Comments (0)A Cup of Flower
Great Recipes and Growing Tips
April 11, 2008Written By Linda L. Esterson
No one ever said food can’t be beautiful.
We use flowers to decorate inside and outside, in vases and in our landscapes. But did you ever think about flowers as food?
“Flowers are always looked at as beautiful and not recognized as food,” says Brian Sanderoff, owner of The Flying Avocado, along with partner Ray Linish. “Many flowers are nutritious also.”
A number of varieties of flowers are edible and some even offer a sweet flavor. They’re great for garnishes, of course, as well as mixing in salads and sauces. But using them requires a little thought.
Diane Bukatman, owner of For the Love of Food, offers a suggestion for cooking with edible flowers, especially with sauces and creamy desserts.
“Keep in mind that heat will kill the flower,” says Bukatman, whose services include catering and custom cooking classes in her Reisterstown kitchen. “Steep the petals to extract flavor and color and then strain them out.”
When cooking with edible flowers, don’t use the entire supply. Save some to use for garnishing. “They don’t look pretty after cooking with them,” Bukatman explains.
It’s also important to remember that not every flower is edible and, even with those that are, not every part of the flower is edible.
Apple flowers, for instance, are edible. But the flower’s seeds contain cyanide. Ingesting too much of the apple seeds can make people sick. With rhubarb, only the stalks are edible; the leaves are highly toxic.
“Even if they’re beautiful,” Bukatman says, “don’t assume people won’t eat it. If it’s on the plate, they’ll assume it is edible.”
It’s also important to verify that the flowers are grown without pesticides, which, of course, are toxic for humans.
CHICKEN STIR-FRY WITH LILY BUDS
Created by: Chef Jessica Seagraves, The Flying Avocado
2 Tbsp dark sesame oil, divided
3 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
2 lbs free range chicken breast meat, skinless and boneless
3 carrots, peeled and julienned
4 stalks of celery, julienned
1 red onion, julienned
1/4 cup long green beans, diced
12 shitake mushrooms, stems trimmed and cleaned
1 head bok choy, chopped
12 daylily buds
Sauce:
3 tsp. honey
4 Tbsp soy sauce
3 tsp pineapple juice
4 green onions, sliced fine for garnish
1. Heat one tablespoon oil in sauté pan over medium heat. Add garlic and stir.
2. Place chicken into pan and brown for 4 minutes each side. Remove from pan, slice into strips and set aside.
3. Heat remaining oil in a wok over high heat. Add vegetables and flowers. Combine sauce ingredients and mix into the stir-fry. Return chicken strips to the pan and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Serve over your favorite rice.
CANDIED FLOWER PETALS
This works wonderfully on any edible flower petal. My favorites are apple blossoms, rose petals and pansies.
1 cup or more superfine sugar
2 egg whites, plus 1/4 tsp water, frothed together with a fork
Flowers to be candied
1. Gently pull petals off flowers.
2. Using a fine-tipped paintbrush, gently brush some egg whites over the top and bottom of petals.
3. Sprinkle the sugar over the petals, front and back, then place the flower on a parchment lined cookie sheet to dry for at least 24 hours.
4. When the flowers are completely dry, you can store them in a plastic container. If you are planning on storing them for awhile, you might want to get a couple of silica gel packets to place in there with them to wick up any moisture.
ROSE PETAL CRÈME BRÛLÉE
Serves 4
5 large egg yolk 8 non-treated red or pink fresh rose petals
½ cup granulated sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream granulated sugar for sprinkling
1) Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 300 F.
2) Whisk egg yolks and sugar in medium bowl until well combined. Bring cream and rose petals just to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan. As soon as it reaches a boil remove the pot from heat, cover and allow rose petals to steep in the cream 20 minutes.
3) Return cream and rose petals to a simmer. Strain out the rose petals and gradually whisk hot rose cream mixture into yolk mixture whisking constantly so as not to curdle yolks. Mix in vanilla. Set bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice water (an ice bath) and allow to cool. When custard mixture is cold ladle it into 4 crème brûlée cups.
4) Place cups in large baking pan. Add enough hot water to pan to come halfway up sides of cups. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake until custards are barely set in center, about 45 minutes until the custard is set when jiggled. Remove custards from water and cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5) Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons sugar over each custard. Using a torch or broiler, brûlée the tops of the custards until the sugar is evenly caramelized, watching carefully so it doesn’t burn and the custard beneath doesn’t cook, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately sprinkled with 1 or 2 candied rose petals.
ROSE PETAL SUGAR COOKIES
6oz unsalted butter, softened
½ tsp rose extract*
1 cup sugar +more for sprinkling
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp dried rose petals*
2 – 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 1arge egg + 1 yolk
¼ tsp salt
*Available in natural foods markets
1) In a food processor, process ¼ cup sugar with rose petals till rose petals are pulverized.
2) In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and rose petal sugar until creamy. Add the egg + yolk, scraping down after each addition and mixing to blend completely.
3) Combine the rose extract and vanilla and blend into the mixture.
4) Combine salt and flour and slowly add the mixture to the butter/sugar mixture in the bowl, mixing till smooth, but no longer. Be careful not to over mix, or you will get tough cookies.