Making Candied Violets and Violet Syrup

I have scads of violets in bloom right now:


So I decided to try my hand at making candied violets. I've never done it before - but when has that ever stopped me?

I snipped several lovely blooms - here are a few:

And dunked them into a mixture of egg whites slightly whipped with a little bit of water:

Then coated them with sugar:

And plunked them on a parchment-covered cookie sheet:

Until they were all done:

Right now they are drying in a slightly warm oven. I'm curious to see how they turn out. Something like this may take a few tries to get right.

The other day I made some violet syrup. It's supposed to be good for coughs, although I didn't use V. odorata because my violets are V. somethingelseita.

To make the syrup I gathered a quart of violet blossoms, leaves, and stems. I mashed them up with my mortar and pestle and then covered them with a quart of cool water. I let this sit overnight. The next morning I transferred everything to a pot and simmered it on low for fifteen minutes and then strained the violets out. To the liquid I added six cups of sugar and stirred over medium heat until the sugar was dissolved.


It made a lovely blue-green syrup which tastes like syrupy broccoli water :

And along with violets, my two apple trees are in full bloom and they smell heavenly: