Gather the lilac. Choose vibrant lilac blooms that have just opened and that aren't yet turning brown.DO NOT WASH THE FLOWERS.
Remove single flowers from the branch and pluck them one by one into a small bowl.
Place a couple of tablespoons of sugar in the bottom of a jar.
Layer about a heaping tablespoon of lilac blossoms on top of the sugar.
Repeat the layers, ending with sugar as the top layer.
Seal! Put a lid on the jar and shake the contents. Repeat the shake once more that same day and store the sugar for 24 hours in a dark cool place.
The sugar should already be nicely infused with beautiful flavor after 24 hours. UPDATE: I used to let the sugar infuse for several days up to a week, shaking the jar once a day. It works 3 times out of four. However, some batches got a weird taste. I did some more testing, and found that keeping the flowers in the sugar for longer than 3-4 days sometimes gives the sugar an off taste from the flowers losing their vigor. So now,I remove the flowers after 24 hours of infusing And store the sugar.
You can gently shake it or stir through the sugar with a spoon to break up the clumps.
It's super important to store the sugar in a dark cool place.
Lilac Lemonade: