Lilac syrup
Ingredients
- 50 cl water
- 50 g lilac flowers, stems removed
- 500 g sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ½ vanilla bean optional - you can also add 2 drops of vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pick the lilac at the beginning of flowering (when the flowers start to open and concentrate the fragrance). Avoid using lilac that has been in bloom for a long time as the flowers will not taste as good.
- Gently shake the bunches, then remove the stems, taking care to keep as little stem as possible (this gives a bitter taste).
- Place the flowers on a large tea towel and leave them for a few minutes until the remaining insects have gone...
- Then place the flowers in a big bowl.
- Boil the water and pour it over the flowers with the lemon juice. Cover with a cloth and leave to soak for 15 minutes.
- Using a cheesecloth (or a fine sieve) placed over a saucepan, filter the preparation. Press the flowers with the back of a spoon to squeeze out the juice. This will give the syrup more colour and flavour.
- Add the sugar to the pan and bring to boil and let it boil on a low heat for 15 minutes.
- While the syrup is boiling, sterilise a glass bottle in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes and then place it upside down on a clean cloth.
- When the syrup is ready, pour it immediately into the sterilised bottle and close.
- Store in the refrigerator. The syrup can be kept for several weeks.
Notes
Depending on the amount of lemon you use, the syrup will have a more or less pronounced lemon taste. The same applies to vanilla. Perhaps test a version without vanilla with little lemon juice first. Then adjust the quantities to suit your preferences. I really like the version with a little touch of vanilla which does not cover the delicate scent of the lilac and goes very well with it.
For the sugar, I prefer to use white sugar which has a neutral taste, but you can of course test the recipe with other types of sugar.