Wildcrafted Violet syrup

Spring means violets! And violets mean colorful foods and crafts. It is an edible, versatile plant that can be used in paper making, tea making, salad making, and makes a lovely syrup for topping ice cream, pound cake, or adding to tea or lemonade.

Step One: The first step to any outdoor project is to gather your furry coven of black cats. They make every project far more difficult, but also very cute. Stick in some earbuds and listen to the Old Gods of Appalachia podcast. (Thanks for the suggestion, CC.) Or use this time to do some thinking. Whatever you do, wear supportive shoes and take your Claritin.

Step Two: Grab some sort of container and start picking violets. Only pick the tops and leave the stems, unless you like the taste of grass. Also, all wild violets are edible, except for yellow violets, which don’t grow where I live. They might grow where you live, so you should probably Google that first. I generally pick a pint jar full at a time. But do whatever you like. Add enough warm water to mostly cover the violets. The water should be just below boiling, but absolutely not boiling. Excess heat will damage the color of the syrup. Cover with a dishcloth and leave overnight.

Step Three: The next day, strain the liquid for your violets. I recommend pouring it into a measuring cup, so you can see how much liquid you yield. You will use the same amount of sugar to make your syrup. For example, this batch yielded 1 1/3 cups of violet tea. I suggest that you use a tiny bit less than 1 1/3 cups of white sugar to make your syrup. No, you can’t use agave syrup or Splenda or whatever. You have to use white sugar. Whatever’s on sale.

Place sugar and violet tea into a very small cooking pot. Stir mixture over very low heat just until the sugar dissolves. This is very important: Use as little heat for as little time as possible. Too much heat will ruin the color of your syrup. Remove from heat. If your syrup is a little dull in color, you may add a drop or two of lemon juice to brighten it. And I mean a drop or two. The more acid you add, the more fuchsia the syrup will be. And maybe that’s what you’re going for. You do you in all your Barbie colors. When the mixture is completely cool, ladle into jars. The syrup will keep in the fridge for a few weeks. Happy foraging and happy eating!