Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth with Flowers
Violets are not
the only flower that can be candied. Many spring flowers with small, delicate
blossoms have a sweet, somewhat spicy flavor that is enhanced by dipping them in
sugar. It goes without saying that any flowers that you gather for eating should
have been grown without the use of pesticide - by growing them yourself, you can
be sure that they're untreated. A Candy Fleurist Garden that blooms throughout
the summer can include:
Violets -
Purple,
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violets are among the first flowers to bloom in the spring. They spread easily,
and grow happily when transplanted into a garden bed - and you do want to
confine them to a bed unless you love the look of a full carpet of blooms
spreading across your lawn,
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Pansies - A relative of violets,
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just as delicately flavored and can be used as a substitute in recipes that call
for violets. They make beautiful border flowers to boot,
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boots.
Angelica - These delicate, lacy white flowers can be sprinkled
in salads - but the stems and shoots make a delicious traditional candy that
tastes a bit like licorice with a hint of mint.
Roses - Candied rose
petals and rose syrup were mainstays in Victorian cooking. Sweet delicately
flavored rose syrup gives baklava its characteristic flavor, and is a perfect
foil for cardamom in Indian recipes.
To candy flowers from your garden:
Violets and pansies can be candied whole,
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be separated into petals,
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Most recipes for candied flowers call for the use of raw egg whites. Using a
confectioner's powdered egg white instead reduces risk of salmonella.
Mix
powdered egg white according to package directions (equivalent of one egg
white). Spread a cup of superfine sugar in a flat bottomed pan. Carefully dip
each flower into the egg white,
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Use a fork to gently turn the flower so that all surfaces of the petals are
covered. Lift out of sugar and lay on a screen or drying rack till completely
dry. Apple and cherry blossoms can also be candied the same way.
A Soup,
Salad and Savory Flower Garden Early summer squash blossoms may be dipped in egg
and flour, then fried in olive oil with garlic. The blossoms have a sweet, nutty
flavor that is like nothing else. Other garden flowers that are delicious in
soups and salads include:
Borage - Like the leaves, borage flowers are
delicious in salads and cold soups. They have a cool, cucumber like taste that
translates well from flower garden to kitchen table.
Carnations - The
flavor is as spicy as the scent. Carefully separate the petals from the bitter
white of the flower's base and sprinkle in salads for a surprising touch of
color and spice.
Daylilies - Like squash blossoms, day lilies have a
mildly sweet, nutty flavor that many people think varies by color. Dredged in
flour and dipped in egg, fried daylilies are quite succulent and unique in
flavor.
These are just a small sampling of the many edible flowers from
your garden. Be careful in your taste-testing. If you are not sute if a flower
is edible do not eat it.