This lilac butter is made using the enfleurage method, a french method for making perfume from some of the harder to capture floral scents, like lilacs but lots of non toxic skinsafe flowers can be used, like roses and lavender.
Tools & ingredients
Two glass dishes that stack together
Wax paper
Butter
Lilacs blossoms (stems and green bits removed)
Note-It's hard to say exactly how many flowers you need, as it will depend on how much butter you use, the size of your dish, and the size of your flower clusters.
I used a stick of butter (half a cup) and one cluster of lilac flowers per round of pressing, in a 5in by 5in glass dish.
You’ll need two containers that fit together so that you can seal the butter and lilac blossoms in an airtight fashion. Traditionally glass planes are used but we are doing it DIY style so two glass dishes that stack nicely work well. Glass pie pans, glass bread pans, glass tupperware, can all be used.
The idea behind enfleurage is to capture the floral scent of the flowers by layering and sealing the blossoms onto a layer of fat (traditionally lard but shea and coconut can be used as well) between two glass sheets (chassis) and the scent is absorbed by the fat. After 24 hours the lilac blossoms are removed and replaced over the same fat (lard) with a fresh layer of flowers.
For perfume made by the enfleurage process this step is repeated many times, sometimes up to thirty times.
For lilac butter the process is similar but butter is used instead of lard or shea butter and I have found the process only takes 2 or 3 rounds of fresh lilacs being pressed into butter, at least for my taste buds. But you can adjust to your own liking.
Lilac butter makes a light and floral butter that goes well with things like pancakes, scones, fresh crusty bread, or biscuits.
To Make Lilac Butter
Gather lilac blossoms that are clean (not near roads, cars, ect) and have not been treated or sprayed with anything.
*Make sure you are using the correct lilac, Common Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) for your recipe.
The Persian Lilac (Melia azedarach, also known as Chinaberry) is not edible and is toxic if ingested. So just be sure you know what you are harvesting.
If you don’t plan on rinsing them first, then gather dry clippings and let any little bugs crawl away before bringing them inside to use. If you do want to rinse them, rinse them gently under cold water, and lay flat on a towel to dry. Keep an eye on them to make sure you can pick off the blossoms and use them before they wilt.
Gently pull the little lilac blooms off the stems. Don’t use the stems and try to get all the green bits off, as this can bring a bitter flavor to the lilac butter.
In a glass baking dish spread a layer of soft butter using a spatula or large spoon. The layer of butter should be pretty thin, around a ¼ of inch thick.
Arrange the lilac blossoms in a single layer onto the soft butter, it's ok if they are slightly touching, but keep it to a single layer.
Then lay a piece of wax paper over the lilacs and place the second glass dish on top of the wax paper. Give it a little press to press the flowers into the butter. You don't want them to be completely smashed into the butter, but you do want to try and make it a tight fit, with a good seal. The whole point is that all the scent is absorbed by the fat and not escaping into the surrounding air.
On a side note you could also use a food grade plastic bag instead of wax paper, but I prefer the earth friendly non toxic wax paper. Wax paper is not the same as parchment paper. Parchment paper is coated with silicone. Wax paper is coated with wax and there are some earth friendly and non toxic brands available, meaning the wax is not petroleum based and the paper is compostable.
After 24 hours, remove the lilac blossoms and replace with fresh lilac blossoms onto the layer of butter and cover with wax paper and the second glass dish.
Repeat this whole process two or three times or until you have the scent and flavor you want for your lilac butter. When you have reached the scent you want, remove all the lilac blossoms and store the butter in an airtight container in the fridge. For the best taste use within a week.
I’ve seen recipes out there that incorporate lilac butter into baking, but I’ve also read that the scent fades quickly after baking. Lilac is fickle with heat, so I could see this happening with using it in baking, although lilac butter would make a fantastic frosting.
We usually just eat it on fresh bread, biscuits, and french toast. It's a fun spring treat after a long winter of heavier foods.
Enjoy!!