Magic Color-Changing Violet Simple Syrup

I"ve been wanting to make violet simple syrup for a couple of years now, but have either forgotten when I've spotted these carpets of purple beauties in the yard, or didn't pick them before my husband mowed. This year, though, I was on top of it. If you haven't heard about this morphing color-changing liquid, I would direct you first to either Alexis Nikole on TikTok, specifically this video, or Jordan Jonas's YouTube video. These are the methods I used, but I'll also write it out here if you'd rather have it in this format!

So, because I'm kind of terrible and also didn't think this would actually work, I didn't document most of the process. I also didn't expect to write a blog post about it, but I thought it might be a fun reference if friends and family wanted to give this a try. I think it would be awesome to do with kids or with a classroom (especially maybe an environmental science class) because violet simple syrup's whole thing is its pH sensitivity. If you add lemon juice to it, it turns a bright, almost neon, pink. If you add a base liquid (think: baking soda, vinegar, or citric acid), the syrup turns a really cool blue-green. I thought it would not only be a fun party trick, but also something to jazz up a plain seltzer water or cocktail. I do use sugar in this recipe, but you could swap it out for honey if you'd prefer (if I would have thought of that sooner, I probably would have done that too).

The Method

Step 1: Gather your flowers! Violets are everywhere in Maryland this time of year, especially in fields and yards. They are a plenty in our neighborhood, so gathering about half a quart jar full was no problem. If your neighbors spray or treat their yards with chemicals, do not gather from your yard! Find a place that is untouched or unlikely to be effected from chemicals. Once you've gathered them, make sure to rinse them.

Step 2: Bring some water to about 175 degrees F. Do not boil. I used about four cups for my syrup in a quart jar. Once the water reaches this temperature, pour it over your flowers and cover tightly either with a jar lid or some plastic wrap and a rubber band. Allow to soak at least 12 hours, or overnight.

Step 3: Drain flowers over a fine sieve and squeeze out all excess moisture. You can either do this by putting your flowers in a towel or cheese cloth, or do it by hand over your sieve. A lot of the color from the flowers comes from this process, so don't skip it! Once you've done that, take a moment to admire how brightly colored your liquid is. It, unfortunately, gets dull once you add the sugar (if I had thought about that, I would have taken a picture of how pretty and bright purple it was!).

Step 4: Get a small sauce pan and fill it with maybe a cup of water. Heat it over medium low on your stove with your jar of liquid sitting in it. Make sure not to bring your liquid to a boil, just get it warm. I had to split mine into two quart jars and do two batches.

Normally, I thought simple syrup was one part sugar to one part water, and had planned then on doing four cups of sugar to four cups of liquid. However, after I added one cup of sugar to two cups of liquid, it was borderline too sweet so I stopped there. I only added one more cup of sugar to my second batch of two cups of liquid. Stir, stir, stir your sugar until it dissolves so you don't burn it. You'll notice your beautiful purple liquid has now turned into a grayish color that faintly resembles the gray stuff Belle eats in Beauty and the Beast. Lol. It's fine. Disappointing, a little bit, but fine.

Step 5: Once cool, the fun begins! You now have violet simple syrup! Add lemon juice to drink it in seltzer, or make a vinegar out of it. I would imagine you could easily come up with a delicious salad dressing. Store in the fridge for a few weeks!

The taste is definitely earthy, and probably won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I was pretty happy with how refreshing it made my seltzer. It will surely be something I enjoy in the coming weeks.

Benefits of wild violets

At this point in time, I want to direct you to GrowForageCookFerment.com. All of the information I explain below is from her website, specifically her post on wild violets, but she has so many other cool, informative posts that touch on a lot of my hobbies and/or goals. Her instagram is also a gold mine of information!

So what are the benefits of wild violets?

• They're high in vitamin C, and are edible raw or cooked. Toss them in salads raw, or cook them to make this syrup, infused vinegar, or with baked goods.

• The leaves can also be eaten - raw, sautéed, or steamed. Imagine a wild greens salad with dandelion greens, or brewed as a tea. Yum!

• Violets contain anti-oxidants, are anti-inflammatory, and also help cleanse the blood.

• They work well if you have a cold or a cough, and the leaves can be used to make a cough syrup (recipe on GrowForageCookFerment's website).

• You can also use violets topically on the skin for eczema, dry skin, and bug bites.

If you give this recipe a try, please let me know how it turns out! Here's to foraging more things, learning more things, and getting in touch with local, regional gifts from nature. Be safe out there!