I love Summer. The warm breeze on my face and body. The bees buzzing around. The spectrum of flowers.
I take my daily walk either very early in the day or just as dusk is descending. It’s at this time the flowers show their true beauty.
As I make my circular walk around the river near where I live. I revel in the multitude of purple, yellow, cream and white flowers. They stand against the darkening green that tells me Summer is leaving soon and Autumn will return.
It’s still a whole month or so until that happens, yet I can sense it even now. The smells are changing and there is a quality in the air.
As I walk I spot a cluster of wild carrot flowers and stop. The botanical name for wild carrot is Daucus carota (click here for photos) and the burgundy dot in the centre of the flower gives the plant its other common name: Queen Anne’s Lace.
It is said that Queen Anne (1665-1714) pricked her finger making lace and the burgundy spot represents a drop of her blood.
I don’t know about that, what I do know is the flowers make a delicious pink cordial which tastes heavenly as well as looking like a bottle of a love potion.
Curiously the Greeks called the plant Philon as it was believed to be an excellent tonic before lovemaking. Its ancient use as a contraceptive may have had something to do with this. Although it was generally the seeds that were used.
Hippocrates is apparently the oldest reference to the anti-fertility actions of the seed but that’s another story.
Since I’ve been talking about lovemaking and natural contraceptives. My friend and colleague Lukasz Luczaj, who also happens to be one of Europe’s leading ethnobotanists, has just published his new book.
It’s called Sex in Nature: A Guide to Making Love in Forests and Meadows.
Ingredients
- 20 wild carrot flower heads
- 800 ml of boiling water
- 100g honey or rapadura sugar
- 100ml of cider vinegar
Instructions
- Place the flower heads on newspaper for an hour to allow the creepy crawlies to leave. Do not wash them (the flowers).
- Then put the flower heads into a saucepan, pour over one litre of boiled water, stir and put a lid on top. Infuse for twenty-four hours.
- Strain off the liquid, it should have a delicious pink colour, add the honey or sugar and whisk until dissolved.
- Finally, add the cider vinegar, mix well then bottle.
I don’t how long this will last so please experiment.
I made the jelly years ago. It was the most beautiful color, think pink diamond. It lasted indefinitely in the freezer and about 6 month in the Refrigerator.
Should be recipe say when to add the vinegar?
Thanks for pointing that out. I’ve changed it now. You add the ACV when you add the sweetener.
Hi Robin. As a chemist I have to make one suggestion. It is easier to dissolve sugar or honey before adding vinegar. It is the same as with lemon when you make sweet lemonade. Those things dissolve easier in the neutral than in the acid solution. I would first add sweetener, stir to dissolve and then add vinegar. It will simply dissolve faster.
Thanks, Slobodanka. I have adjusted the instructions 🙂
Yes, I saw you did. Very good.
I sent you another question about my extract not being pink but more like a brownish-yellowish.
I live in Toronto and collected flowers in the vicinity of Toronto. Are Canadian species the same as those in England?
I was careful that each flower has red dot in the middle.
Thank you very much for all your knowledge transferred to us.
Sincerely yours,
Mrs. Slobodanka Zebic
I don’t know the answer. There could be any number of reasons and variables.
Can you add yeast to the cool liquor to make a fizzy wine?
Don’t know. I don’t make booze. Maybe experiment.
Lovely ?
Update:- on my comment.
That “?“ Was actually a emoji smile. 🙂
Hey this is a great recipe that you – just wondering, would it not be easier to dissolve the sugar in the boiling water first? And then steep the flower heads in the sugar water? I do that with elderflower cordial and it’s so easy.
Maybe, feel free to do what you think is best 🙂
Hi Robin,
I collected wild carrots flowers, 20 of them as per instruction. What worries my, my extract is not pink, but rather more tea like. Even with apple cider addition it got bit lighter, color was oxidized, but still it is not this lovely pink that you have described and showed on attached photo.
I was careful that each flower had red dot in the middle, so I do not expect mistake in identification.
I live in Canada and could it be that Canadian plants give different colour? Or I made some other mistake ?
Thank you in advance
Thanks Robin. I look forward to trying this one.
This is wonderful
Very pleasant, although mine ends up much less pink than in the picture – more greeny-yellow.
Beautiful colour and interesting taste. I might try less vinegar next time.