Lilacs are positively captivating. It’s a sure sign that summer is coming when the garden is abloom in their enchanting shades of purple, pink, and white.
Enjoy Lilacs Indoors
The best time to cut lilac blossoms is early in the morning when they’re fully hydrated. Cut the stems with sharp pruning shears, then immediately plunge the cut stems into a bucket of water. Get a clean vase ready for the flowers. Add fresh water and a floral preservative. Remove all leaves that would be underwater in the vase. Recut the stems at a 45-degree angle and arrange the lilacs in the prepared container. Set the vase in indirect light and enjoy. Recut the stems and add more water, as needed, to prevent wilting. —From BHG
And, oh, the fragrance!
Distinct and sweet, the scent of lilacs wafts through open windows, flooding me with girlhood memories of my grandmother and the lilac bushes that grew wild at the side of her house.
Cutting a lush bouquet for the dinner or bedside table is a given. It brings the beauty of the season in.
But did you know lilac blossoms are edible?
Fragrant and slightly bitter, lilacs have a distinctly lemon flavor that varies from plant-to-plant.
Their beautiful blossoms are perfect in and on desserts, crystallized with egg whites and sugar, or soaked in a bath of cream to let the flowers infuse.
Cooking with Lilac Blossoms
Lilac Coconut Cream Tarts
(Photo: PBS)
Lilac Scones with Rhubarb Curd
(Photo: Kitchen Vignettes)
Old-Fashioned Lilac Jelly
(Photo: A Canadian Foodie)
Feather Light Cake with Lilac Infused Creme Patissiere and Lemon Curd
(Photo: Twigg Studios)
Lilac Lemon Cookies
(Photo: Lord Byron’s Kitchen)
Earl Grey and Lemon Vertical Roll Cake with Lilacs
(Photo: Twigg Studios)
Lilac and Blackberry Pavlovas
(Photo: Katie at the Kitchen Door)
Crystallized Lilac Petit Fours
(Photo: Ricardo Cuisine)
Lilac and Lemon Cupcakes
(Photo: Lil Cupcake Monkey)
Lilac Cream Tarts
(Photo: Gather Victoria)”
Strawberry Jelly and Vanilla Cream Brioche Doughnuts with Lilac Sugar
(Photo Half-Baked Harvest)
Lemon and Lilac Cake
(Photo: Retrolillies)
Honey Lilac Margarita with Vanilla Bean Salt
(Recipe: Flan and Apple Pie)
recommended reading
Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers
By Miche Bacher (Author) and Miana Jun (Photographer)This easy-to-use cookbook is brimming with scrumptious botanical treats—from sweet violet cupcakes, pansy petal pancakes, daylily cheesecake, and rosemary flower margaritas to savory sunflower chickpea salad, chive blossom vinaigrette, herb flower pesto, and mango orchid sticky rice. There are over 100 recipes with tips and tricks for finding, cleaning, and preparing edible blossoms. BUY THE BOOK
Photo of lilacs in Frankoma pottery: Matthew Mead.
They are so beautiful to behold and the scent of them is majestic indeed. I had heard years ago that they are edible. You have provided a wealth of opportunity to enjoy them in ways unknown to me prior. Thank you for sharing.