Honeysuckle flowers have such a unique and delicious flavor. Their sweet and delicious nectar provides such a unique, wildflower flavor – mixed with a citrus burst and a little sugar – this syrup is so good.
We just bought a new house and I was kind of sad when we moved because our old house was surrounded by honeysuckle bushes. Turns out, the woods around our new house is also loaded with them. (Two different kinds actually!) I was SO excited when we figured that out.
Honeysuckle is so versatile – besides just sucking out the nectar, you can use them to make a rich, wildflower-tasting simple syrup to add to cocktails and drinks, and a delicious, earthy, unsweetened tea. (If you combine the two – boy, is that good.) We also love to dehydrate the honeysuckle flowers for use throughout the year.
Table of Contents
- 🥘 Ingredient Notes
- 🍽 Equipment Needed
- 🥣 How to Make It
- 🙋♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
- Different Types of Honeysuckle (Found in the Southeast)
- Here’s What Japanese Honeysuckle Looks Like:
- Here’s what Amur Honeysuckle looks like:
- 🍳 Serving Suggestions & Uses
- 🥫 How to Store Simple Syrup
- ✏️ Helpful Tips
- Other Fun Drink Recipes
- 📝 Recipe
🥘 Ingredient Notes
- Ripe Honeysuckle Blossoms – Pick the ones that are no longer white, just pale yellow and not dark and wilty.
- Sugar
- Orange Peels
- Water
🍽 Equipment Needed
- A small/medium-sized saucepan
- A metal sieve or strainer
- A big bowl
🥣 How to Make It
Honeysuckle Simple Syrup is so easy to make.
Begin by cleaning honeysuckle – submerge the flowers into a bowl of cold water and swish them around a little to get any bugs or dirt off.
Strain the flowers and remove the green bulb if any still have it.
Add the sugar, water, flowers, and orange peel to a small pot, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Note: You’re only using the orange peel. You can save the rest of the orange for a snack. (Pictures 1 – 5)
Remove the pot from heat, cover, and let the flowers and orange peels steep for 1 hour. (Picture 6 – 7)
Pour the mixture through a mesh sieve into a glass jar or other container. (Pictures 8 – 10)
Store in the fridge for up to a month and use as you would regular simple syrup.
🙋♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
Honeysuckle blossoms are ready to be picked when they are a pale yellow, but not yet wilting.
There are two kinds of honeysuckle that are prominent in the southeast – Amur and Japanese. Our old house in North Carolina had Japanese Honeysuckle and our new house in Tennessee has Japanese & Amur Honeysuckle. (The Amur honeysuckle has much smaller flowers with sadly, less nectar – and they are much more invasive – they spread like wildfire.) This article has a lot of information about the differences between the two and I cover this more below.
Different Types of Honeysuckle (Found in the Southeast)
Japanese Honeysuckle is the best for dehydrating, making tea, and making simple syrup.
Here’s What Japanese Honeysuckle Looks Like:
Amur Honeysuckle (pictured below) is more of an invasive weed that smells good but doesn’t have as much sweet nectar. Amur Honeysuckle also blooms a few weeks before Japanese Honeysuckle, at least in Tennessee.
Here’s what Amur Honeysuckle looks like:
As you can see, the Amur Honeysuckle flowers are much smaller and it grows as more of a bush – whereas the Japanese Honeysuckle has larger, trumpeting flowers that while still kind of bushy – are more of a vine that climbs on other plants.
🍳 Serving Suggestions & Uses
Use honeysuckle simple syrup as you would use regular simple syrup. We like to use it in tea & cocktails.
🥫 How to Store Simple Syrup
This simple syrup will last in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
✏️ Helpful Tips
- Make sure to pick honeysuckle blossoms only when they are ripe – if they are overly ripe or still a little green, they won’t taste as good or be as sweet.
- Use this simple syrup when making cocktails. We love making Honeysuckle Mojitos, Honeysuckle Sazeracs, and Honeysuckle Boozy Iced Tea.
- This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to make more. It can also be frozen.
Other Fun Drink Recipes
Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
📝 Recipe
Honeysuckle Simple Syrup
Equipment
- a large bowl
- a large pot
- a strainer or colander
Ingredients
- 1 cup honeysuckle flowers stems + leaves removed From the Japanese Honeysuckle plant
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 naval orange peel organic
Instructions
- Clean honeysuckle by dipping them into a bowl of cold water. Set aside.
- Remove the green bulb if any have it.
- Add the sugar, water, flowers, and orange peel to a small pot, and bring to a simmer. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.1 cup honeysuckle flowers, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup water, 1 naval orange peel
- Note: You’re only using the orange peel. You can eat the orange.
- Remove pot from heat, and let the flowers steep for 1 hour.
- Pour the mixture through a mesh sieve into a glass jar or other container. Store in the fridge for up to a month.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
