Redbud recipes to try before spring ends
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Some redbud flowers and syrup can make any latte taste like Pittsburgh spring. Photo: Ryan Deto/Axios
The native Eastern redbud tree is in full bloom, adding vibrant pink to the landscape, and also providing a tasty snack if you know how to cook with the flowers.
Why it matters: Foraging for ramps, special mushrooms or other wild goodies can be arduous, but celebrating native food by picking redbud flowers is often as easy as walking a few hundred yards from your home.
Yes, but: Redbud trees are beginning to leaf and are losing their flowers, so hurry up before they are gone.
Here are three simple recipes using redbud flowers.
Redbud simple syrup
Floral notes give this syrup a perfect springtime flavor. Add it to a latte, and don't forget to sprinkle some flowers on top of the foam to really bring out the redbuds' naturally sweet aroma.
- The recipe below is from "Victuals," an Appalachian cookbook by Ronni Lundy.
Makes 1 ½ cups.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup fresh redbud blossoms, stems removed, rinsed and patted dry
Directions:
- Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking until boiling, then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for three minutes.
- Transfer syrup to a heatproof bowl and allow it to cool until it is about 100 degrees. Gently fold in the blossoms. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to steep overnight. Store in a lidded jar, out of the light.
- Do not refrigerate. It will keep for two to three days.
Redbud capers
Unopened redbud flowers shine in some brine. Add the capers to deviled eggs for a simple and oddly satisfying treat, not to mention some pretty flashes of purple. Just remember to retain some of the brine to use in your deviled egg recipe. Recipe also from "Victuals."
Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup unopened redbud flowers, stems removed, rinsed and drained
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Directions:
- Sterilize a jar and cool on a clean cloth.
- Place redbuds in the jar.
- In a small bowl, combine vinegar and salt. Stir until salt is dissolved.
- Pour over redbuds and use a smaller jar or cup to keep redbuds submerged in liquid, since most will just float on the surface and not soak in the brine.
- Keep at room temperature, out of sunlight for three days.
- Can keep covered in the refrigerator for several weeks.
Redbud relish
I created this sweet relish recipe. It works as a good replacement for pickle relish and pops with a dark fuchsia color. I added it to a ham salad the other day and it worked perfectly. Try it on a hot dog!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup redbud flowers, stems removed
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
- Soak redbuds in salted water for at least one hour, then drain.
- Mix apple cider vinegar and sugar in a pot, bring to a boil, and then cook down over medium-high heat for two minutes.
- Add redbuds to pot and simmer over low or medium-low heat for four to five minutes so that redbuds are cooked but still hold their shape.
- Cool before serving. Cover and can refrigerate for up to a week.