Pretty pink peony season is short but beautiful but their fine colour & perfume can be enjoyed in many more ways than simply sat looking pretty in a vase? You can actually use that floral scent & even colour in desserts & drinks (preferably some kind of cocktail), much in the same way that you would a rose.
Peony syrup is a really simple way to preserve & extend their short lived blooms & bring their loveliness into the summer. A really simple concoction made using only 4 ingredients but one that will give you plenty of syrup to use in an endless array of cocktails over the summer. It’s beautiful muddles into a nice G&T or prosecco, or for a really lovely cocktail, add to a glass with a dash of vodka & a rose spritzer.
PEONY SYRUP
(makes around 1ltr)
Ingredients:
- 4 peonies
- 1 litre boiling water
- Around 600 – 700g granulated sugar
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Method:
- Begin by removing the petals from the peonies & placing into a large bowl, be sure to add any leaves or stamens to the bowl
- Pour the boiling water over the petals, cover with a cloth & leave to steep overnight (it won’t smell particularly pleasant at this point but go with it)
- The next day, pour the liquid through a sieve into a large saucepan, squeezing the water from the petals as you do so
- Discard the petals & measure how much liquid you have in the pan
- Next, add an equal quantity of granulated sugar to the pan (e.g. for 500g of liquid, add 500g os sugar)
- Gently heat the pan to dissolve all of the sugar
- Once dissolved, bring the mixture up to a boil & continue to bubble for only around 5 minutes until the mixture has turned syrupy & lightly coats the back of a spoon
- Set the syrup aside to cool
- Once cooled, add the lemon juice to the pan & stir through, turning the yellowish syrup into a pretty pink hue
- Use a funnel to fill clean, sterilised bottles & seal well
- Store in the fridge for around a month
