big fan of making wild violet syrup. my childhood neighbourhood had huge swathes of these guys, look like mini pansys (mainly bc pansy's are related to the wild violet). the more purple, and the darker the purple, the better tasting/more flavor there is!
making the syrup/jelly is really pretty easy. make a strong infusion, add gelatin + sugar, following directions for a tea jelly. you can do the same with pretty much any edible flower. i've done it with roses, dandelion (not my favorite), and japanese honeysuckles (use the foraged flower quickly, they brown and change flavor if stored for more than a few hours).
usually an arm basket of violets will make about 16-20 oz of finished product, depending on how densely packed the basket is.
the heart shaped leaves are an indicator that this is the right plant. there are a few varieties of slight leaf variation. they grow in clumps or groundcover, depending on the light levels. they're also really adaptive to transplant and will thrive/grow bigger if taken from the wild and pampered. the wild violet plants that i took care of in my garden were at least three times as big as a wild plant. flowers are still the same size, and taste the same.
