The Apothecary Pantry: Making Floral-Infused Honey for Cozy Reading Days

Plants and flowers amaze me daily. Growing from nothing but soil, sunshine, and water, these beautiful creatures stretch forth into the sky and blossom. Making little jars of honey infused with flowers all full of aroma and, perhaps, a bit of kindness, is a way to embrace those miracles and be part of the beauty of the moment. It is a way of grounding and enjoying life.

My current reads have been filled with floral moments that make me smile and inspired me to whip up some honey with dried flowers. I am looking forward to the day that the flowers have finished infusing! Then it will be time to pair floral-infused honey drizzled over a bit of cake or sweetening a cup of tea with my next blossom-filled cozy fantasy. In the meantime, please find a blossom-forward reading list below for your springtime TBR and, if you wish, set up your own honey jars.

Lavender blossoms, rose petals, and chamomile flowers are perfect for infused honey crafting. You can also use many different flowers such as violets, lilacs, and linden, which are all especially nice when gathered fresh and infused into honey. Visit here to learn more about using fresh plants for making herbal honey. The method discussed here uses dried lavender, rose, and chamomile which can make their way into honeys with ease. Using dried herbs is wonderful because there is no water content from the plants to be concerned about which can cause spoilage. Plus, these dried flowers are often readily available all year round.

How To Infuse Honey With Dried Flowers

This herbal crafting project is a bit sticky and it is really as easy as 1, 2, 3!

Ingredients & Materials 

Dried flowers of your choice, you will need enough to fill your jar(s) about ⅓ of the way full.  If using fluffy flowers and leaves, you will need to fill your jar about ½ of the way with plant material.
Honey
Clean, dry jars with a tight fitting lid
Wooden stir-stick or butterknife

How to Make Your Floral Honey

Step #1: Fill the jar about a ⅓ of the way full of flowers or if you are using fluffy flowers about a ½ of the way full.

Step #2: Add the honey to the jar by simply pouring honey over the top of the flowers. The honey will slowly fill in around all those lovely little crevices and you may even see a few bubbles rise to the top!  Using your wooden stir-stick/butterknife gently stir the honey into the plants. Add more honey to make sure the plant material is covered, filling up your jar.

Step #3: Wait. (This is the hard part!) Firmly cap the jar and place your honey in a sunny window if you wish. Flip your floral honey jar over every day or so to ensure the herbs stay submerged. You may need to add more honey to the jar after as the herbs plump up with honey. 

After about 2 to 4 weeks your honey is ready to enjoy. Either strain the herbs out of the honey or enjoy the honey with the herbs still inside. You may need to gently warm the honey for straining if it is too thick to pour. If you choose to strain your honey, use the strained herbs to make a tasty cup of tea!

Benefits Of Floral Honey

This little guide here will help you to learn how to use herbal honey. This is a staple for any home apothecary, combining the beneficial properties of plants with the sweetness of honey. As you may know, honey can be wonderfully soothing for coughs, dry lungs and a sore throat. Flowers and herbs infused into honey adds to the soothing through the properties of the herbs. Lavender, rose, and chamomile offer wonderful calming and anti-inflammatory properties.

Honey makes a delightful addition to body care such as baths, scrubs, and lotion bars. It can be used on the face for a wonderful facial as well. 

And of course honey infused with dried flowers is lip-smackingly delicious! Lick it right off the spoon or use it in tea for a tasty treat! Floral honey is lovely on fresh fruit, toast, pancakes, waffles, muffins, scones and drizzled on ice cream. You can use it in place of regular honey in recipes like this honey cake inspired by Winnie the Pooh!

Blossom-Filled Cozy Fantasy Suggested Reading List 

There are so many books to choose from here are a few to consider! These stories are floral forward offering a comforting and lovely way to enjoy the beauty of flowers right from the pages of a book. 

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Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

Evergreen Academy by Heather Schneider

Evergreen Conservatory by Heather Schneider

The Mudpuddle Manual Of Natural Magic by Ciara Blume

The Honey Witch Sydney J. Shields

…and of course, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Until next time nerdy fairies, wishing you sweet floral honey moments.