Lilac Love
The heady scent of lilacs wafting through the air after a spring rain shower can be quite intoxicating especially if the sun comes out after the rain to increase the humidity making the scent of the lilacs almost seem to stick to us.
Lilacs and their beauty pass quickly, never staying open more than a week, being able to preserve their scent to be enjoyed at other times of the year can easily with a bit of time and sugar. The time that it will take to harvest, clean, and process the blossoms of the flowers will vary depending on the size of the blossoms. Large plump groupings of lilac flowers will hang like clumps of grapes allowing for an efficient harvest. Be sure to clip just the flower clusters as you do not want any of the leaves or branches to add any bitter flavours to your lilac concoctions.
Lilac sugar is easily made by sealing some lilac flowers and granulated sugar in a mason jar for a week and tastes great with black tea. Candied lilacs are made by brushing the petals with sugar and egg whites. Other culinary preparations to preserve your lilacs include vinegar, wine and jelly.
Lilac flowers will retain their colour if used fresh but if you heat them at all the flower petals will turn brown while cooking. If used in muffins, bread, or cake the end product will have a faded yellow appearance.
When harvesting any wild edible foods I advise to avoid those growing along busy roadsides as these flowers are exposed to heavier amounts of pollutants from exhaust and vehicular fluids.
Fill your kitchen and home with the wonderful smells of spring by trying the following recipe is for lilac flowers but can be used for any flowers depending on which you prefer. It works well with apple, rose and nasturtium flowers. Flower petal jellies will preserve the aroma and taste of flowers but not their colour. Most flower jellies are tinged with yellow and brown hues. To give your flower jelly a naturally intensified colour that represents the flower you may want to add some natural fruit juices to your recipes. For lilacs, blueberry and pomegranate can produce a rich violet colour to accent its appearance.
Lilac Jelly
4 cups lilac blossoms
2 cups water
2 cups white wine
Juice of one lemon
2 packages powdered pectin
6 cups sugar
¼ cup additional lilac flowers
Method:
In a non-reactive pan bring the water and wine to a gentle boil. Remove the pot from the heat, add the petals, cover and let steep until cool. Strain off the flower petals.
Combine the cooled flower infused tea with the sugar and lemon juice. Return the pot to the stove and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, stir in the pectin and let the mixture return to a rolling boil for one minute while constantly stirring. Remove the jelly from the heat and skim off any foam. Let the jelly cool slightly and add the remaining flower petals. Pour the mixture into sterilized jars. Process the jars in a hot water bath or seal with paraffin like you would any other jelly.
Tags: Caterer Kawartha, Caterer Kawartha`s, Caterer Lakefield, Caterer Peterborough, Catering, Chef, Chef Algonquin Park, Chef Bobcaygeon, Chef Brian Henry, Chef Cottage Country, Chef Haliburton, Chef Kawartha, Chef Muskoka, Chef Northumberland, Chef Peterborough, consultant, cooking classes, cottage caterer, cottage country catering, Food, food blogger, Food Safety Training, food writer, Ghost Chef, ice carving, ice sculptures, Kawarthas, Personal Chef, Private chef, professor, Recipes, same sex catering
