Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Jelly · From Bladwijzer

Cherry blossom jelly (sakura kanten)

Updated on 9 October 2026

• Makes: 4 glasses or small moulds
• Time: 20 min + 1½ hrs setting
• From: Japanese cherry

Ingredients

• 500 ml water
• 3 g agar powder (1 level teaspoon)
• 60 g sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 12 fresh cherry blossoms (or 12 salted blossoms, soaked in water for 10 min and squeezed out)

Method

1. Pick fully open flowers from an unsprayed tree, remove the stalks and green sepals and lay the flowers on kitchen paper. Soak salted blossoms in water for 10 min and squeeze them out.
2. Sprinkle the agar into the cold water in a pan, stir and leave to swell for 5 min.
3. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 min, stirring, until the agar has dissolved completely. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Take off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
4. Rinse 4 glasses or small moulds with cold water and put 3 blossoms in each.
5. Leave the liquid to cool for 5 min and pour it gently into the moulds. The blossoms will float up: push them into place with a cocktail stick.
6. Leave to set for 30 min at room temperature, then 1 hr in the fridge.
7. Run a small knife around the edge and turn the jelly out onto a plate, or eat it from the glass.

Storing: Covered in the fridge for 3 days. Do not freeze: the jelly turns watery. Cherry blossom contains coumarin: eat it in moderation.