Since last year ( 2020) I've been learning herbs and teas and their healing properties and what helps with which ailment. Over the winter I found that Violet's have the ability to help with Seasonal Depression, Sore Throat, Headaches, and many other pains and aches.
When foraging, I've found that picking in the morning seems to be the best time, the flowers are more open, fresh, and vibrant than towards the end of the day. Violets stop blooming in late spring or summer when temperatures begin to get hot. There are ways to keep them blooming, however.
I wanted to share a few of the recipes that I've been making with Jelly, Honey, and Syrup. I'm working on loose-leaf tea next!
Violet Jelly
Instructions
Take 2 cups of violet flowers without stems and place them into a jar. Pour 4 cups of boiling water over them. Allow the violet tea to cool and then place in the fridge to steep for up to 24 hours.
Strain the violet tea. You should have 3 1/2 to 4 cups of liquid. Pour this into a large saucepan.
Add 1/4 cup of lemon juice to the tea. The color will change from green to purple!
Add 1 package of powdered pectin and bring it to a boil.
Add 4 cups of sugar and return the jelly to a boil. continue boiling for 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir and skim for 5 minutes.
Pour into jelly jars leaving 1/4 inch of headspace.
The Magic Of The Violet Jelly ( and syrup) when mixed with lemon juice.
Violet Honey
Instructions
fill a jar with violets and pour honey over it. You may have to do this a couple of times.
Then you let the honey infuse with the violets for 3-6 weeks.
Once you've let them infuse, you strain the flowers and honey.
Infused Violet Honey!
Violet Syrup
Instructions
Take 3 cups of violets and rinse them off.
Boil water, then let it sit for 2-3 minutes.
Pour over the violets, and let sit for 24 hours. You can do this for 3-6 hours if you don't have the full 24 hours to wait.
Strain the " Violet Tea" and put it in the saucepan.
4 cups of sugar and stir.
Once everything has mixed well together, pour into your jar.
Add a few drops of lemon juice and see the color change to purple.
Enjoy!
Violet Loose-Leaf Tea
Instructions
Take 1-2 cups full of violets and place them on a plate. Put them somewhere they can dry out and not get wet or dust on them for about a week.
after they've dried out ( they should be a little crunchy) put them in a jar for future use for tea making!
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