Say what?

Yes, you read that correctly.  Wild violet simple syrup.

Who the heck knew that I could take those little purple flowers growing all over my parent’s lawn and make them into a syrup?  I sure as heck didn’t.

So – let’s go back a little bit shall we?

My parents hosted Easter at their house this year (as they do every year) and after dinner we all decided to get some fresh air.  While we were outside, my sister’s boyfriend – who is really into all the things outdoorsy – sat there picking the flowers out of my parent’s lawn and began talking about how you could eat them.  Sure.  Like I’m going to pick up some poisonous weed and start shoving it in my face.  No, thanks.

Anyway, it peaked my curiosity to say the least.  So, I looked it up.  And sure enough, my parents had wild violets growing all through their lawn.  And because this is the age of Pinterest, I was able to find a plethora of recipes made from violets. Crazy, right?!  Apparently this is a thing.  So, I obviously needed to jump on the band wagon and make you a simple syrup.

I headed outside and spent an obscene amount of time foraging for these violets.  I’m not going to lie – it took a while.  But, it was totally worth it.

And I know you’re thinking “what the heck can I use violet syrup in?”, but don’t you worry.  I’ve created quite a few recipes that I’ll be sharing over the next couple posts.  Be prepared to be violeted-out.  But honestly, this light floral-tasting syrup will leave you wanting to put it in everything.

Wild Violet Simply Syrup

• 2 c packed wild violet blossoms
• 2 c water
• 2 c sugar
• lemon juice

Rinse your violet blossoms – you don’t want any unwanted bugs in your syrup!

Boil the water and then pour over the violets.  The water will turn a blueish color (like the color in the first photo).  You’ll want these to steep for a couple hours, or overnight.

Strain water and discard the violet blossoms.  Pour into a pot and add the sugar.  Bring to a boil and allow it to boil for 2-3 minutes.  You don’t want it to boil too much and become too thick, but you want it to thicken slightly.

Once you’ve reached your desired syrup thickness, add enough lemon juice to reach your desired color.  The more lemon juice you add, the more purple your syrup will be.   Freaking amazing, right?  However, if you preferred the blueish hint from the steeped violets, don’t add any lemon juice.