We’re perched on the edge of an exciting celebration: the first birthday of Juliet’s debut book!
Blooming Flowers,
We’re perched on the edge of an exciting celebration: the first birthday of Juliet’s debut book! If you already own The Healing Garden: Cultivating and Handcrafting Herbal Remedies, you know it’s positively packed with herbal profiles, herb gardening guides, and, of course, botanical recipes galore!
Perhaps you’ve also signed up for the BIG bonuses that accompany the book? If you haven’t, you can do so at anytime via the Healing Garden Gateway.
To include you in the birthday festivities, we’re sharing one of our favorite party-worthy recipes from the book!
Regal Violet Simple Syrup Recipe
Violet’s purple blooms possess a profusion of flavonoids—natural pigments that act as antioxidants, which, when combined with sugar and water, concoct a ravishing syrup perfect for sweetening and flavoring drinks and confections.
For a truly regal violet syrup, you’ll need to remove the green undersides of the violet flowers, a fiddly affair. Now, before you start thinking about skipping this step, I’ll let you know I tried the same shortcut. (Did you fancy me an idler?) When I left the green floral parts on the flowers, I was rewarded with the saddest of syrups, lilac-gray in hue.
Do you really want to be the evil queen who transforms the hope of springtime violets into disconsolate woe? I thought not! You want to be revered for your cocktail benevolence. Adding a dash of this syrup to sparkling water, lemonade, orange juice and vodka, or violet margaritas will ensure your reign as a gracious herbal entertainer.
YIELD: 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces)
1 cup water
2 cups (22 grams) loosely packed purple violet flowers, green sepals removed (see note below)
About 1 1/2 cups organic white sugar (the whiter the better, if you want the brilliant purple)
About 10 drops lemon juice
Note: Harvest 2 heaping cups (43 grams) of purple violet flowers and give them a brief rinse. Remove the sepals and receptacle (the green floral parts underneath the purple petals), retaining the violet petals for the recipe.
1. In a small pot, bring the water to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the violet petals, and stir until all the flowers are submerged. Cover and let sit until the liquid has cooled to room temperature. Pour the flower and water mixture into a jar, cover, and let it sit in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
2. Strain the infusion. Measure the volume of the violet infusion, and use twice the volume of sugar. For example, if your strained violet infusion, comes out to 3/4 cup, add 1 1/2 cups sugar. Add the sugar and violet water to a small pot and heat on low, stirring a few times, until the sugar is dissolved. Take care not to heat too quickly, or you may destroy the color.
3. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice 1 drop at a time. The lemon juice will transform the syrup from blue-purple to lavender.
4. Jar the syrup and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months, watching for signs of spoilage.
Cheers! Please share your vibrant violet syrup photos and reels with us by tagging us on Instagram @chestnutschoolherbs!
And if you’d like a copy of The Healing Garden: Cultivating and Handcrafting Herbal Remedies for yourself, you can purchase one anywhere books are sold. You can also visit the Healing Garden Gateway for more information on the book AND the extraordinary set of bonuses that come with it!
P.S. Want to take your herbal education to the next level? Our Spring SALE is in full bloom! ALL of our Online Herbal Programs are 20% OFF through April 5th!!
