The Delicious Darling Buds of May

Enjoy Lilacs Indoors

The best time to cut lilac blossoms is early in the morning when they’re fully hydrated. Cut the stems with sharp pruning shears, then immediately plunge the cut stems into a bucket of water. Get a clean vase ready for the flowers. Add fresh water and a floral preservative. Remove all leaves that would be underwater in the vase. Recut the stems at a 45-degree angle and arrange the lilacs in the prepared container. Set the vase in indirect light and enjoy. Recut the stems and add more water, as needed, to prevent wilting. —From BHG.

Lilacs are positively captivating.

It’s a sure sign that summer is coming when the garden is abloom in their enchanting shades of purple, pink, and white.

And, o, the fragrance! Distinct and sweet, the scent of lilacs wafts through open windows, flooding me with girlhood memories of my grandmother and the lilacs that grew wild at the side of her house.

Cutting a lush bouquet for the dinner table is a given. But did you know lilac blossoms are edible?

Fragrant and slightly bitter, lilacs have a distinctly lemon flavor that varies from plant to plant. Their beautiful blossoms are perfect in and on desserts and crystallized with egg whites and sugar.

Cooking with Lilac Blossoms

Lilac Coconut Cream Tarts

Lilac Scones with Rhubarb Curd

Old-Fashioned Lilac Jelly

Feather Light Cake with Lilac Infused Creme Patissiere and Lemon Curd

Nut Butter and Lilac Cookies

Lilac and Lemon Scones

Earl Grey and Lemon Vertical Roll Cake with Lilacs

Lilac and Blackberry Pavlovas

Crystallized Lilac Petit Fours

Lilac Cupcakes

Lilac Cream Tarts

Strawberry Jelly and Vanilla Cream Brioche Doughnuts with Lilac Sugar

Lemon and Lilac Cake

Lilac Margaritas

recommended read

Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers
By Miche Bacher (Author) and Miana Jun (Photographer)

This easy-to-use cookbook is brimming with scrumptious botanical treats, from sweet violet cupcakes, pansy petal pancakes, daylily cheesecake, and rosemary flower margaritas to savory sunflower chickpea salad, chive blossom vinaigrette, herb flower pesto, and mango orchid sticky rice. Over 100 recipes with tips and tricks for finding, cleaning, and preparing edible blossoms. BUY THE BOOK