Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Edible Flowers



From my research I found that the following flowers are edible;

Rose - Tastes like: sweet, aromatic flavor, stronger fragrance produces a stronger flavor. 
Be sure to remove the bitter white portion of the petals.

Pansy -    Tastes like: very mild sweet to tart flavor
Nasturtium - Buds are often pickled and used like capers. 
Tastes like: sweet, mildly pungent, peppery flavor

Calendula - Tastes like: poor man's saffron, spicy, tangy, peppery, adds a golden hue to foods
Dandelion - Tastes like: very young buds fried in butter taste similar to mushrooms. 
Makes a potent wine.

Lavender- Tastes like: floral, slightly perfumed flavor
Violet - Tastes like: sweet, nectar

There are several others as well. I decided to use two of the recipes that they
had provided for me and add my own spin on them. Lavender Chardonnay Jelly and Pansy Butter.

First there is a process to drying and using flowers that is important.
For the jelly you must use a dried lavender and here is the process;

courtesy of grit.com
 Drying Lavender:
Cut a bundle of lavender from your plant. When you cut each blossom, be sure to
 leave a few inches of green growth on the plant.
Going down to the woody portion of the stem is too extreme.
When you have enough blossoms to fill your hand, wrap a rubber band
around the bottom of the bundle, straighten a paperclip and use it as a
hook to hang the lavender bundle upside down in a dry, dark place.

The darkness helps the lavender retain its color, and drying it upside down
 helps lavender retain its blossom shape. Let the lavender dry for about a
 week until there is no moisture remaining on the stems in the center of the bundle.

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