In an earlier post I wrote about all the wonderful edible flowers you could use to add fun and flavour to your meals. As well as using them fresh there are all sorts of ways of preserving them: best known are of course crystallising them or freezing in ice cubes but you can also pickle the petals and you can use the seed pods of nasturtium to make poor man’s capers.
Freezing in Ice Cubes
This doesn’t really need any instruction: pick and wash your flowers; put into ice cube trays and fill with water; freeze. Use to decorate your drinks – particularly good for iced water.
I used miniature feijoa (Bambina) flowers which looked very festive with mint; and borage with lemon and cucumber.
- Feijoa Bambina flowers
- Feijoa and mint
- Borage flowers
- Borage flowers with lemon and cucumber
Crystallising Flowers
You will need: flowers, an egg white, caster sugar (preferably superfine)
First choose your edible flowers. Violets, pansies and roses are commonly used but use whatever you have available and/or choose those that match whatever your colour scheme or theme is going to be.
Rinse the flowers in cold water and leave to dry. When dry put them on a flat surface such as a bread board or baking tray.
Beat an egg white until it is foamy. Brush the flowers all over with the egg white using a soft brush.
- Wash in ice cold water
- Dry on paper towel
- Brush with egg white
- Sprinkle with caster sugar
This recipe makes about a cup; you can halve, double or triple depending on how many seed pods you have:
2/3 cup nasturtium seed pods (harvest when young and light green)
1/4 cup salt
2 cups water
2/3 cup distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 bay leaf
- Keep seed pods submerged in brine
- Add bay leaf
- Cover with vinegar and seal
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