As warmer weather arrives we find ourselves craving a drink to enjoy on the patio and what better way to celebrate spring than with a glass of lemonade (or a cocktail!) after a day of working in the garden? A sweet and simple way to elevate your drink of choice is with floral ice cubes. They really couldn’t be simpler and make a big impact!
We have lots of wild violets in our lawn and this year Grace and I made violet syrup to be used in lemonade. We used Kaity’s directions and it turned out beautifully! Watching the violet lemonade turn pink feels like magic!
To make the lemonade feel extra festive, we made ice cubes with the violets as well. I’ve read that in order to make the ice cubes clearer, it’s best to use bottled water, but I didn’t have any so I simply used tap water and they still turned out perfectly. Simply put a petal or two in the bottom of an ice cube tray, fill and freeze. Once they are frozen, I bag them up in a plastic zip lock bag to use throughout the spring. I would note that I think it’s a good idea to have designated trays for your ice cubes. I often freeze pesto and I don’t think I would want to use the same tray as a pesto flavor would definitely not compliment most drinks! I recently bought a few new trays at Target… green ones for the pesto and these taupe ones for floral ice cubes. Color coordinated is the only way I will ever remember what’s what!
*Whatever edible flower you choose to use in your ice cubes, make sure that they haven’t been treated with herbicides or pesticides.
