Although you can get flowers all year, Sweet Violets only seem to flower on mass for a short time during Spring. Make the most of them with this beautiful purple liqueur. Give yourself a couple of hours to collect your flowers. If you are feeling stressed, or just in need of a bit of peace and quiet, this is the perfect activity.
I usually pick the flowers over 2 or 3 days as 200g is a lot of petals. Keep in the fridge until you have enough, but make sure they are dry or they will go brown. If you have lots of petals, and lots of time, pick extra and make Sweet Violet Jam as well.
Medicinally, violets are excellent for coughs and mild enough to give to children. This Soothing Syrup of Violets will last for ages in the fridge, and although it uses flowers, you don’t need to worry about removing the green stems as it is the medicinal properties you need, not the stunning colour
Love Liqueur
Ingredients
- 200 g Viola petals, purple part only Green bits will change the colour of the liqueur
- 200 ml Dry white wine
- 2 Cardomom pods - slightly crushed Crush the outer shell, not the seeds
- 500 ml White rum or cane
- 250 g White sugar
- 300 ml Water
Instructions
- Place the flower petals in a heavy based pot and add the wine
- Bring to the boil, remove from heat and leave to cool
- Pour the mixture into a glass container with a lid
- Add the rum and cardomom
- Close tightly and shake well
- Place in a warm area, out of direct sunlight for 1 week. Shake daily
- Strain through a piece of cheesecloth. Leave to stand for about an hour to drain all liquid off.
- Combine sugar and water in a heavy based saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved
- Bring to the boil and keep at a fast boil for 15 minutes.
- Leave to cool and then add the violet rum
- Pour into dry, sterlised bottles. Seal and label
- Keep for 1 month before using