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Dessert

Syrup of Violets

A sweet syrup made by infusing violet flowers in water and sweetening with sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Syrup of Violets

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the infusion

  1. Remove the stalks and calyx from the violet flowers.

  2. Place the flowers in a glazed earthen pan and pour boiling water over them.

  3. Cover the pan tightly and let it sit in a warm place for one day.

  4. Strain the infusion through a thin cloth.

Make the syrup

  1. Add the sugar to the strained infusion and place it in a bain-marie.

  2. Stir well and heat until it is very hot but not boiling.

  3. Remove from heat, let it cool, and then bottle.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Violet flowers
Supply the delicate floral flavour and aroma that the syrup is built on.
Sugar
Sweetens the syrup, gives it body, and at this concentration helps it keep.

The step that matters

Heating until very hot but not boiling. Gentle heat dissolves the sugar fully and keeps the syrup from scorching. Boiling can darken the syrup and drive off the volatile violet aroma that gives it its character.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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