Turn up the heat and cook until the jam starts to thicken, about 25-20 minutes
- Spoon or pour into sterilized jam jars and put lids on straight away
This made nearly two jars of jam.
Ciaran The Gardener 
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