Lilac Season

There is a wonderfully fragrant time of year each June in Manitoba. It only lasts for a short few days really, maybe two weeks. The telltale purple flowers suddenly pop and it's here - lilac season!

On our property at Pineridge Hollow we have three shades of lilac; pink, purple and white. I'm sure many people may be surprised that the shrub that has a shade of purple named after it, actually comes in other colours.

There is a lot of love around here for lilacs. So we wanted to take full advantage of their magical two weeks. We used lilacs to create a cocktail and a dessert. Don't be shy, you might think that since lilacs have such a strong sent that they would be overwhelming. The actually give off quite a subtle floral note in these two recipes. Read below to see how you can incorporate lilacs into your kitchen.

Lilac & Lemon Verbena Mojito

The key to this cocktail is making a lilac simple syrup. It takes practically no time at all and ups your cocktail game in a pinch! You can add a vast variety of ingredients to a simple syrup - herbs, flowers, spices.

Lilac Simple Syrup:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1.5 cups lilac blossoms (rinsed and all the green parts are removed!)

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Add blossoms and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the syrup through a sieve and remove blossoms.

Hint: you can add 5 blueberries to the saucepan at the same time as the lilac blossoms to add a subtle purple colour

 

 

Cocktail:

1 oz lilac simple syrup

1 oz white rum

1 lemon wedge

3-4 lemon verbena leaves

soda water

Muddle lemon verbena leaves with lilac simple syrup and lemon wedge in a tall glass, fill halfway with ice. Add white rum and top with soda water. Garnish with a few lilac blossoms.

 

Lilac Posset

A posset is an old fashioned English dessert. Similar to a pudding or custard, it can be flavored with a variety of herbs, fruits and flowers. This dessert is a simple and elegant way to impress at a dinner party.

Ingredients:

4 cups heavy cream or whipping cream

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 cups lilac blossoms

pinch of salt

Method:

1. Remove stems from all lilac blossoms. Soak 1 cup of blossoms in the cream overnight. Strain before using the next day.

2. Mix honey and cream together and heat to a gentle boil over medium heat. Stir to make sure honey and cream are well combined. Keep the boil gentle, a rolling boil will spoil the cream.

3. Reduce to a simmer for 3 minutes and keep stirring. Add lemon juice and stir more.

4. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, then add second cup of blossoms and allow to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain blossoms from cream.

5. Split cream into 4-6 ramekins or small mason jars.

6. Cover tightly and chill for at least 4 hours, but overnight is ideal.

 

We hope you enjoy our lilac recipes! Be sure to share your pictures with us @pineridgehollow!