Wild Violet Syrup

Nothing ventured nothing gained; I decided to try making wild violet syrup. I gathered two pints of flowers. a rocky slope isn't easy to gather the flowers. The flowers I gathered are wild violets, Viola triloba, growing as a native in Northwest Georgia on a dry rocky slope. Here is another link with some good close up photos of this variety of violet.

I didn't gather all the flowers growing on any one plant and I did not take all the flowers at that location. Some insects may be relying on these wild violets as their food source. Although as I was gathering at approximately 4 pm, at about 66 F, I did not see any bees or other insects on the flowers.

When I returned home I placed my flowers in the top of a porcelain coated double boiler. This type of container is best to use as it is non reactive to certain chemicals and ingredients. Stainless steel would work but this container or glass would be better.

I poured two cups of boiling water over the flowers. I detected a faint but fresh fragrance coming from the flowers soaking in the water.

I covered the violet water mixture and let it sit over night.

This morning I strained the violets from the water and discarded the flowers. I strained the mixture twice. I could have used cheesecloth as well but the water looked clear and free of debris.

Here's the violet water after straining, a faint lavender color. At this point I am thinking I should have picked more flowers but I didn't want to take all the flowers and it was too late at this point to add more.

I added two cups of fine white sugar per cup of liquid. I put water in the bottom of the double boiler and cooked the liquid till almost boiling, stirring constantly. This takes quite some time and my wrist was getting tired of the stirring. But this step is important to get the sugar dissolved in the water. At the end I skimmed all the white scum off of the top. The mixture began to turn a greenish violet color. I was getting worried but I set the pot aside to cool off.

After the mixture cooled down for about five minutes I put it back on the heat over the double boiler filled with boiling water and heated the violet sugar water till almost boiling again.

I added an 1/8 teaspoon of lemon juice at a time very slowly till the mixture turned back to a violet color. A bit more pale violet than I would like but I've come this far so no turning back.

I sterilized my half pint canning jars and lids. In this small town unfortunately I couldn't find any nicely shaped decorative jars to put the mixture into.

 Here are my four jars filled with wild violet syrup. They are a very pale color.

Next time I will gather twice as many wild violets. I will also remove the green calyxes from the bottom of the petals. I think that will improve the color of the wild violet syrup. Making the syrup is a lot of work but hopefully the flavor will be worth all the work. I just dipped my finger into the cooled mixture left in the pan and it tastes delicious and has a delicate fragrance. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Wild Violets Sweet Violets

When I was a child I dug up a small plant with purple flowers and brought it home. That plant was a wild violet, Viola odorata, sometimes called sweet violet. I didn't know the plant would multiply. By the end of the summer every windowsill in our home was filled with wild violet plants. My mother started giving violet plants to everyone she knew.

Yesterday I noticed the corner to our road is covered with wild violets. I ran out to take a photo to show you because we are expecting a bit of a cold snap. While I was researching information about the wild violet I found a blog post here about wild violet syrup. Since the plant is hardy and spreads easily I may harvest a bunch of the flowers and make some wild violet syrup. I hope the flowers last through the cold tonight.

source

The Violet
BY JANE TAYLOR

Down in a green and shady bed,

   A modest violet grew,

Its stalk was bent, it hung its head,

   As if to hide from view.

And yet it was a lovely flower,

   Its colours bright and fair;

It might have graced a rosy bower,

   Instead of hiding there,

Yet there it was content to bloom,

   In modest tints arrayed;

And there diffused its sweet perfume,

   Within the silent shade.

Then let me to the valley go,

   This pretty flower to see;

That I may also learn to grow

   In sweet humility.

While I was taking photos of the flowers I noticed leaves which looked like strawberry leaves and leaves of a bulb type of plant. I'll have to take a walk there often and keep my eyes open. If you have time look closely underfoot and at every turn, you never know what you may find. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

UPDATE - THINK THIS IS VIOLA TRILOBA