Flower bouquets have been go-to gifts on Mother’s Day for decades, as blooms celebrate love and admiration. But this year, honor the mothers in your life by making a floral libation.
Whether for food or drink, there is a thrill when using edible flowers in the kitchen. You can add dried blooms to salts, sugars or syrups, and use fresh blooms as cocktail garnishes, pressed into homemade biscuits and tossed in salads. Organic edible flowers can be found at your local farmer’s market or natural foods store, as well as online.
But chamomile is a very accessible edible flower, since many people have a bag of chamomile tea in their pantries. The flower has a sweet, earthy flavor, and makes a lovely and versatile simple syrup that may soon become a staple in your refrigerator. Go to NYT Cooking for a recipe to make your own syrup, as well as two warm-weather drink recipes that incorporate it.
Not only does this syrup taste delicious in a cocktail or mocktail, it is also wonderful drizzled on French toast or vanilla ice cream with fresh berries. You can even use it to sweeten iced coffee.
A floral, nonalcoholic twist on a classic drink, this flavorful fizzy limeade is the perfect front-porch sipper on a warm afternoon. The chamomile adds some sunshine, and little ones will love it as well.
This pretty-in-pink libation is fresh, tangy and sweet. It celebrates everything you love about spring in one glass, and tastes great all summer, too.
Cassie Winslow is the founder of the blog Deco Tartelette and the author of “Floral Libations.” Her second book, “Floral Provisions,” will be released in March 2022.
