Lilac Sugar, Lilac Honey and Lilac Syrup – three easy ways to capture that wonderful fragrance for culinary use!
I love lilacs! The lilac bushes are just coming into bloom now and we have bushes flowering in our garden and neighbouring gardens in a range of shades from white to palest mauve to rich purple. Whatever the colour, they all have a fantastic, sweet, floral perfume, strongest when the sun has been shining as it has for the last few days. Who wouldn’t want to catch a drift of the scent of lovely lilacs on a late spring day?
As well as making your garden more beautiful, lilacs are also edible and their wonderful scent can be captured in a range of ways and used in cooking and in summer drinks. The flavour is not as strong as some highly-scented edible flowers, such as rose or lavender, but I think its delicacy matches the mood of late spring perfectly. The flowers can also be used straight-off to decorate cakes, cookies and puddings.
I have included three ways in which the fragrance of lilac can be easily captured to create scented ingredients that can be put to culinary use. The methods are really straightforward, particularly for the Lilac Sugar and Lilac Honey, and make a great project for children (and they can give the jars as gifts!).
Lilac Sugar
- Prep Time: 15
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 jam jar
- Category: Baking ingredients
- Cuisine: English
Description
Making Lilac Sugar is a really simple way of capturing the floral fragrance and making an ingredient that can be used to add it to a range of baked goods and puddings.
Ingredients
- Caster sugar
- Lilac flowers (as with any edible flowers, make sure that you know that these have not been sprayed with pesticides etc)
Instructions
- Wash your lilacs and pull the little flowers off the stems.
- Sterilise your jam-jar.
- Put a layer of caster sugar in the bottom of your jam-jar (about 1 cm deep). Next add a similar layer of flowers. Repeat until you have filled your jar.
- Put a lid on your jar and leave it in a cool place (larder or cupboard) for at least one week. At the end of this time, the sugar will have been infused with the perfume of the flowers.
- When you wish to use your sugar, you can sift it through a wide-meshed sieve to remove the flowers.
Notes
You can sterilise your jam-jar by washing it in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.
Although preparation time is only 15 minutes, you will need to leave the sugar for around a week to allow the lilac flavour to infuse.
Keywords: lilac sugar
Lilac Honey
- Prep Time: 15
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 jam jar
- Category: Baking ingredients
- Cuisine: English
Description
This is a way of infusing honey with the scent and taste of lilac. It can be used as a spread on bread or toast or as a culinary ingredient.
Ingredients
- A small jar of honey (avoid honey that is strongly flavoured and, if there are any small producers near you, try and use that and support your local bees!)
- Lilac flowers (as with any edible flowers, make sure that you know that these have not been sprayed with pesticides etc)
Instructions
- Wash your lilacs and pull the little flowers off the stems.
- Sterilise your jam-jar.
- Fill your jam-jar with the flowers.
- Pour in honey into your jam-jar until it reaches the top.
- Put a lid on your jar and leave it in a cool place (larder or cupboard) for at least one week. At the end of this time, the honey will have been infused with the perfume of the lilac flowers.
- When you wish to use your honey, you can strain it through a wide-meshed sieve to remove the flowers. If the honey is too viscous, you can strain it more easily if you warm it slightly by putting the jar in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes.
Notes
You can sterilise your jam-jar by washing it in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.
Although preparation time is only 15 minutes, you will need to leave the honey for around a week to allow the lilac flavour to infuse.
Keywords: lilac honey
Lilac Syrup
- Prep Time: 15
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 jam jar 1x
- Category: Baking ingredients
- Cuisine: English
Description
Making syrups is a traditional way of capturing the flavour of herbs or flowers, in this case lilac, so that they can be used as culinary ingredients. This syrup can add flavour to baked goods, puddings and cocktails.
Ingredients
- 350 g caster sugar
- 500 ml water
- Around 30 g of Lilac flowers (as with any edible flowers, make sure that you know that these have not been sprayed with pesticides etc)
Instructions
- Put the water and sugar into your small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the lilac flowers and simmer uncovered for around 15 minutes.
- Sterilise your jam-jar.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Pour the liquid into your jam-jar through a sieve to remove the flowers.
- Allow to cool and it is ready to use.
Notes
You can sterilise your jam-jar by washing it in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.
Keywords: lilac syrup
Uses for Lilac Sugar, Lilac Honey and Lilac Syrup
Sprinkle the Sugar over pancakes or waffles or drizzle with the honey or syrup
Use syrup to make soft drinks (one part syrup to four parts water) or as a basis for cocktails
All can be included as an ingredient in baking – cakes, cookies and scones – or puddings and making icing. Just replace normal sugar or syrup in your recipes with flavoured versions.
The honey and syrup can be used to sweeten whipped cream – lovely with scones or pastries!
You may also like..
Dandelion Syrup and Dandelion Jelly
Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam
