Spring, with all its lovely flowers is the perfect time to harvest and use edible flowers. There are so many from which to choose – forsythia, lilac, redbud, and of course violet and dandelion. And that makes spring the perfect time to make homemade violet and dandelion pink lemonade.
The pink lemonade is beautiful, and is the perfect beverage to serve to guests. They’ll be surprised that something so lovely could be made from the flowers you harvested in your own backyard.
If you are unsure of identification, my course More Than Weeds: 5 Common Plants to Forage for Food and Home Remedies is perfect for you. You’ll learn to identify dandelion and violet with certainty, but more importantly you’ll learn some basic botany and plant identification skills which will help you as you move forward on your foraging journey.
For the homemade lemonade, you’ll make a tea using the dandelion and violet blossoms. This will be used instead of water in the lemonade recipe.
The tea will be an unattractive brown, but as soon as you add the lemon juice, magic occurs. The ph of the beverage is changed, and the color turns a beautiful bright pink.
The lemonade is so attractive, but more importantly it is nutritious. Violets and dandelion are full of nutrients (you’ll learn all about that in the course) and the lemons are full of vitamin C, of course.
Don’t let all this talk of nutrition side track you, though. This violet and dandelion pink lemonade is super delicious!
More Than Weeds
A Foraging eCourse for Beginners
Are you interested in foraging, but a bit hesitant because you don’t trust your own abilities? I created a mini eCourse just for you. In More Than Weeds: 5 Common Plants to Forage for Food and Medicine you’ll learn that identifying plants is all in the details.
Homemade Violet and Dandelion Lemonade
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh dandelion flowers
- 2 cups fresh violet flowers
- 1/2 cup raw honey or organic cane sugar
- 10 organic lemons
- 6 cups water
Instructions
- In a sauce pan, boil the water.
- Remove from heat, and add the 4 cups of whole flowers. Allow to steep for 20 minutes.
- Strain the flowers from the liquid and add them to your compost.
- Allow the flower tea to cool to lukewarm, and add the raw honey or sugar.
- Pour the tea into a 1/2 gallon jar or pitcher.
- Juice the 10 lemons, and add to the tea and honey mixture. Watch the color change to a lovely pink.
- Stir thoroughly, and adjust the sweetness to your taste. Add water to fill pitcher, if necessary.
- Refrigerate until cold before serving.
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Mary says
Thanks, I’m gonna try making it!
Susan Vinskofski says
Enjoy!
Janice Yeagle says
How much lemon juice if you don’t have lemons?
Carla says
After making this, my husband requested it again. By the third time, the season for violets was over to his dismay.
Susan Vinskofski says
I’m so glad he enjoyed it!!! You must be further south – we still have an abundance of violets. 🙂