Grape Hyacinth Syrup

Go to printable recipe:  Grape Hyacinth Syrup

In my previous post, I talked about grape hyacinths, ornamental plants of diverse species of the genus Muscari.  In contrast to true hyacinths, which are toxic, grape hyacinth flowers are edible, and may be used to make a showy syrup, due to their fragrance and colour, especially when a few drops of acidic juice are added.  

To try making some syrup, I collected a few grape hyacinth racemes from my garden:

Grape Hyacinth Syrup – Jarabe de jacintos de la uva

CAUTION: True hyacinths are toxic.  As with any other kind of foraging, make sure that you have identified grape hyacinths correctly, and that they have been grown without chemicals. 

Printable recipe:  Grape Hyacinth Syrup

Ingredients

2 dozen grape hyacinth (Muscari) flower racemes; freshly harvested from chemical-free plants
1 cup freshly boiled water
1 cup sugar
Lemon juice to taste

Wash grape hyacinth racemes, and drain, shaking excess water.  Working with one raceme at a time, hold the stem in one hand, and gently run index finger and thumb of the other hand up the stem; with the right orientation, the flowers will dislodge easily (photo below, left).  Continue with the rest of racemes.  The flowers should measure about half a cup (photo below, right, with stems on the side):

Discard stems, and place flowers in a heat-proof bowl or cup; pour in boiling-hot water (photo below, left).  Allow flowers to soak (photo below, right):

After a couple of hours, strain infusion through a mesh:

Discard flowers.  This infusion may be kept in the fridge for a couple of days.  To prepare syrup, Place infusion and sugar in a saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar (photo below, left).  Bring to a boil (photo below, right):

Continue cooking, stirring occasionally.  After ten minutes, tilt pan and run the back of a wooden spoon along the exposed bottom; if a trail may be seen, the syrup is ready.  If not, continue cooking and testing every five minutes; this batch took twenty minutes (photo below, left).  Add a few drops of lemon or lime juice, to turn the murky purple syrup, into a bright pink concoction (photo below, right):

Transfer syrup to a jar with lid. It may be kept for a couple of weeks. In the photo at the top of this post, and shown below, a small batch of plain grape hyacinth syrup, next to a larger batch of pretty pink syrup, with added lemon juice:

Drizzle on pancakes, pastries, yogurt, ice cream, fruit, or use to sweeten and colour pink lemonade.  It is always a cool trick to sweeten water with the murky syrup, then, at serving time, listen to a musical mix of “aawws” and “aahs” from the attendants, upon the addition of lemon juice to each glass. 

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I am sharing my recipe at Full Plate Thursday #692 with Miz Helen @ Miz Helen’s Country Cottage.

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I am bringing my recipe to Thursday Favourite Things #658, with Katherine @ Katherine’s Corner, Bev @ Eclectic Red Barn, Pam @ An Artful Mom,, Amber @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home, and Linda @ Crafts a la Mode.  Special thanks to Katherine and Bev for featuring my Cinco de Mayo – Margaritas and Beyond. 

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I am joining Fiesta Friday #535 with Angie @ Fiesta Friday.

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I am bringing my recipes to What’s for Dinner? Sunday Link-Up #470 with Helen @ The Lazy Gastronome.