Magnolia Syrup
Sweet, floral, delicate and gingery. There’s nothing like magnolia. These beautiful flowers appear so fleetingly at this time of year and are gone with a single bust of wind, but if we’re quick to harvest them, you need surprisingly few to really extract the best of this largely ignored ingredient. When foraging on private land, always ask permission from the landowner. They might think you’re a weirdo for eating their tree but at least you’re a polite weirdo.
Uses: you can bake this syrup into cakes and a variety of treats but you will lose some of the flavour. My advice is to add it to coffees (which aren’t as hot), folded into home made ice creams, feed yeasts for breads, add to preserves (once they’ve cooled), or simply over ice cream and pancakes.
Flowers in the kitchen
When it comes to flowers, time and temperature are everything. You want to process them as quickly as possible because they will rapidly deteriorate once picked. Next is temperature. All food is sensitive to temperature. Some require a lot of heat, some need the opposite. If you’ve ever tried a cold mint drink compared to a hot mint tea you’ll notice how the exact same ingredient can transform in the presence of heat. The same applies to flowers.
The majority of flavour in flowers comes from aroma, particles released into the air that we detected as smell. Because of the delicate nature of these aromatic compounds, heat can completely transform them, even destroy them, so it’s very important we handle the application of heat carefully. For example, when blending roses to make kombucha, I pulse the blender to stop the motor from warming up the solution.
There are two options with this syrup. One involves a cold maceration over 24 hours which is then passed through a sieve and bottled. The other undergoes a very gentle reduction after removing the plant matter in order to build the viscosity of the syrup. This will change the flavour of the syrup but give a pleasing consistency. So the choice is yours.
Magnolia Syrup Recipe
Makes 500ml
250g Raw cane sugar
250g Cold water
200g Magnolia flowers
(Alternatively, add to honey or syrup)
Step 1.
Weigh out the sugar (preferably before you collect the flowers) and mix it with an equal weight of hot water. Sugar will eventually dissolve in an equal weight of cold water, but heating it will speed the process up. Leave it covered to cool down until it’s room temperature.
Step 2.
When harvesting magnolia, look for open flowers that aren’t too old. Pinch at the green base and snap it cleanly. Despite the abundance of flowers, be mindful not to over harvest as flowers at this time of year are precious for pollinators too.
A single flower is about 4-5g on average so take as many as you need for this recipe. If you have to store them for longer than an hour, place them in a box lined with a damp paper towel.
Step 3.
Check the flowers for insects, then cut them up into the cold syrup solution using a knife or scissors. Push them down and mix them in (they’re very buoyant!), including the entire flower. Cover and leave to macerate (leech flavour through the breakdown of cells) for 24 hours in a cool area.
Step 4.
The next day, pass the syrup through a sieve to remove all the plant matter. Here you can bottle it right away and store it in the fridge, or you can heat it gently over a low temperature (>70C) to evaporate some of the water and reduce the syrup. This will take about 2 hours. My advice is to taste the syrup beforehand and afterwards to compare the flavour and see which you’d prefer for next time.
The syrup will store for 6 months or longer in the fridge and can be frozen. If left at room temperature it may ferment. If so, burp it daily and check pH before consuming (you’re looking for a pH of 4.3 or lower).