Foraging Wild Purple Violet Flowers

Next on our list of foraging is wild purple violet flowers.💜💜💜💜💜

They can help support restful sleep and is a nice addition to a gentle sleep blend. Violet is moist and cooling and the leaves ease inflammation, and when used externally, soothe skin irritations and swelling. It has an affinity for the lymphatic system and can promote healthy lymphatic function. And packed with vitamins every inch of this plant is edible and wonderful for you!

A Violet Tincture can be used as a respiratory remedy, blood cleanser, lymphatic stimulant to aid the body in spring detoxification and also support a restful sleep. I'm not surprised these tender flowers also can help to ease an emotional heart ache, softening the sharp pain...Another name for violet is "hearts-ease" and they've been used for thousands of years to aid the emotional and physical heart...

Wild violets (not to be confused with African violets) are the tiniest, most delicate, light purple flowers 

and they’re edible! 

CAUTION: If you harvest violets for food, make sure they are from an area never sprayed or treated!

Packed with antioxidants and Vitamin C, wild violets can be found in cooler spring climates, They are delicious addition to salads, an eye catching garnish on desserts, and make a beautiful, purple syrup that can be added to beverages, ice cream, cake frosting, cheesecake or just poured over pancakes and waffles! For creative chefs and wild foragers alike, a wild violet simple syrup is a truly special seasonal treat! 

TIP: You'll want to save this recipe to use when your violets make their annual entrance!

Making wild violet simple syrup is super easy. It takes a full 24 hours, but 99% of that time is for steeping the flowers. The little bit of hands-on time is as easy as making herbal tea!

Wild Violet Simple Syrup

Ingredients

4 cups of wild violets

2 cups boiling water

2 cups organic evaporated cane juice

3 to 4 drops of lemon juice

Supplies needed:

a quart or 1/2 gallon-size glass jar

a wooden spoon

a large fine-mesh sieve

a whisk

Instructions:

Collect wild violets.

You really only need the flower petals. A few stray stems and receptacles (base of the flower) will not affect the flavor of the syrup.

Pour boiling water over the wild violets.

The ratio of flowers to water is 2:1. Example: 4 cups of wild violets to 2 cups of boiling water. The water will  immediately begin to change color!

Use a wooden spoon to smash the violets down into the water. The petals will shrink in size considerably, so make sure they’re all submerged.

Steep the violets for 24 hours.

Place a lid on your jar and let the violets steep for 24 hours.  The pigment begins to come out of the petals rather quickly, but don't  skip the full 24-hour steeping time, though. The longer the petals steep, the more purple pigment is drawn out, and the more depth of color the finished wild violet syrup will have.

Strain.

After 24 hours, pour the violet “tea” into a fine-mesh strainer. You should still have 2 cups of liquid.

Press out all the “tea”.

Using clean fingers, press all of the blueish-purple “tea” out of the petals. The spent petals can be added to your compost pile.

Note how blue the wild violet “tea” is, not very purple at all. That will change later with lemon juice.

Combine the wild violet “tea” with 2 cups of organic evaporated cane juice.

Place it on the stove on low-medium heat. Whisk the sugar and “tea” together while the mixture heats. DO NOT BOIL!

If purple syrup is what you want, it is crucial that you keep an eye on your syrup and don’t allow it to boil. Boiling the liquid destroys the beautiful color. The sugar will dissolve in the warm liquid without boiling.

Add 3 to 4 drops of lemon juice.

As soon as the cane sugar is completely dissolved, remove the syrup from the heat and add 3 or 4 drops of lemon juice to it. This causes a chemical reaction that makes the color of the liquid go from blue to a bright purple.

The more lemon juice you add, the lighter the color of the wild violet simple syrup.

Using a funnel, pour the finished wild violet syrup into a bottle or jar. 

You can store your wild violet simple syrup in the fridge for up to 2 weeks — if it lasts that long! Pour it over waffles or pancakes, add it to sparkling water for a bubbly floral beverage, flavor your kombucha with it, or add it to a mixed beverage!

CAUTIONS: 

Violets actually have many look-alikes, many of which are inedible or poisonous, so only harvest them when the flowers are present and you are 100% sure that you have a violet. Please reference a reliable plant identification guide when gathering any wild edible or medicinal herb.