Spring never lasts long enough. I love the damp earth, fresh colors, the smell of it all. Every year, I wish the trees would stay in bloom for just a little longer. Well, this year I figured out how to capture spring in a bottle! Read on to find out how to make a delicious simple syrup from redbud flowers.
An early spring bloomer, Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) is an gorgeous, understory tree native to the Great Lakes Region. You'll find it in rich, moist forests near river and stream banks.
Supplies:
-quart size glass jar (equals 4-cups)
-cooking pot
-storage jar or sealable, stopper bottle
-cheese cloth or other cloth like an old cut up t-shirt
-bowl
-funnel
Ingredients:
-4 cups Eastern Redbud flowers
-4 cups sugar (you may omit any amount of sugar and sub with a low sugar substitute like stevia as long as it keeps with the 1:1 ratio of liquid to sugar)
Steps:
1. Harvest a quart jar full of Eastern Redbud flowers from a mature tree, or better yet several different trees to prevent over-harvesting from a single tree.
2. Pour boiling water into the jar to make a tea. Let it steep for a few hours or overnight.
3. Line a bowl with cheese cloth and dump out the jar full of flowers and liquid into it.
4. Pick up the cloth and give it a good squeeze to get all the liquid out, then discard the flowers.
5. Pour 4 cups of the (beautiful pink) liquid into your cooking pot. Turn up the heat to a boil.
6. Add 4 cups of sugar (or equal parts of a sweetener) into the pot and stir at boiling for a few minutes until sugar is dissolved. If you want a thicker syrup, then boil for a longer period of time.
7. Use a funnel and fill your glass bottle or jar with a lid.
8. Use for cocktails, mocktails, on pancakes… have fun with it!
9. The syrup should be fresh for several weeks stored in the refrigerator and will preserve longer if stored in a plastic container or bag in the freezer. Hmm… popsicles? Maybe next year!
Above: A scoop of frozen syrup
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