Hawthorn Blossom: the Taste of May

It happens quite quickly — one week the buds are showing, the next the blossom is out in full, and the lanes and field margins are suddenly fragrant with something sweet and faintly heady. In older rural communities this was the smell of the season itself; the old name for hawthorn blossom was May blossom, because it was how you knew summer was coming.

Most people walk past it without a second thought. That's a shame, because hawthorn blossom is one of the more useful and interesting things the hedgerow gives you at this time of year.

Identification and timing

Hawthorn — Crataegus monogyna — is one of the most common hedgerow plants in Britain. The blossom appears on last year's thorny wood, usually from late April in the south and through May further north. The flowers are small, five-petalled, and white (occasionally pale pink), with prominent red stamens that give them a slightly pink-tinged centre. They grow in dense clusters and have a distinctive scent — sweet and floral, with a slightly yeasty or mushroomy undertone that some people find off-putting up close but which mellows beautifully when used in cooking or drinks.

Pick the flowers when they're freshly open — the flavour is at its best before the petals start to brown and fall. A good hawthorn hedge in full blossom will give you more than you could use. Pick in dry weather if you can; wet flowers deteriorate quickly and don't infuse as well.

What to do with it

Hawthorn blossom cordial is the classic starting point and it's worth making every year. Bring water and sugar to a boil to dissolve, take it off the heat, add a good quantity of blossom and some lemon zest, leave overnight, then strain and bottle. The result is pale, faintly floral, and works beautifully diluted with cold sparkling water or used as a mixer. It keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks, or can be frozen.

The flowers can be used raw in salads — they add a gentle sweetness and look beautiful. They work well with soft cheeses, with walnuts, with any of the bitter spring leaves like dandelion or hawthorn's own young leaves.

Hawthorn blossom also infuses well into cream or milk. Heat the cream gently with a generous handful of flowers, leave to steep off the heat for an hour, strain, and use in a panna cotta or a simple posset. The flavour is subtle but unmistakably floral — a genuinely seasonal dessert.

For something more robust, you can make a hawthorn blossom gin or vodka infusion: pack the flowers into a jar, cover with spirit, seal and leave for a few days, then strain. Good on its own over ice or used as the base for a spring cocktail.

A note on the smell

The scent of hawthorn blossom contains trimethylamine — the same compound that gives rotting fish its smell. In very high concentrations, or in warm, still air around a dense hedge, this can be quite noticeable. It's part of why the blossom was traditionally considered an ill omen when brought indoors: houses without refrigeration and with limited ventilation were sensitive to such things.

Once you know this, you can detect it on close inspection. But it doesn't affect the flavour in any meaningful way when used in cooking, and it burns off quickly in a cordial or infusion. It's one of those botanical curiosities worth knowing about rather than worrying about.

Don't miss it

Hawthorn blossom has one of the shorter seasons of the spring plants. You've got perhaps three weeks, depending on the weather. A warm spell can see it come and go very quickly; a cool, damp May will stretch the season out. Either way, it's worth going out of your way to find it while it's there.

The berries — haws — will be ready in autumn, and they're worth knowing about too. But that's a different season. For now, make the most of the blossom while the hedges are still white.