How to Make Magnolia Syrup: A Fragrant and Floral Recipe for Sweetening Your Day

Discover the spiritual benefits of magnolia flowers and learn to make Magnolia Syrup, a simple and delicious addition to your morning routine.

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Magnolias are an ancient species - so ancient that they are pollinated by beetles! A fact I recently learned from a friend of mine. 

We have a giant, beautiful Magnolia in our backyard, and for the past few years, she has tried to flower in late March and has been thwarted by an early frost. 

This year was the first in many years that she was able to fully bloom to completion. 

When the flowers started falling to the ground, I knew it was my chance to go collect some petals to use in a magnolia flower preparation (that I'd heard about on Instagram!). I chose to make flower syrup!

Why make a magnolia syrup?

I did it for a fun Spring activity, and to work with the spiritual benefits of Magnolia flowers. 

Magnolias represent faith, hope, and perseverance.

While a traditional flower essence is prepared differently, I believe you can still receive the energetic and spiritual benefits of the flower in any herbal preparation. 

Thus, working with Magnolia Flowers can help restore and renew one's sense of faith, help renew their spirituality, and assist in allowing one to remain hopeful for the future. Magnolia can also assist with renewing perseverance in a nurturing, mothering, and supportive way. 

To make the syrup, I mostly followed this recipe, and doubled it because I collected more flower petals than needed! 

Magnolia syrup is a sweet and floral syrup with a light, ginger-y taste that can be used as a sweetener in your tea or coffee, in sparkling waters, or in adult beverage preparations. Making magnolia syrup is really easy to do, and the result is a beautiful and fragrant syrup that can become a fun activity for springtime! 

Here's a quick and easy recipe for making magnolia syrup.

What You'll Need

- Sweetener. The recipe I used called for golden brown sugar. I used a mix of dark brown and white. 

- Roughly 1-2 cups of Magnolia flower petals that are still pink. You don't need much. Collect petals that are separate from the inner bud - this part is bitter. 

- Kitchen scale, if weighing

- Water

- Saucepan and spoon

- Fine mesh strainer. Like this. 

- Jar or container to store your syrup. I used a canning jar at first, and then ordered these fancy flip-top bottles, which I love! 

Magnolia Flower Syrup Recipe 

based off of this recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 cup magnolia petals
• 1 cup granulated sugar - I used half dark brown, half white sugar 
• 1 cup water
  

Instructions

1. Harvest your magnolia petals from the tree itself. Do not collect the buds or use them. You'll want to use a tree that hasn't been sprayed. 

2. Rinse your petals off with water

3. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water and bring to a simmer over low to medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. 

4. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the magnolia petals and reduce the heat to low. Let the mixture simmer for 20 minutes or so, until you smell the light ginger-y notes and the petals have browned. 

5. After 20 minutes, remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for a bit. 

6. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, into a glass dish, bowl, or jar, to remove the petals.

7. Transfer the syrup to your storage container (I used a glass jar, then moved it to a flip-top bottle later) and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. 

It will thicken up as it cools to be a thicker syrup consistency. 

Keep the in the refrigerator for 30 days or longer (spoilage will depend on your water, petals, etc.). Use your judgment here. You can also freeze it! 

Use a sweetener for coffee, tea, or other drinks!  The next morning after making this, I used it as a sweetener for the Earl Grey tea with cream I make myself every morning. 

The syrup has a light flowery ginger taste, in a pleasant way. Not overwhelming, and a really nice added flavor to the tea. 

Enjoy!