How to Make Lilac Flower Honey
My father-in-law absolutely loves lilacs. I think it's safe to say they are his favorite flower. I love them too, and now that I live in an area where there are many, many varieties of them in cultivation, I am really enjoying getting to work with them. There is nothing quite like their lovely fragrance!
Harvest a couple of clusters of lilac flowers from the plant on a dry, sunny morning and bring them into the kitchen. I like to gently tap them on a tea towel to dislodge the critters that like to take up residence deep inside the flowers, then soak them in a bowl of clean water for just a minute to rinse them out. Lay the flower clusters out on a clean cloth to dry. You can gently towel-dry them if you do not want to wait for them to air dry.
Once they are free of water droplets and residual moisture, place the flowers into your infusing jar and pour raw honey over them until they are completely covered. The blooms will float up to the top of the honey and stick together in a little colony there, so feel free to add more lilac flowers after you have seen how much room is left in your jar. Leave the honey to infuse for at least a couple of days, then strain out the flowers and store. You can also add another fresh batch of flowers to the honey at this point and repeat the process if you want your honey to be doubly as strong.
This infused honey can be drizzled on toast or pastries, used in herbal shrubs or sodas, or added to popsicles or sorbets. I hope you give it a try if you have lilacs blooming in your area! Make sure you harvest from clean, unsprayed, unpolluted areas and always ask permission from the owner before harvesting if the plants are on private property.
About the Author
Hi there, I’m Erin! I am the main instructor here at Floranella. I am a clinical herbalist, aromatherapist, artisan distiller and organic gardener based in the Pacific Northwest. Here at Floranella, I teach people how to work with plants safely and effectively from the garden to the apothecary. Thanks for being here! I’m glad you stopped by.