On my way home one day I caught a whiff from a flowering vine and found the Japanese honeysuckle.  Its flowers were fragrant and sweet, and I thought some of is leaves didn’t look honeysuckle-like until I saw that it was in fact choking out a tree.  I flicked off the ants also trying to collect the delicious nectar and harvested all the honeysuckle flowers blooming that day.

Honeysuckle on the vine (Photo credit: S. Sim)

Honeysuckle vines choking out a resident tree. (Photo credit: S. Sim)

Ingredients:

• Bowl of honeysuckle flowers
• Bowl of water
• Several cups of white granulated sugar
• Squirt of lemon juice

Bowl of picked honeysuckle flowers (Photo credit S. Sim)

1. Break off the green base of the honeysuckle flower (if present)
2. Submerge all the flowers in a bowl of water and refrigerate overnight (use more flowers to increase honeysuckle flavor)
3. Combine honeysuckle water with equal parts sugar (1 cup water to 1 cup sugar) in a saucepan and heat at low temperature to dissolve sugar
4. Once all the sugar is dissolved, allow to cool
5. Mix in one squeeze from a wedge of lemon to prevent crystallization

The possibilities for this simple syrup are endless!  Over the next few days, we’ll be channeling our inner-bartenders to mix up some tasty honeysuckle beverages.

***For recipes featuring this delicious syrup, check out our Lime Honeysuckler, Lazy Loni, and Hummingbird Fizz!***

Tags: honeysuckle, syrup