Wild Violet Pink Lemonade
A delicious and refreshing pink lemonade drink that has a subtle floral flavor and fun color change that occurs thanks to the wild violets.
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Servings8 servings
Ingredients
Violet Infusion
- 1 to 2 cups freshly picked wild violets
- 3 to 4 cups water
Lemonade
- 4 to 8 cups water
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Make The Violet Infusion
- The first step is to pick your wild violets. Pick only fresh blooms in a location that hasn't been sprayed with pesticides or other chemicals. (Also in a location away from where outside pets frequently visit!) You only need the blooms.
- Back in the kitchen, boil four cups of water in a saucepan. Keep it at a rolling boil while you prepare the violets.
- Gently rinse the violets in running water using a strainer. Add them to a quart-sized glass jar. Carefully pour the boiling water into the jar of violets until the jar is full. You may not need all 4 cups of water.
- Place a lid on the jar and set it aside for up to 24 hours to allow the violets to steep. The color of the liquid should turn dark blue and the violets will become almost clear when it is ready.
- After 24 hours, line a large measuring cup or another quart jar with a coffee filter or paper towel. Strain the steeped violets to remove any of the solids. Squeeze the violets to get out any extra liquid. You should end up with about 3 to 4 cups of violet tea left after straining. Pour the tea into a large pitcher after noting how much liquid you have.
Make The Lemonade
- In a large measuring cup, squeeze the juice from enough lemons to get 1 to 1 ½ cups of juice. Strain the juice to remove any pulp or seeds.
- Here's where the color change happens. Slowly pour the lemon juice into the pitcher with the violet tea. The color should turn from dark blue to a bright pink.
- Next, into the pitcher, add in the remaining amount of water needed so you have 9 cups of total liquid. (The amount of violet tea + however much lemon juice you added + the amount of water you need to get 9 cups total.)
- Lastly, add in the sugar and stir until fully dissolved. This can take a few minutes. Taste and adjust the sugar amount as needed. Serve fully chilled. Enjoy!
