Herbal Spotlight: Wild Violets, with my easy Crème de Violette recipe

I'm blessed with an abundance of wild violets & take full advantage of it yearly! Not only are they extremely useful & delicious, they are beautiful too!  Join me as we explore their many uses & I share my easy Crème de Violette recipe--

​Wild, sweet violet [Viola odorata] is an herbaceous perennial often found growing on the edges of forests, in clearings, & even, to some people’s chagrin, with wild abandon in neighborhood lawns. Personally, I welcome these beautiful, useful flowering plants. Each year, we collect basket after basket full, using some fresh for salad, garnishes, jellies & syrups, infusing some for medicines & liqueurs, & drying some for tea & to ensure we have a supply year-round.

There are many, many species of wild violets to be found, in beautiful combinations of white, blue, & purple. Growing just around me, I most frequently see New England Violet (Viola novae-angliae,) Sweet White Violet (Viola blanda,) Blue violets (Viola Tribola,) & Purple violets (Viola palmata.) All have similar flavor & properties. Both their heart-shaped leaves & flowers are used medicinally, in the kitchen & in cosmetics. Violets contain high amounts of both Vitamins C & A, have been traditionally used for digestion & respiratory issues. There are current medical studies underway investigating wild violets for treating cancers & diabetes [pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Viola+odorata ]  

Our dried, wild violets are available yearly, while supplies last.

There is quite a bot of handy info on violets out there--  Jan over at The Nerdy Farm Wife has a wonderful, printable spotlight sheet on violets with ID & usage tips that you can find here that is super handy.
​Additionally, The Herbal Academy has a lovely spotlight on this Herbal Ally with some fun recipes as well as info. Check it out here: theherbalacademy.com/a-family-herb-violet-plant/

Violet was a very popular flavoring in Victorian times, but has fallen from favor somewhat in the modern day. This is a shame & I personally am doing my part to bring it back! To that end, the wild violet recipe I am sharing this week is for a super easy Crème de Violette liqueur. Most famously used in Aviation cocktails, it is also quite lovely as a digestive after dinner all on its own or used in place of Chambord in Kir Royales. I make mine borrowing a bit of inspiration from the 110 year old, classic French liqueur called Crème Yvette, incorporating notes of orange & vanilla. I find this tempers & enhances the delicate, floral flavor of the wild violets. And, rather than actually distilling my own, I start it off in a base of store-bought brandy -- making this a super easy recipe anyone can make themselves at home.

Classic Aviations Made with My Crème de Violette

Wild Violet Crème de Violette

1 cup fresh violets
[can substitute  dried flowers: ½ cup by volume or roughly 5g] 
Peel of an orange 
1 cup sugar 
1 TBS honey 
1 ½ c brandy 
1 ½ c water 
1 whole vanilla bean

Collect your violets, removing any stems & rinsing them. Be sure to collect only from areas that have not been sprayed with pesticides. White, blue, or purple flowers -- or a combination of all three can be used. If you do not have access to fresh flowers, you can use dried instead, substituting about 5 grams dried flower heads for the fresh. 
Prepare a large, sterile Mason jar. Place your flowers in the bottom of the jar. Add the rind of an orange & the sugar to the jar. Measure out your brandy. Stir the honey into the brandy until dissolved, then add to it your jar, pouring over the other ingredients. Add the water & stir to combine.  Finally, split your vanilla bean & add it to the jar. 

Put wax paper over the mouth of the jar to protect the lid from corrosion & seal.
Place your jar aside out of direct sunlight. Allow to steep for 48 hours, then remove the vanilla bean. Recap & give the jar a good shake. Continue steeping for 3 weeks, shaking now & then. Double strain your liqueur & decant into a nice bottle. The color will vary from amber to blue-brown depending on the color violets use.
Your Violet Crème de Violette  is ready to enjoy! 

This is crafted yearly in this house! I personally prefer it to store-bought in my cocktails. And who wouldn’t appreciate being able to skip the $60 price tag Crème de Violette usually carries! Do let me know if you give this recipe a try & please share what you think & how you use it!
​ ​Until next time -- Take care & take time to #StopAndEatTheFlowers