How to Make Lilac Syrup

Did you know that lilacs are completely edible? Dreamy right?? Lilacs not only smell heavenly AND look beautiful, but they taste wonderful too! So here’s a recipe How to Make Lilac Syrup! This vegan syrup is so delicious and can be used to make so many things. You can use it in cocktails for example, in baking, or on ice cream! It is such a delicious syrup the options are limitless. This lilac syrup tastes just like how lilacs smell – delicious.

It took me a couple tries to learn How to Make Lilac Syrup to get the right taste, so this recipe is perfect. I discovered through trial and error that if you heat the lilacs up too much, the flavour disappears or changes into something completely different. It’s very important to add the flowers to a liquid that is not hot, otherwise the delicate lilac flavour becomes damaged. It’s just like how certain teas shouldn’t be steeped with boiling water, lilacs shouldn’t be added to boiling water. Lilacs should steep in lukewarm to room temperature liquid to keep that lovely lilac flavour. I learned that the hard way haha.

Process

This recipe for How to Make Lilac Syrup does indeed take a bit of effort, but it is sooo worth it. The process is also very enjoyable. The first step is going out to pick fresh lilacs from your garden. Shake the flowers lightly to get rid of critters and dead leaves etc. Now comes the time consuming bit, but oh so rewarding. All of the flowers need to be removed from the stems. To make the syrup it’s very important that only the actual flowers are used, no stems or green bits should be included in the steeping process because the stems give the syrup a bitter flavour. This step is a bit time consuming, but it’s oh so enjoyable while sitting outside in the sun listening to the birds and smelling the lovely lilac aroma as you work. Then when you’re done picking the flowers, the kitchen process begins.

Once the flowers are rinsed and ready, this next part is so quick and easy. Sugar is dissolved in water over the stove, then add the blueberries and the lemon. I chose to add a few blueberries to the water and sugar mixture while heating it up, because I wanted a stronger colour in my lilac syrup. I prefer to avoid all sort of artificial colouring in my kitchen so I added blueberries for some natural colour. And here comes a fun little science experiment: since blueberries turn the water blue, I added lemon juice to make the colour a pink/purple hue. Lemon juice is acidic so it changes the colour to be pinkish purple. Only a couple drops are needed really, depending on what colour you want. This colouring bit is optional, but it does add a nice touch. 🙂 Then once the sugar water mixture is cooled to a lukewarm temperature, the flowers are then added and are left to steep for several hours for maximum flavour.

To get the most lilac flavour for your syrup, it’s important the flowers soak overnight or for about 12 hours. Trust me, patience here is so rewarding! Then you’re ready to make deliciously summery drinks or desserts with your lilac syrup! So now you know How to Make Lilac Syrup, you should definitely give it a try!

For more lilac recipes on my blog:

How to Make Lilac Syrup

by Baking Me Healthy

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Steeping Time 12 hours hrs

Total Time 13 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course Dessert, Drinks

Cuisine Plant Based, Vegan

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups fresh lilac flowers important they are fresh for best flavour
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2-3 blueberries
• splash or two of lemon juice

Instructions

 

• Pick a bunch of lilacs and make sure they are very fresh and firm. If they are partly wilted and brown the syrup will not taste good. Shake the flowers lightly to get rid of critters and excess dirt/dust.
• Remove each little flower from the stems. This is important, only the actual flowers should be used for this recipe because the stems can give the syrup a bitter taste.
• Once you have two cups of flowers, rinse them in clean water. Set aside.
• Heat the water and sugar on the stove until the sugar dissolves completely. If you wish, add a few blueberries for colour. The water will turn blue so add a splash or two of lemon juice to get the pinkish/purple hue you would like. Once you've achieved the desired colour, remove the mixture from heat and let cool until lukewarm.
• Once the sugar mixture has cooled add the flowers. Stir gently and let it steep at room temperature for an hour or so. Then place it in the fridge to steep for the rest of the duration. You can taste test during this time and remove the flowers once you've reached the flavour you like.
• Once the flowers have steeped long enough, strain all the flowers and blueberries from the syrup and pour the syrup into an airtight glass bottle for storage. You might have to strain the syrup a couple times to get rid of all the flowers. The syrup should be stored in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.*
• Enjoy!

Notes

*The syrup will become cloudy and taste off when it’s past its time but I haven’t come that far because the syrup has been popular here at home, so I don’t know how long it will actually last in the fridge! 🙂

Keyword gluten free, glutenfritt, lilac, plant based, syren, syrensaft, vegan