Virtual Herbwalk: Violet

Like so many important herbs viola is a common weed.  Found in so many lawns across the temperate Northern Hemisphere.  You can sometimes even find different types in one lawn.  Right now in April and the beginning of May is Violets time to shine.  Sometimes you can even spot a patch as you're driving here in South East PA.  The plant excitedly blooms as much as it possibly can for as long as it possibly can.  Noted forager Euell Gibbons is quoted as saying, 

"Unlike many wildflowers,
the violet is not harmed by picking its blossoms, for these showy flowers seldom or never produce seed anyway. Apparently
they are produced out of sheer exuberance,
so take all of them you want, for the more
you pick the more the plant will give."

 So how can you find viola and positively identify it?  It's said that viola likes it cool and more damp then dry .  However there is a patch growing right down the hill from me in full sun no where near a water source. Mostly it's seen around the edges near the tree line where it will have shade.  It spreads itself with a a seed pod that bursts open in the fall as well as sending runners out.  So if you find one plant, there will usually be more.  Violet is zygomorphic which means its symmetrical. It has five petals and heart shaped leaves with deep veins and a toothed edge .







The Doctrine of Signatures give us our first clue to its usefulness right there.  Because violet is is high in rutin it's a great builder for your capillaries.  Rutin has quercetin in it which is said to be anti inflammatory   Rutin also helps your body utilize vitamin C, which guess what?  Violet leaves are full of!  According to this great article about violet by Karen Vaughan, "264 mg of vitamin C and 20,000 IU of vitamin A per 100 grams of fresh leaf."  For realz, you can walk outside and eat this right now.  More commonly violet blossoms and leaves are used (probably because of all that vitamin C and A) in syrups and infusions for any type of upper respiratory catarrh and urinary tract infections.

 I wrote about how to make an infusion before.  There are many fun things you can make with medicinal herbs that go above and beyond infusions.

To make a syrup start by making an infusion as I wrote out before.  Use leaves, flowers, stems and all.  After you strain out the herb matter measure the amount of liquid you have and simmer it down to half in a pot on your stove.  When you've got about half remove from heat and add in an equal amount of honey.  So if you start with four cups of infusion, boil it down to two cups and add in two cups of honey.  Boom.  Syrup just happened.  This is a great way to get herbs into kids and people who are kind of iffy about the idea.  Plus you can use the syrup in different ways then you could use the infusion.  How about an herbal soda?  You can use the syrup to sweeten sparkling mineral water.

You can also make jelly and while I'm not sure how medicinal the jelly is, it's special and looks great on cream scones.  If you've never made jelly before please read over one of the many How to Make Jelly webpages there are out there.  It's not difficult, but you should know the basics.  And make sure everything is ready before hand.  You absolutely must sanitize your jars and lids.

How to Make Violet Jelly

4 cups violets, blossoms only

Four cups water

1/2 cup lemon juice, about 2 lemons

8 cups sugar (you can use any sugar you want, but keep in mind that this will affect the final color of your jelly)

1 package of dry pectin (3 ½ TBS)

The night before you plan to make your jelly, create an infusion by pouring four cups of boiling water over your violet flowers and let them steep.

When you are ready strain the infusion into a tall pot.  At this point you may notice that your infusion isn’t gorgeous and purple like you thought it would be, but is in fact deep bleu-green.  Add in the lemon juice and making sure to strain that as well.  Watch and marvel at the reaction as your infusion now becomes violet colored!

Stir 1 box of pectin into the infusion and bring to a boil.  Truth time, this is the recipe I used, however the pectin I used came in a big pouch.  I googled “how much pectin is in one pouch” the answer I found was 3 1/2 TBS.  However, my jelly hasn't jelled to my satisfaction.  I foolishly didn't spoon check, but you can.

After this comes to a full rolling boil, quickly add the sugar and return to a full boil for exactly 1 minute. (my recipe said 3 minutes, but subsequent jelly recipe reading shows 1 minute)  Skim off any foam and then ladle into your jars, quickly wipe the lips and tightly cap. It should fill about eight 12oz jelly jars.  

If you'd rather use honey and less of it at that, Amanda Soule has a recipe using Pomona pectin and honey on her blog here.

Other things you can do with violets, infuse vinegar for salad dressing, make tinctures out of vodka or brandy.    Most tinctures are made with vodka, but violet infused brandy sounds pretty lovely to me.  Creme de Violette is usually made from brandy and a little of some other spirit.  It's used in a drink called The Aviation which sounds pretty cool.

To make a tincture you follow the same method as an infusion.  Only instead of using boiling water, you use alcohol or vinegar.  Just like an infusion the herbs will absorb some of the liquid so you'll need to check later to make sure the herbs are completely covered with alcohol or vinegar.  This is important as any herbs that may be above the level of liquid can potentially decompose or get moldy.  Some herbs will float to the top, but usually sink after a few days.  Make sure you label your jar with what the tincture is and the date.  Put it in a cool dry place away from sunlight, if you can remember, shake it every once in a while.  Let it sit for 4-6 weeks.  After it's done infusing, strain your herbs from your new tincture and put your tincture into the same jar or dropper bottles.  

Violets are said to be effective against tumors.  It's known as a lymph mover meaning it can help with swollen lymph nodes.  It's classified as an alterative which means it's a blood cleanser and can be effective for any skin issues caused by polluted blood such as boils, acne, abscesses, psoriasis and eczema.  Susun Weed writes that it has an "affinity" for breasts and it makes sense to add it to a healthy breast tonic.  

You can also infuse violets in honey to add to your tea.  Simply layer violets/honey/violets/honey in a jar until it's full.  Treat it as you would a tincture by allowing it to sit in a cool, dark place for a few weeks.  Remember to make sure there are no violets popping over the top of the honey.  

You can also simply use the leaves and flowers in salad, make pretty ice cubes with the flowers or sugar them.  

There many uses for this lovely herb and seemingly almost as many ways to prepare it for consumption.  I encourage you to eat some violet leaves the next time you come across them.  Also read as much as you can .  Susun Weeds book Healing Wise devotes one of it's seven sections to violet.  Another one of my favorite herb books Opening Our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs has a page about violet as well.  Above all have fun, because an open heart takes in more.