Making and using Lilac Syrup in our farmhouse kitchen

Last Updated on June 20, 2024 by Michelle

Lilacs are at their peek around our old farmhouse today, so I’m making lilac syrup, canning it, and making two lists:

1. ways to use lilac syrup and
2. who would like a gift of lilac syrup

I thought I’d share in this post all the info you need to do all of the above or just make a jar of this deliciousness to enjoy in your morning cup of tea tomorrow.

I welcomed y’all into my little farmhouse kitchen and made some lilac syrup with you this week, on facebook. 

I’ve always loved lilacs. Right after I married, I purchased a bare root Yankee Doodle lilac through the mail and planted it, just a little twig, in our side yard. Then we moved 7 years later, and I never got to enjoy those amazing deep purple blossoms because it takes that long for blooms to grow when you’re planting a little brach of a tree.

If you want to know more about planting your own lilacs–the right way–you’ll love this article I wrote after talking to an edible landscaping specialist with Nature Hills, with over 40 years of extensive experience–all about lilac tips and care. 

Interesting sidenote, I had a LAVENDER farmer on the podcast and learned that the process of making lavender sugars and syrups is very similar to lilac. Listen in to that fascinating episode here or join us on youtube:

 

And order your copy here: The Lavender Companion

What does lilac taste like?

Back when I planted my first lilac, I had no idea that they were an edible herb. I only wanted to grow them for the pretty spring bouquets.

But it turns out you can make amazingly delicious things with lilac. I wouldn’t advice eating the blooms themselves, but they make some delicious pantry staples if you infuse the blooms in water, honey, syrup, sugar, and even salt.

What is lilac used for?

Lilac is a medicinal herb that can help lower fever, improve digestion, and so much more that has been documented since the middle ages.

What part of lilac is edible?

Only the bloom of lilacs are edible. The rest of the shrub–leaves, bark, roots, etc. aren’t edible.

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If you’d like a fun little history lesson about old farmhouses and old English lilacs, you gotta read this post.

And check out Nature Hills for the best mature lilacs you’ll find anywhere–you can order them online and be enjoying your own amazing purple clusters NEXT SPRING!

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

How to make lilac syrup

You’ll be shocked at how easy this is.

I shared the full recipe here: Making Lilac Syrup.

If you want to can your syrup, to keep all year, and want to know great ways to use your syrup, keep reading.

How to water bath can lilac syrup

After you make your lilac syrup (full directions here for making delicious lilac syrup) you may want to can it.

If you’re just making some to enjoy over the next month or two and have room in the fridge for it, no canning necessary. But if you’d like to gift this deliciousness to a friend, or if you’d like to put it away until January and indulge in this taste of summer in the midst of a chilly winter’s afternoon then you want to water bath can it.

Water bath canning is super easy. Just fill your canning pan so there’ll be at least one inch of water above your jars. Once you have the water to a rolling boil (honestly this is the part of lilac syrup that requires the most patience, just waiting for water to boil), place your jars in.

You only need to leave your jars of syrup in the boiling water bath for 10 minutes. That’s it. Easy, right? I don’t know why the thought of canning always intimidates me just a little. And I always assume I need to leave a whole afternoon open for the process, which is silly. This batch of syrup took less than an hour from beginning to end, and the bulk of that time was, like I said, spent waiting for a pot to boil. (And I didn’t even watch it, cause I totally know what they say about a watched pot.)

Carefully take your jars out and line them up on your counter, in a draft-free area. I like to cover mine with towels, to keep them nice and warm until they seal. That usually only takes a few hours at most, but I usually leave mine sitting on the counter covered in towels over night. 

Having the jars lined up on the counter always reminds me of Mom. She often had towel-covered jars lining a corner of her counters during the harvest season of Dad’s amazing gardens.

And Dad would have LOVED Nature Hills. He would have never believed the variety and quality of flowers, plants, trees, and yes, lilacs you can order at Nature Hills, the world’s largest online nursery.

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I’ve written a good bit about mom and dad, not only cause they are a part of who I am and I miss them, but also because they inspired my desire toward this homesteading life long before I even realized it.

If you like lilac syrup you’ll love maple syrup. I’ve written more posts than I care to count about our backyard maple syrup production.

If you want to try your hand at baking with maple syrup, I got ya covered.

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What is lilac syrup good for?

Use lilac syrup in place of plain ole sugar in things like:

• lilac lemonade
• lilac-infused cocktails
• cake recipes that call for a sugar syrup
• iced tea
• hot tea
• lilac kombucha (my FAVORITE!)
• lilac sparkling water

Or enjoy your lilac syrup one of these fun ways:

Pour it as a lite syrup over vanilla ice cream; an amazingly special summer night treat.

Brush a cake with lilac syrup before icing it; your cake will not only be extra delicious, but extra moist.

Sweeten your next fruit salad with drizzles of lilac syrup. You’ll not only add a taste to relish on your fruit, but you’ll keep it pretty and bright as well, instead of letting the apples, pears, and bananas turn brown before they’re all eaten.

Who would like a gift of lilac syrup?

I plan on gifting a few jars to my mother-in-law and grandmom when I see them next. They are both avid tea drinkers and deserve a special fancy lilac kick to their tea every once in a while.

But there are so many folks in your life who would love a jar of this beautiful purple sweetness…

• a new neighbor,
• a mail carrier,
• a hostess,
• a grown daughter moving into her first apartment,
• a teen daughter’s friend who invites her over,
• any friend/any time.

Truly, there’s no limit to how many people I know who would love a jar of this delicacy. They don’t have to know it was so, so easy to make and, well, it literally grew on trees.

So tomorrow I’m going to attach some cute little gift tags to some jars of lilac syrup and be ready to share this deliciousness. Go here to download gift tags with 3 recipes for using lilac syrup in delicious drinks.

And, finally, how to enjoy a chilly New England spring evening…

Bill started a fire in our brick oven while I printed gift tags for my lilac syrup.

Even though spring has definitely arrived here on our New England homestead, today was a chilly overcast day. So my thoughts turn from delicious blooms of spring to deeply warm fire-baked pizza.

All four daughters are home and congregated around our kitchen counter, which is covered in flour, dough, bacon, and oh-so-much cheese.

And I am a happy girl.

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So, yeah, our old farmhouse has a wonderful old Rumford fireplace and bee hive oven, but it is also full of money-pit problems, so don’t let me romanticize it too much. If you wanna know some of  the bitter truths (and joys) of owning an old farmhouse? I wrote about those here.

Wanna know where you can unearth some rustic farmhouse treasures of your own? You will LOVE this site I just discovered–Antique Farmhouse. I’m already addicted.

 

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More about lilacs, lilac syrup & more: 

• My recipe for making Lilac Syrup
• My recipe for making Lilac SUGAR
• Lilac Shortbread
• Growing lilacs (Tips from a Pro)
• Making lilac-infused honey
• Lilac blueberry kombucha
• The easiest way to make lots of floral syrups

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“Consider the lilies [and lilacs], how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. “But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? “ Luke 12: 27-28

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Glance at my Resource Page if you’d like to get a glimpse of all the supplies I use and recommend for everything from gardening, to sugarmaking, to chicken care, to baking.