I remember each spring as a child smelling the sweet aroma of Lilac right outside the front door. I heard stories of how it was a sprout from an original bush brought over from Poland when family immigrated. But we never did anything with the flowers or enjoyed them beyond the smell.
The essence of lilac is something that brings memories flooding back into my life. And I have always wanted to capture it.
Unbeknownst to me, after 5 years of living at our home in Boston, there is a Common Lilac tree in our yard. I could make excuses like pregnancies and births, that it’s not a high producer, or a number of other reasons. But this year it was a pleasant surprise and seemed to be affirmation in my herbalism journey as it bloomed right around the time I started taking courses seriously. So my first course of action was to make a simple Lilac water infusion.
It’s not very hard to make, in fact it’s effortless. And it absolutely captures the smell of lilac as well as the taste I never knew I could ingest.
Related: How to make easy Spiced Pear Kombucha with leftover fruit
My husband used a pole saw to cut a few bunches down and my oldest daughter collected them, first turning it into a lovely bouquet to enjoy before we made our lilac water.
Making it simply includes a pitcher or a ball jar, cold water, and patience.
Simply snip some lilac clusters from a tree that is either your own, or that you have permission to forage from.
Thoroughly rinse them and inspect for insects or anything you wouldn’t want to drink.
Place inside of your pitcher or jar, covering with water.
Then place in your refrigerator over night.
The amount of Lilac you place in the water infusion is up to you. I did approximately 5 clusters because my tree isn’t a high producer… probably why I have never noticed it… and I want to make Lilac Sugar as well as a Simple Lilac Syrup too.
Each time we pour water out of it, we refill to the top and continue doing this until the flowers start changing colors slightly and then we remove the flowers for the compost.
The lovely part about making this simple lilac floral water infusion is that not only does it make a refreshing drink, but it also is a beautiful sight every single time I open up the fridge.
Get updates and news directly from our family. We would love to have you join the community and we’ll never send you spam.
Subscribe & Follow along
We would love to have you join our journey. Simply input your email address below to get recipes, updates, and occasional news from our family homestead to your inbox.
Could this be used as a linen spray or room freshener?
Unfortunately, no. Lilac is very delicate and dissipates quickly. You could potentially add it to vodka to try to get a brief smell added to a room, but it wouldn’t last long. Nearly all lilac scents sold commercially are synthetic because of the difficulty to maintain the natural lilac smell.