Violets are at their best this time of year around us so we pick tons of them (and leave plenty for our pollinator friends too!) to make crafts and recipes. Flowers are an important part of May celebrations historically and people decorated their houses, themselves and their animals. Color changing lemonade is one of our favorites and we make it almost every year.
Violets are a pH indicator, so to make this magical drink you’ll actually have to make two beverages and then mix them in front of your adoring fans. We do this by the glass so that every kid gets to perform the magic trick. What is actually happening is that the acid from the lemon is changing the pH of the drink, turning it from purpley blue to bright pink. Every other violet lemonade recipe I have ever seen does this in the pitcher all at once, but where is the fun in that?
If you have lots of violets, make some extra violet tea and use it to test the pH of other things- find out what color it turns in the presence of a base! You can also find directions for dying paper with violets and using acids and bases to “paint” it in my Spring Equinox Guide.
Magical Color Changing Violet Lemonade
It’s slightly fiddly to make two separate mixtures for this lemonade, but it means that everyone who drinks it gets to see the color magically change. It happens because violet is a pH indicator- it changes color depending on what it comes in contact with. (Cabbage does the same thing, but does not make a pleasant lemonade…)
Ingredients:
violet tea
- 2 cups violet flowers (just the flower, ensure that they are unsprayed)
- 2 1/2 cups boiling water
simple syrup
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups sugar
lemon mixture
- 6 cups water
- 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups lemon juice
violet ice cubes (optional)
- violet flowers
- water
- ice cube tray
Procedure:
First make the violet tea:
Gather enough flowers to measure 2 cups of violets. This is a great job for kids- make sure to include just the flowers not the stem or leaves. (Nothing horrible happens if a few stems get in, they just don’t have the color.) Pack your violets into a quart mason jar and pour over the boiling water. Poke them down to make sure they get submerged and then cover and store in the fridge for 24 hours.
You can make the optional violet ice cubes at the same time- just pick out a handful of the nicest blooms and freeze them in a ice cube tray overnight.
Next make the simple syrup:
Put the water and sugar in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the sugar is melted. Remove from heat and cool. You can adjust the amount of sugar to your taste- I use 1 1/4 but if you like a sweeter lemonade increase to 1 1/2 cups.
Make the two mixtures:
Strain the violets out of the violet tea- squeeze them to get all of the color out. They should be a deep purpley blue. In the first pitcher, combine the strained violet tea and the simple syrup. Refrigerate.
In a second pitcher mix the lemon juice and 6 cups of water. (Again you can increase the lemon juice to taste) Refrigerate.
Enjoy your lemonade:
When you are ready to drink your lemonade put some ice cubes in a glass and add 1/2 cup of the blue violet mixture. Next add 1 cup of the lemon mixture. If you are doing this with kids let them add the lemon for maximum amazement!
Enjoy!