Lavender simple syrup imparts a wonderful floral flavor to your favorite beverages. With just three ingredients and three steps, you can easily make your own to impress guests, pamper yourself, or give as gifts. Once you learn how to make lavender simple syrup, your fridge might never be without it again.
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What is lavender simple syrup?
Simple syrup is, at its most basic, a liquid sweetener made by dissolving granulated sugar in water. Because the sugar is already dissolved, this allows granulated sugar to be used to sweeten cold drinks without all of the sugar ending up in the bottom of the cup. An extra step of infusing lavender in the sugar water turns it into lavender simple syrup. Of course, simple syrup can be made with other flavors as well.
Ways to use lavender simple syrup
Lavender simple syrup can be used to sweeten and flavor many drinks — both alcoholic and nonalcoholic — as well as baked goods and other foods. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- hot or iced coffee
- hot or iced tea
- lavender latte
- lavender lemonade
- lavender soda
- lavender martini
- lavender champagne cocktail
- lavender buttercream frosting
- lavender scone glaze
- vanilla ice cream syrup
- pancake or waffle syrup
You’ll want to make it a bit thicker to use lavender simple syrup as a dessert topping or breakfast syrup. Double the sugar in the recipe for a 2:1 sugar-to-water ratio rather than 1:1.
For lavender-flavored frosting or glaze, replace some of the liquid in the icing recipe with lavender simple syrup — you’ll need to experiment a bit to get the amount of lavender flavor you want.
Best lavender for simple syrup
Most lavender simple syrup recipes call for dried lavender buds, but you can use fresh if you prefer. The important thing is to use culinary-grade lavender, which essentially means that the lavender has been produced and processed specifically for use in the kitchen.
Food co-ops and other specialty stores often carry it (check the bulk section!), or you can find it online. If using lavender from your own garden, make sure it has not been sprayed with chemicals, and use clean tools to harvest it and remove the buds.
The best variety of lavender to use for simple syrup will depend largely on personal taste. Still, the most popular culinary varieties tend to belong to the English lavender (L. angustifolia) group:
- Hidcote Blue
- Royal Velvet
- Munstead
- Buena Vista
- Folgate
How to Grow Lavender For Fun and Profit
How to Make Lavender Simple Syrup
This recipe makes about one and a quarter cups of simple syrup, but it can easily be doubled, tripled, or halved if you want to make a larger or smaller batch. You can also vary the amount of lavender or the length of steeping time to adjust the strength of the lavender flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons dried lavender buds
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Continue simmering and stirring until the sugar completely dissolves.
- Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 20 minutes to 1 hour or until the flavor is to your liking.
- Pour the syrup through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a glass jar or bottle.
How to store lavender simple syrup
Store lavender simple syrup in an airtight glass jar or bottle in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. If you’ve made more than you think you’ll use in that timeframe, freeze extra syrup in a straight-sided glass container (such as a half-pint or wide-mouthed pint jar), leaving an inch of headspace. Note that because of the high sugar content, it likely will not freeze solid.
Why isn’t my lavender simple syrup purple?
Lavender simple syrup is naturally a golden brown or amber color, not purple. Since it will likely be mixed into drinks or other food, the color really doesn’t matter. But if you want your lavender simple syrup to be purple, add two drops of red and one drop of blue food coloring (or whatever combination works to get the shade you want). I recommend using natural food dye.
Alternatively, you can use blueberries to color the syrup. Add four to six blueberries, fresh or frozen, along with the rest of the ingredients in step one. Such a small amount of berries shouldn’t change the flavor profile of your lavender syrup.
Variations
Just about any sugar can be used to make simple syrup, including raw sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, or even honey. Just keep in mind that each type of sugar has a different flavor.
Add a cup of washed blueberries (fresh or frozen) to the ingredients in step one to make blueberry lavender syrup. Simmer the mixture for five to seven minutes, mashing the blueberries to help them disintegrate.
Add rosemary to complement the lavender, or replace the lavender entirely with rosemary, mint, elderflower, or another herb to make a different flavored syrup.
Double the amount of sugar to make a thicker syrup to pour over pancakes, waffles, French toast, or ice cream.
As its name suggests, lavender simple syrup is incredibly simple to make! It also has many delicious uses and variations for flavoring and sweetening drinks, desserts, and even breakfast. So what are you waiting for? Make a batch and see what a wonderful condiment lavender simple syrup is.
Serena Manickam is a freelance editor and writer and sustainable market gardener in rural Virginia. She holds a BA in environmental science and runs Fairydiddle Farm, a small market garden in which she grows no-spray produce and herbs to sell at a local farmer’s market.