Lavender Lemonade

Before you start

Lavender is easy to overdo. A short steep in warm syrup gives a gentle, herbal-floral note that sits behind the lemon; a long steep or too many buds tastes of soap and potpourri. This recipe uses one tablespoon of dried culinary lavender for a 1.5-liter pitcher and steeps it for 15 minutes off the heat, which is enough to perfume the syrup without extracting bitterness.

Use lavender sold for cooking, not decorative bunches or craft buds, which may have been treated. The drink comes out pale yellow with perhaps a faint gray-violet tinge; it does not turn purple on its own. If you want the lilac color you see in photos, a few blueberries steeped with the buds add tint without changing the flavor much.

Ingredients

• Lavender syrup200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
• 240 ml (1 cup) water
• 1 tbsp (about 3 g) dried culinary lavender buds
• 6 (optional) blueberries — for a pale lilac tint
• Lemonade240 ml (1 cup) fresh lemon juice — about 5 to 6 lemons
• 960 ml (4 cups) cold water
• To garnish lemon wheels and fresh lavender sprigs

Method

1. Heat the sugar and water over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup just begins to simmer.
2. Take the pan off the heat. Add the lavender and the blueberries if you are using them, stir once and cover.
3. Steep for exactly 15 minutes. Taste the syrup at 10 minutes; if it already tastes strongly floral, strain it then.
4. Pour through a fine sieve, pressing lightly on the buds. Do not crush the blueberries hard or the syrup turns cloudy. Let it cool for about 20 minutes.
5. Juice and strain the lemons. Combine the lemon juice, cooled syrup and cold water in the pitcher.
6. Taste before chilling. Add up to 240 ml more water if the lavender or lemon feels strong.
7. Serve over ice with lemon wheels and a sprig of fresh lavender for aroma.

Tips for success

• Dried buds vary in strength by variety and age. Start with the timed steep and adjust next batch rather than adding more buds.
• English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is the sweeter, less camphor-like type usually sold for cooking.
• Make extra syrup: it is good in iced tea, sparkling water or drizzled over fruit.

Substitutions

Dried lavender

Use about 3 tbsp of fresh, unsprayed culinary lavender flowers. Fresh flowers are milder, so the same steep time works.

Granulated sugar

Honey pairs naturally with lavender. Make the syrup with equal parts honey and water and steep the buds the same way; the drink will be slightly darker.

Blueberries for color

A pinch of dried butterfly pea flower turns blue and shifts toward violet when the lemon juice goes in. It adds color with very little flavor.

Variations

Lavender lemon fizz

Mix 60 ml syrup with 30 ml lemon juice in a glass of ice and top with soda water.

Lavender limeade

Use lime juice instead of lemon and reduce the syrup slightly, since limes are more acidic.

Troubleshooting

It tastes soapy

The lavender steeped too long or there was too much. Dilute with more lemonade made without lavender, and cut the steep to 8 to 10 minutes next time.

Bitter, medicinal edge

The buds boiled or were pressed hard in the sieve. Steep off the heat and strain without squeezing.

No lavender flavor

The buds were old. Smell them first; they should be strongly aromatic when rubbed between your fingers.

Storage

Refrigerate the lemonade and drink within 3 days. The strained lavender syrup keeps in a clean, sealed jar in the fridge for about 2 weeks; discard it if it turns cloudy or develops any mold.

Safety notes

Use only lavender sold for culinary use. This drink contains fresh, unpasteurized lemon juice; pasteurized juice is the safer choice for vulnerable groups.