Monday, April 20, 2015

HONEYSUCKLES


When you're passin' by....flowers drop and sigh
And i know the reason why
You're much sweeter....goodness knows
Honeysuckle....


~ Louis Armstrong







I knew as soon as I
walked outside this
morning after a night
of rain and smelled
the sweet scent that
filled the air it was
time, the honeysuckle's
are ready.
It's time to make a
few batches of honeysuckle
cordial. I have plans to
try honeysuckle ice cream
and I think honeysuckle
goats milk yogurt sounds
pretty good too.  Oh, it's time
to play!

Do you pick honeysuckles?

From:: Local Milk

Honeysuckle Cordial

yields 3 cups
So here’s the basic building block recipe, it’s basically a
honeysuckle simple syrup with the addition of citric acid
& lemon. The citric acid acts as a preservative and also
cuts the sweetness with a pleasant tart taste.

Ingredients

4 cups honeysuckle blossoms, picked over & rinsed
3 cups water
3 cups sugar[ I am using honey in place of sugar]
1 tsp citric acid (I found this in the supplement section at Wholefoods)
1/2 a lemon, zested & sliced thin

Cooking Directions

Bring water & sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve all the
sugar. Pour hot syrup over the flowers in a heatproof
container. Stir in the citric acid, lemon zest, and the thin
slices of lemon. Let steep, covered, on the counter until
it reaches room temperature then place it in the fridge
and let it steep over night, totaling 24 hours. Strain
through cheese cloth or a very fine mesh sieve.
Store in the fridge.

14 comments:

  1. I adore honeysuckle! Ours is not anywhere near blooming, but I do hope we'll have lots of it this year. I have not tried the recipes you've mentioned, but have made a batch of honeysuckle jelly. It was delicious!

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  2. Wow, I had no idea you could eat honeysuckle! That is so amazing. There is a house in the hood that has honeysuckle... heavenly!

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  3. No honeysuckles here yet. Maybe in June? I had no idea you could even make such things! Always an inspiration you are Tracey!

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  4. I have never picked honeysuckles, but I sure do love the smell of them! :) I wish their were honeysuckles where I live, but for now I'll just remember their beautiful aroma!

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  5. I am ignorant when it comes to flower species. I wouldn't be able to tell what was honeysuckle. I think this flower was a prominent smell in the Fairwick Chronicles. Your macro photos are like nature geographic. The stamens look alive like aliens.

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  6. I love honeysuckle. Yours are blossoming so early...or is that usual. We've just planted about five different kinds. It will be a while before we see any flowers. Oh have fun playing with your magical honeysuckle.
    debx

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  7. Oh wow... your honeysuckle is prolific. I have a little one that shoots out a couple of fragrant vines... but I don't think I could harvest 4 cups of blooms.

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  8. Oh, I am so jealous! Honeysuckle doesn't grow here the way it does back east. I remember it from my childhood and can close my eyes and imagine the delightful frangrance. Enjoy!! Tracey, we do have squirrels, but they haven't, to my knowledge, messed with my apple trees. We keep our trees fenced to prevent the deer from eating them. What do you do about the squirrels? Or is it simply a matter of having to share?
    xo Lisa

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  9. I love honeysuckle but mine never flowered or grew well. Then my neighbours hedge was cut down and this year its promising to grow beautifully. I'm excited! Love your pictures!

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  10. I love honeysuckle but mine never flowered or grew well. Then my neighbours hedge was cut down and this year its promising to grow beautifully. I'm excited! Love your pictures!

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  11. We picked it as kids and sucked the nectar out. But for many years now, I've been highly allergic to the smell of it! Which is a bummer, because it does smell good. But it drives me totally crazy with my allergies!

    Linda in VA

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  12. Yes, we used to suck the nectar as kids as well. Happy memory. Lovely photos!

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  13. Oh my, lovely and I think ours are about one to two months behind your blossoms. They grow on the road side here and there :)

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  14. We don't have them up here. I used to just love the scent when I lived in VA. Just gorgeous amazing trees! Your pictures are stunning Tracey, once again.

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