Lavender and lemon combine for a refreshing drink (two methods)

My boys are avid lemonade fans. Frederick (now 12 years old) makes his own blends as his younger brother (5) looks on and waits patiently. Just to mix it up a bit, I’ve introduced them to lemonade flavors and we find most of those flavors in our own backyard. Luckily, many flavors sit well with lemon and lavender is a great example.

Lavender is a fun herb to work with because it fragrance comes through nicely in food, creating a little surprise: “What is that flavor exactly? I think I know but I just can’t place it…” In fact, lavender lemonade is a fun beverage for a party. You can’t miss with it and it is a great conversation starter.

To make lavender lemonade, there are two basic simple approaches that I would choose based on your sweetener and the lead time you have:

1. Make and store a lavender syrup to add to your lemon mixture. With a day’s lead time, I would tend to make a lavender syrup to add to the lemon drink. I would make extra lavender syrup and store it in the refrigerator just to have around.
2. Infuse part of your lemonade water with lavender and integrate your honey or sugar at the same time.

For either approach, here are some basic ratios to start with. One reason I like the syrup method is that you can keep adding syrup until you reach your perfect flavor. The problem with that method is that you may never have your perfect recipe on record. Regardless, these problems are nothing that a few more batches of lavender lemonade can’t solve. 😉

Lavender Lemonade Made with Lavender Syrup

Under this approach you are simply making a lavender simple syrup that you add to diluted lemon juice.

Lavender Simple Syrup Ingredients

• 1 cup of water
• 3 tablespoons dried lavender flowers
• 3/4 cup honey or 1 cup of sugar

Lavender Simple Syrup Steps

1. Bring water to a boil.
2. Pour water over lavender flowers. Cover. Let stand for 30 minutes or even overnight for a stronger lavender flavor.
3. If you’re using sugar, add it to the lavender flowers in the step above. If you’re using honey, particularly a raw honey, add it after you have strained the flowers in the step below. If you have only let it steep for 30 minutes, the liquid should be warm and the honey should integrate nicely. If it has steeped overnight, you may want to reheat it slightly.
4. Strain out flowers. Add honey (if applicable) as per the instructions above.
5. Your lavender syrup is read to use.

Lavender Lemonade Ingredients

• 1 cup of lavender syrup (or to taste)
• 2 quarts of water
• The juice of about 5 lemons, about 1 1/2 cups

Lavender Lemonade Steps

1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Taste for sweetness and flavor. Add more water or syrup as desired.

Even here you can experiment with proportions. You can increase the sweetener if the lavender flavor is too strong for your taste.

You may also want to double or triple the recipe to keep some on hand. It will keep refrigerated for about a month.

Lavender Lemonade Made with Dried Lavender Blossoms

Under this approach you are simply adding the lavender blossoms to the actual lemonade ingredients — you infuse it with the lemonade water itself.

Lavender Lemonade Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons of dried lavender flowers
• 2 cups plus 6 cups of water
• 1/2 cup of honey or 2/3 cup of sugar
• The juice of about 5 lemons, about 1 1/2 cups

Lavender Lemonade Steps

1. Bring two cups of water to a boil.
2. Pour boiling water over dried flowers. Add sugar to this step if you are using it. Stir and cover for about 30 minutes.
3. Strain the lavender flowers from the liquid. Retain the liquid.
4. If you are using honey (particularly raw honey), add the honey to the strained liquid. The mixture will be cool enough that it won’t kill your honey.
5. Add your sweetened infusion to the remaining 6 cups of water and lemon juice. Adjust for sweetness and flavor as desired.

Adding Some Color to Your Lavender Lemonade

Dried lavender blossoms do not impart a lavender color to water. Your infusion will look like a light tea. For added interest, add a touch of color using a fruit juice or syrup. In the picture above, I added elderberry syrup but berry and grape juices would work well too.