SANDRA'S HOMEMADE ALASKA FIREWEED and CLOVER HONEY

A very fulfilling recipe that's so fun to prepare
and you'll be thankful you did over the long winter months...

Yields: [Appx. 8 (½-pt.) jars]
Prep: 10 Mins. |
Cook: 10 Mins.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:

--3 large pots
--Sterilized canning jars and lids, with rims. (boil for 10 minutes, and air dry on a clean towel)
--Cheesecloth

INGREDIENTS:

30 pink clover blossoms, (1” in diameter)
20 white clover blossoms, (1” in diameter)
25 fireweed blossoms, (the fuller, darker, and richer looking the better)
1 teaspoon alum
5 lb. bag white sugar
3 cups boiling water

METHOD:

Begin by boiling 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan.

Meanwhile, remove stems from fireweed, reserving just petal shoots. Gently rinse all blossoms in colander with cold tap water.

Wild Alaska Fireweed Blossom

Place all ingredients except boiling water into a large heavy-bottom pot. Pour the 3 cups of boiling water over ingredients, and let steep for 10 minutes. Turn heat on under large pot to high, and bring to boil, and then let it continue to do so for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, get another large pot and secure cheesecloth over the top (I do so by tying it to the side handles, or secure it with a large rubber band). Carefully pour the mixture, straining it into another large pot. Gently twist the top of the cheesecloth to get any excess honey out, prior to tossing residual blossoms.

In another large pot, begin boiling enough water to submerge honey jars to sterilize [you can do so in batches if your pot is not large enough to hold 8 (½-pt.) jars at once].

Wild Alaska White Clover Blossoms

Gently ladle hot honey into canning jars. Clean rims of jars of any drips, and secure rims and lids (finger-tight only). Once water is boiling, carefully place jars into water bath, and once boiling continue to do so for 10 minutes.

Remove jars using tongs onto a clean, dry towel to cool, and then tightly secure lids after 30 minutes of cooling (you should hear 'pings' when they seal). Once cooled, ‘label and date’ the jars of honey and place in pantry – enjoy as you would any other store-bought honey product!