Violet Syrup

We had the boys and neighbor girls spend the afternoon picking violets for violet syrup, which we plan to use as a simple syrup for making lemonade. Unfortunately, they were so insistent we make it, that by the time the violets had fully steeped, they were already asleep and missed the best part when I added the lemon to turn the violet tea from green to purple instantly. Recipe came from this blog. Natty watched the color change in their stead.

Violet Syrup

2 cups fresh violet blossoms
3 cups boiling water
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 lemon, squeezed and strained

-Boil the water, remove from heat and pour over violets, cover and let steep for 2 hours.
-Strain the violets *you will have a vibrant green color, it will turn purple when the lemon is added
-Put violet water back into pan, add sugar and bring to a boil
-Add lemon juice, watch color change to purple
-Reduce heat, simmer for about 10-20 minutes until the solution thickens

The violet syrup will keep for a month if kept tightly covered in the refrigerator.

Use for pancakes, angel food cake, between layers of vanilla cake, as the simple sugar for lemonade, and/or violet coolers for a refreshing drink.

- from 5 Orange Potatoes