I just made my first batch of lavender lemonade. When I first talked about making it my dad kinda poo pooed the idea saying it would taste like soap, but I did it anyway. And you know what? It tastes amazing!
My neighbor has this massive lavender bush that I had been harvesting from and drying. I was hoping to get more but the darn grounds keepers nearly took it all the way to the root. We aren't going to get a nice big harvest for awhile. I did managed to get about 1/3 baggy of dried, de-stemmed flowers.
Since the bush is butchered, I ended up making enough for two pitchers worth and shared one with the neighbors. They all loved it too, which makes me proud. And it doesn't taste like soap. So there, Da. One neighbor told me that I come up with the craziest ideas, but lavender lemonade is a thing. I didn't come up with it. I mean, I know it might sound a little odd to some but people cook with flowers all the time. I mean, lavender can be used in deserts, in drinks, as part of a rub or when smoking and steaming.
Is it really that weird? It tastes great. I used a bit of food coloring to make it look nice in a glass. Have any of you tried lavender lemonade before? If not, I recommend it if you like lavender.
EDIT: I just made another batch. Bigger this time. A neighbor really liked it and wanted to know how it was made. My stock pot was great for this.
My neighbor has this massive lavender bush that I had been harvesting from and drying. I was hoping to get more but the darn grounds keepers nearly took it all the way to the root. We aren't going to get a nice big harvest for awhile. I did managed to get about 1/3 baggy of dried, de-stemmed flowers.
Since the bush is butchered, I ended up making enough for two pitchers worth and shared one with the neighbors. They all loved it too, which makes me proud. And it doesn't taste like soap. So there, Da. One neighbor told me that I come up with the craziest ideas, but lavender lemonade is a thing. I didn't come up with it. I mean, I know it might sound a little odd to some but people cook with flowers all the time. I mean, lavender can be used in deserts, in drinks, as part of a rub or when smoking and steaming.
Is it really that weird? It tastes great. I used a bit of food coloring to make it look nice in a glass. Have any of you tried lavender lemonade before? If not, I recommend it if you like lavender.
EDIT: I just made another batch. Bigger this time. A neighbor really liked it and wanted to know how it was made. My stock pot was great for this.
Recipe for those who want it wrote:
The base recipe is:
4 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cups of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of lavender
Measurements will change based on the quantity you're making and your taste. For example, for two pitchers worth which is about 3 of the above recipe, I only used about 2 tablespoons of lavender. It's strong stuff.
Put a portion of your water in a small sauce pan, bring to a boil, dissolve your sugar, and add the lavender. Stir until soaked. I lowered the heat and let simmer for a few minutes while stirring occasionally, then turned off the burner and let rest for about an hour to steep. You can strain using a fine mesh but sometimes there are small bits left behind. Running through a coffee filter worked great for me. Then you just mix together the lemon juice and water. Add more lemon juice, sugar or water until you have your ideal flavor. Be careful to taste as you go because if you dilute the lavender too far it's hard to add it back in, you'd have to go through another steeping process. Once it's where you like it, add drops of red and blue food coloring until you get your ideal color. I specifically colored mine so it would look nice in a glass. I added some color, stirred, filled a glass to see how it looked, then dumped in back and adjusted the color till I had what I liked. It looks a bit dark in the pitcher but nice and pastel in a glass. You don't have to add color if you don't want. It'll just look like normal lemonade otherwise.
Anyway, it's super good, so if you like lavender I'm sure you'll like it ^.^
4 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cups of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of lavender
Measurements will change based on the quantity you're making and your taste. For example, for two pitchers worth which is about 3 of the above recipe, I only used about 2 tablespoons of lavender. It's strong stuff.
Put a portion of your water in a small sauce pan, bring to a boil, dissolve your sugar, and add the lavender. Stir until soaked. I lowered the heat and let simmer for a few minutes while stirring occasionally, then turned off the burner and let rest for about an hour to steep. You can strain using a fine mesh but sometimes there are small bits left behind. Running through a coffee filter worked great for me. Then you just mix together the lemon juice and water. Add more lemon juice, sugar or water until you have your ideal flavor. Be careful to taste as you go because if you dilute the lavender too far it's hard to add it back in, you'd have to go through another steeping process. Once it's where you like it, add drops of red and blue food coloring until you get your ideal color. I specifically colored mine so it would look nice in a glass. I added some color, stirred, filled a glass to see how it looked, then dumped in back and adjusted the color till I had what I liked. It looks a bit dark in the pitcher but nice and pastel in a glass. You don't have to add color if you don't want. It'll just look like normal lemonade otherwise.
Anyway, it's super good, so if you like lavender I'm sure you'll like it ^.^
