Violet Syrup and Wild Edible Plants
When it’s finally springtime in Maine, it feels as if every day brings new changes to the landscape. You could even walk the same trail once a week and enjoy completely new natural sights each time. This week around the Blue Hill Peninsula, a range of wild edible plants are making themselves known to the world. Dandelion greens are sprouting, fiddleheads are unfurling their curled bodies and nettle leaves are emerging atop damp, fertile soil. This week in the world of Nature Links, we learned about a handful of wild edible plants that appear throughout the spring. While many expert foragers hunt for meaty morels or tasty ramp this time of year, we focused our attention on a more plentiful plant— the wild violet. This delicate purple flower grows almost everywhere in early spring and can be eaten raw. Although violets aren’t extremely flavorful, they are high in vitamin C. Foraging for them can take time, but picking each individual flower can be quite a relaxing way to spend a gorgeous spring day.
Arguably the most joyful use for violet flowers is in the creation of violet syrup, a simple sweetener that can be used in lemonade, mocktails, in cakes and frostings or even in a natural cough syrup. To make violet syrup, just follow the steps below. But you’ll want to hurry! Next week, violets will likely fade, making way for the next springtime treat.
Violet Syrup Recipe
Gather a few cupfuls of violet flowers. This is best done with a friend on a beautiful spring day. Make sure not to pick violets that may have been sprayed by chemicals. Try to harvest only the flower, not the stem or the calyx.
Boil a few cups of water in a small pot. Turn the heat off. Let the water stand for 5-10 minutes to cool and then add the violets to the pot. Stir and let this sit for 24 hours.
Strain the violet-infused water through a sieve, gently pressing any additional liquid from the violets. Compost the remaining flowers or give them to your chickens.
For every cup of liquid you made, add a cup of sugar (some say to add 2 cups, but this was a bit too sweet for me).
Using a double boiler or a bain-marie, heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves, being careful not to boil (this will cause you to lose the color).
Optional: add a few drops of lemon juice (note that this will change the color from a deep purple to a vibrant pink. You may want to make one jar with lemon and one without).
Store the finished syrup in a jar in the fridge for up to 6 months.
