Lavender Simple Syrup

I have an abundance of Lavender in my garden and it is a wonderful thing. There are constantly bees buzzing around having a ball amongst the vibrant purple strands and it smells glorious. Every year I cut bundles of it and have it in various glasses and jars around my house, I give some to friends and family but there is always sooooo much of it. This year I decided to try using it in my kitchen in some bakes and other concoctions and the first one I want to share with you is this Lavender simple syrup.

What is simple syrup I hear you say? It is a really easy ( or simple ) liquid mixture made from water and sugar with perhaps a flavour element added. It can then be used in many recipes, most commonly in cocktails where sweetness is needed with a smooth texture. It is basically like adding sugar to a recipe but without the grainy texture the t you would often get when adding sugar to a cold drink

So..readers I thought I was being very clever creating this lavender syrup. I hadn’t seen it anywhere else and I thought it was a genius idea. But you know that it is very hard to actually have an original idea these days right?

Anyway. I made a few jars of this simple syrup and the following week I went on my press trip to Ireland, whilst there I found Lavender syrup being used in two different cocktail mixtures in super cool bar/ restaurants. Firstly in Belfast in Sweet Afton’s and then at the incredible Walled City Brewery in Derry.

So perhaps not such an original idea.. it does however still taste incredible and can be used in various ways BUT best of all with rum or gin as most things in life.

My friend Jamie from Explore With Ed went exploring Lavender Fields in The Cotswolds recently which I am desperate to do myself and he kindly let me share one of his pics from his trip here, isn’t it just so pretty?

Anyway without further ado here is my recipe for Lavender Simple Syrup.

Lavender Simple Syrup

You will need:

2 cups of Lavender heads/buds – the tightly closed ones are better

2 cups of granulated sugar

2 cups of cold water

Place your sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Once it has boiled and the sugar has completely dissolved add the lavender and remove from the heat.

Cover and allow to steep for a few hours. Once cooled transfer to sterilised jars and refrigerate.

You can use this in lots of different food and drink recipes. It works really well just added to cool lemonade for a refreshing drink and of course added to Prosecco it is is pretty good but my favourite way is with Gin, Soda and crushed ice. I am not going to lie it is an unusual taste and if you don’t like that floral flavour, for example the flavour from rose water, turkish delight or parma violets you probably won’t like this. BUT I love it and I hope you will too.