From The Forrest
Something I’ve been noticing a lot on my feed lately, and have finally decided to try my hand at is foraging! There are so many edible flowers and plants that grow right in my yard that I’ve never bothered to try until recently. My mother, on the other hand, is a PRO at foraging and is constantly bringing home random plants she’s picked from the side of the road here in New Hampshire.
My mom grew up on a farm in North Andover Massachusetts, now a nature preserve known as the Mazurenko Farm Conservation land. Purchased by my great grandparents after they immigrated from Ukraine in the late 1920s, they were primarily dairy farmers but if you visit today, you’ll see that there was no shortage of flora and fauna. Because of this, my mom is excellent at recognizing edible flowers. Last summer, she pulled over on the side of the road to pick some elderflowers so we could make our own homemade Elderflower liqueur. Do you know what elderflowers look like? Because I definitely had no idea.
Turns out foraging is SO FUN and now I can’t stop scanning the side of the road for more edible flowers and plants that I can turn into my own liqueurs and syrups. Next on my list: Lilacs, and Rhubarb!
Until I can find them, I highly recommend stepping out into your yard (or the nearest field) to harvest violets to make your own Violet Syrup. If foraging still isn’t interesting to you at this point, you can get Crème De Violette at most liquor stores. Violets are a type of pea flower, like the butterfly pea tea that was made famous by Empress Gin, so it has a light sweet pea flavor when you make it yourself. To play off the lightness of the syrup, I created a quick and cute flower sour that’s a delicious spring sip.
Wild Flower Sour
Ingredients
2 oz White Mountain Vodka from Tamworth Distilling
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Violet Syrup
Egg White
Method
In a shaker, add ingredients and shake without ice for 20 seconds. Shake again with ice for 15 seconds until chilled. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Top with fresh edible flowers.
Violet Syrup Recipe
Ingredients
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of boiling water
1/2 cup of fresh-picked violets
Method
In a non-reactive glass container, steep violets in boiling water. This should turn the water a purple color after a while. Once it’s cooled, strain out the flowers and reheat. Add in sugar and stir until it’s dissolved. Once cooled, store in your refrigerator for up to three weeks!
You can check out this reel on instagram for the play by play! Happy foraging!