Herbal Spotlight: Forsythia, with Forsythia Syrup & Bees Knees recipes

One of the first powerful, floral adaptogens to emerge each Spring, forsythia blossoms have so many medicial & culinary uses.
​One of my favorite ways to enjoy them is in a Forsythia Syrup that can be used in lemonades, over pancakes or ice cream-- & of course, in cocktails!  
​It tastes like spring & is so easy to make!  I will walk you through the process, as well as how to craft your own Forsythia Bees Knees cocktails with it too.​

Forsythia is actually part of the same plant family as olive trees & has been used, particularly in Chinese medicine, medicinally for centuries. Recent studies have shown it to have strong antioxidant content, as well as antibacterial, antiviral, adaptogenic, & anti-inflammatory properties. In addition to its more medicinal uses, forsythia is amazing for treating skincare issues, helping to reduce redness & tightness in the skin, & even wiping out acne & boils. An easy way to harness their benefits is to incorporate the blossoms into goodies in your kitchen. Their flavor is unique, providing equal parts floral & herbaceous with both sweet & slightly-bitter notes -- to me, they taste like sunshine!​

Wild-harvested forsythia is used in many of our skincare products, like these Forsythia Facial Bars, for its wonderful benefits.

explore our forsythia skincare products

Wild Forsythia Facial Bars

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Supportive Blue Tansy Velvet Day Balm

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Wild Forsythia Cleansing Grains

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Locally Foraged Forsythia Blossoms, Dried

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Be sure to grab my recipe for Forsythia Vanilla-Bean Jelly too!

Forsythia is amazing in teas, jellies, & syrups -- even ice cream! The blossoms can be used fresh or dried. Fresh are quite lovely sprinkled over a salad. Dried blossoms make a fantastic addition to herbal tea blends for immune system support. I find ther flavor pairs really well with honey, complementing forsythia’s green-floral notes perfectly. This pairing is what makes the Forsythia Syrup so damn tasty & is an excellent way to glean forsythia’s benefits in your diet.

forsythia vanilla-bean jelly

To get started, you’ll need some freshly gathered forsythia blossoms. As always, be sure to gather flowers only from shrubs you are sure have not been treated with pesticides. Picking the flowers is super easy as they emerge before the leaves, so you can forage a bunch quickly without having to pick through to remove them after. I find gathering them very relaxing, & a perfect excuse to enjoy the return of nicer weather! I always collect a ton so we have plenty to make our skincare products, dry enough for tea to last the year, & have a bunch for syrup & other tasty treats. To make this full-size batch of syrup, you will need about 1-1 ½ cups of blossoms.

Gather whole blossoms -- No leaves please!

Forsythia Syrup

1- 1 ½ cups fresh forsythia blossoms 
1 cup spring water 
1 cup pure honey [*for raw honey, see note at end of recipe]

Sort your blossoms, taking care to remove any hitchhiking bugs; there is no need to remove their green bases, but some people do. Removing the bases will enhance the floral aspect of your syrup’s flavor, while leaving them gives a more herbaceous/floral combination that I enjoy. 

Add your forsythia & water to a pot; bring to a full boil, stirring occasionally. You'll notice the flowers begin to darken & lose their color to the liquid. Boil for 3-5 minutes, then turn your heat down to simmer & add the honey, stirring to dissolve & incorporate. Once fully dissolved, remove the pot from heat & strain out the spent blossoms with a fine strainer or cheesecloth. You can compost or toss the forsythia.  *IF USING RAW HONEY: to protect the beneficial qualities of raw honey, remove your forsythia tea from heat & strain out the blossoms, allowing the tea to cool a bit BEFORE stirring in your honey. It’s a bit harder to incorporate, but still gives you a lovely syrup, while protecting the raw-honey benefits that would be damaged by heat.
Allow to cool completely & pour into a sterile bottle for storing. This syrup will keep for 3 weeks or so in the refrigerator. Try it over pancakes or vanilla ice cream for a real treat! Add a spoonful to a cup of Earl Grey tea or add a splash to homemade lemonade. Or use it is cocktails, like this one:

Forsythia Bees Knees

2 oz Gin 
¾ oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice  
½ - ¾ oz Forsythia Honey syrup 
Lemon Peel Twist for Garnish

A 'Bees Knees' is a Prohibition Era cocktail made with gin, fresh lemon juice, & honey. The addition of forsythia in this version gives this tasty classic a fresh floral vibe, making it the perfect Spring tipple! Use a classic London gin for a more juniper-forward drink, or try a botanical gin, like the Botanist, to play up the herbaceousness. 
Simply add the ingredients & ice to your shaker & shake to combine. Stain into a coupe to serve. Bees Knees are traditionally garnished with a twist of lemon, but you can’t really go wrong adding an edible flower or two as well!  Enjoy!

That’s it for this post. I hope you give these recipes a go -- they are so easy to make & so very tasty! Forsythia’s bright flavor is the perfect way to Welcome Spring. Until next time--Stay safe & remember to  #StopAndEatTheFlowers