Entire flowers or specific parts of flowers may be used for enhancing the delicious tastes of foods and beverages. You may preserve these flowers in such a way that they can be used throughout the year.
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Flower Sugar
Take a clean, glass jar. Fill it with a mixture of chopped flower petals and granulated sugar; the ratio is 1:2. Let the jar stand for a week, until the sugar has absorbed the flavour and the moisture from the petals. The colourful, smooth-textured petals are wonderful final additions for cocktails and baked items.
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Flower Honey
Rosemary or lavender flowers provide strong-tasting honey, while rose and similar blooms provide fragrant honey. Take a reusable tea bag or cheesecloth. Place a whole cup of flowers within the teabag, or bundle them up in the cheesecloth. Add the bag or bundle to a pound of honey in a glass jar. Place the jar in a bright and sunny place for a week. Leave it for longer if the flavour is not to your liking. Then, remove the bag or bundle of petals.
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Flower Syrup
This recipe requires three cups of sugar, a cup of water and a cup of flowers. Mix all the ingredients together and boil them for around ten minutes. Strain the mixture and store in an airtight glass jar. The jar may be refrigerated for a period of two weeks. This syrup is a great topper for sugary items and beverages.
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Flower Butter
Mix half-a-pound of sweet butter and half-a-cup of flower petals together with a fork. When the resultant mixture appears like a log, wrap it well. It may be placed in the chiller for a period of six weeks, or simply placed in the refrigerator for a period of two weeks. Whenever required, just slice a section and use it as a topper or ingredient. It is suitable for salty and sweet dishes.
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Flower Tea and Fruit Leather
When rose flowers fade, they leave behind cherry-sized fruits known as ‘hips’. Wash and dry them. Cut the fruits in halves and remove the hairy seeds from inside. Dry them again. Use an oven for drying. Alternatively, create a kind of ‘hips’ garland and allow it to dry naturally. Whenever required, seeping them in hot water will give rose tea. A dried puree of the hips will give fruit leather.
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Flower Vodka
When you add half-a-cup of lavender or rose flower petals to two cups of vodka, you create an infusion. Allow this mixture to stand for 48 hours. Strain, and store in a clean glass jar. You may use other flower petals too.
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Flower Vinegar
Combine two cups of white wine vinegar and half-a-cup of flower petals in a glass jar. Place in a cool and dark place for a week. Now, strain the mixture, throwing away the flowers. Your vinegar may be stored in a nice glass jar.
Over 40 kinds of flowers are deemed as edible. You may experiment to your palate’s content!
