Maximizing Flavor in Your Homemade Lavender Syrup

If you like making your own syrups or tisanes, then you know the enjoyment of gathering your favorite flowers and herbs for an infused liquid with a pleasurable aroma and taste. There are many benefits to using lavender in your self-care routine, particularly for its aromatherapeutic properties as a mood booster and means of providing some anxiety relief. Turning to culinary applications, a simple lavender syrup recipe can do wonders to liven up everything from coffee to cocktails and even cakes and cookies. 

Per Tasting Table recipe developer Miriam Hahn, it’s a matter of time and patience to get the most full-bodied lavender syrup. Similar to steeping a cup of tea, after removing your pot from the heat, you’ll want to cover the mixture of water, sugar, and lavender flowers and give it at least 10 minutes to let the flavors fully permeate. For even stronger flavor, you can steep it for up to 30 minutes. You’ll know you did it right if the liquid looks slightly lavender in color when you’re straining out the flower buds.

There are a number of creative ways to use lavender in your cooking, and infusing the flowers into a simple syrup makes things even easier. When stored properly in an airtight container in the fridge, you can keep your lavender syrup on hand for around two to three weeks and use it in a variety of different dishes. It’s all about using the right flowers and giving the mixture time to fully steep as it cools for the strongest possible lavender flavor, ensuring the syrup won’t dilute when mixed into your dishes.

While making a lavender syrup requires only the three ingredients of sugar, water, and lavender, you must choose the right kind of flowers to make the process as effective and easy as possible. For starters, many recipes will note the need for culinary grade lavender, which basically means that the flowers are safe to consume. Many commercially available lavender plants are sprayed with pesticides, so it’s best if you either grow your own at home sans pesticides or purchase culinary grade lavender buds. English lavender is the most common among culinary grade lavender for its pleasant taste. You can buy dried culinary grade lavender, like this one by Too Get, on Amazon.

On the subject of time, it’s also important not to over-steep your lavender syrup as it could turn bitter in taste. Noting that dried herbs are stronger in flavor than fresh ones, you will need a larger quantity of fresh lavender for your syrup than dried buds to achieve an ideal flavor infusion in your syrup. If you wish to sweeten the syrup with something other than white sugar, coconut sugar, honey, and maple syrup are also good choices, provided you ensure the sweetener has fully dissolved into the water before steeping your lavender buds. With various use possibilities, including as a lively addition to drinks and desserts, it’s important to have a strong syrup to work with to infuse full lavender flavor into your dishes.