Homemade Lilac Ginger Ale for a May Kitchen Challenge

Full confession: Mine exploded when I opened it. I was so smug beforehand because I placed the bottle in the bathtub for the required 48 hours processing time with the shower curtain closed, just in case. Nothing happened. Overconfident much?  When I opened the bottle, it exploded all over the fancy flowing chiffon shirt I was wearing but I managed to save about half of the liquid.

What? You don’t dress up to photograph your blog posts? Jeesh.

Like Lindsay, I love ginger ale. I don’t drink soda in general but occasionally make an exception for ginger ale. After reading her post I was motivated to make my own homemade version. The opportunity to use up more of the lilac syrup I made from the fresh lilacs in my garden further spurred me on.

After posts on lilac flavored chocolate truffles, scones, French macarons, cupcakes and now soda,  I’m a little sad that my little lilacpalooza has now come to an end,  But wait! There’s more! I did make two more recipes but I will save them for another time. 

Homemade Lilac Ginger Ale

I followed a very easy recipe from Alton Brown suggested in the May Kitchen Challenge post. I added a 1/3 cup of homemade lilac syrup. The result was surprisingly delicious. the lilac syrup gave the ginger ale a little floral something extra.

For the Lilac Syrup:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• One cup Water
• 1+1/2 cups fresh lilac blossoms
• A few drops of purple food coloring (optional)

Directions:

• Rinse the lilac blossoms well and gently pat dry with paper towels.
• Place the flowers sugar and water together in a saucepan and heat on low.
• When the mixture starts to boil turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 10 minutes until the mixture thickens.
• Stir in the food coloring if desired
• Remove from heat, strain out the flowers and let cool completely.
• Place in sealed jar and store in a cool dark place.