Syrup of Cowslips
Ingredients
Directions
First infusion
Pour boiling water over the cowslip flowers in a pan.
Simmer gently over low heat for 6 hours.
Let it stand overnight.
Heat until just before boiling.
Squeeze out the flowers.
Second infusion
Add the same quantity of fresh flowers.
Bring to a boil.
Return to low heat and simmer for another 6 hours.
Let it stand overnight again.
Heat without boiling.
Squeeze out the flowers while hot.
Sweeten and bottle
Add 2 pounds of sugar for every pint of juice.
Dissolve the sugar by placing the pan in boiling water.
Heat and stir until scum rises.
Skim off the scum.
Allow to boil once.
Strain through a jelly bag.
Bottle the syrup in pint bottles when completely cool.
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
- Cowslip flowers
- Provide the floral flavour and pale colour that the syrup is built on.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the syrup and gives it body as the juice thickens.
The step that matters
Heat without boiling. Gentle heat draws flavour and colour from the flowers, while boiling can drive off delicate floral aromas and dull the syrup.
“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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