Beautiful Flower Syrups by Vicky.

Hello Bluebirds,

Annabel is not feeling well so I am sharing for show and tell today. It isn't the usual post full of all of the lovelies we see each week, but I hope everyone enjoys seeing what I have been up to lately. Since I love doing baskets for the holidays and they usually have lots of things I have made in my kitchen and I love doing themes these will fit perfectly! 

I have been making syrups. Flower syrups, but any kind of syrup is pretty easy to make. If you can do a simple syrup then you got it in the bag it is just a matter of choosing your flavors. 

With the help of my mom we picked heaps and heaps of flowers. And here we have made a rose petal syrup, a violet syrup and a lavender syrup. 

I will include a few tips that explains how I got the wonderful colors and the strong fragrance and flavor in each. 

First if you have never made any, a simple syrup is just 2x the water to sugar so if you have 3 cups of water you will need 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar and you boil it until syrupy then let it cool. 

For flower syrups you want very fragrant flowers if you want a strong flavor, but can also make it with things that have health benefits like elder flowers, rose hips, ginger or herbs that you like the flavor of. 

For my rose petal I have a rose called Chrysler Imperial that is red and very, very fragrant so gives a good taste when I have enough of them. Be sure that anything you use has not been sprayed or treated in any way with chemicals. 

For the syrup:

Approximately 12 cups of flower petals

6c. of water 

juice of 1 lemon

Combine the flowers and water in a large saucepan and simmer for 1 hour covered. Remove from heat and allow to steep over night.

Strain over a large bowl to catch the juice and squeeze the liquid from the petals. 

Put juice in a medium saucepan and add 3 cups of sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer until syrup is thickened and add the lemon juice. 

Remove from heat and allow to cool. Pour syrup into a jar and cover and store in the fridge or can be frozen. This makes about a pint. If you want to give them as gifts then water bath for about 15 minutes so the jars seal. 

The lemon juice lightens the color greatly so you can use food color for more vibrant coloring, but my tip is I used kool aid powder just enough that I got the colors I wanted and it doesn't really change the taste. 

This can be used in drinks like tea, on ice cream or cakes or even made into jellies if you like, but my favorite is to add a few teaspoons to iced tea. My son really likes the lavender with ginger ale. 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful prudent and diligent week! 

XOXO

Vicky

Thank you so much Vicky!  These are gorgeous. Imagine them in a bottle as a gift!   So pretty! xxx