A meal today has so much more to do than just its taste. Chefs make numerous efforts in plating one’s meal. Aesthetic plays so much more game in today’s world. Colors, dips, and garnishing go a long way in satisfying one’s palate. One such addition catching up to the trend has been flowers. Yes, flowers! As new as it may sound, edible flowers have just been a rediscovery of old-age culinary art by Chinese, Roman, Indian, and Middle Eastern Cultures alike (with a dash of elegance).
Speaking of which, roses absolutely top the list of edible flowers. One would have seen roses in various beverages, ice creams, desserts, and so on. Camomile and Lavender have been long known for their calming properties. Hibiscus and Jasmine teas have gained all the love they could. You have heard of the wide miracles of sunflower seeds, but were you aware of the fact that the petals were edible too? They possess a nutty taste. One other such recommendation is lilac topped with cream cheese and yogurt. Marigold was referred to as ‘poor man’s saffron’. But beware, not all of them are edible. Like fruits, some tempting ones could be highly poisonous, such as the lily of the valley which contains convallotoxin. Know your flowers before adding them to a dish.
Edible flowers are not difficult to grow. Some are easy to find in the vegetable garden. Arugula with its peppery flowers goes well into soups and salads, or the yellow flowers of Broccoli could be used as a garnish. Squash flowers with a wedge of cheese and some batter, then fry, could be your next tea party queen. The herbs category also has a huge plethora to offer, the basil flowers, the onion-flavored flowers of chive over a curry, the beautiful lavender flowers in one of your refreshing beverages, oregano flowers because who doesn’t love a dash of oregano, blue flowers of rosemary, and the list could go on forever.
So now, how do we use them? The first step is the plucking of flowers - always pluck them as close as possible to the serving time of the dish. This is where having a home garden helps. You could also store these in damp paper towels in the fridge. Coming to the packaging part of the edible flowers, the most prevalent ones are polyethylene trays. Transparent packaging also here plays a pivotal role in the marketing and sales of the commodity. The shelf life is close to 7-10 days when stored at 2-5 ‘C. This stays true for the antioxidative power of the flowers. With longer storage, organoleptic decay initiates, mainly with the discoloration of the petals and discoloration and some tissue browning. Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), is shown to bind to ethylene, thus delaying the senescent changes. As time progresses, technologies such as High hydrostatic pressure could prove to be beneficial in preserving them.
From a time when horticulture and floriculture existed as two independent fields, we have now come to a world where both have seemingly come together to common grounds, where flowers on the plate serve far more purpose than just appeal to the eyes. One major feature that comes in the way of the usage of flowers as an edible commodity, is that it is season dependent. Today, this has come to be an almost non-existent reason to keep flowers out of the plate, by an agronomic takeover of the edible species of flowers.
The nutraceutical properties of the flowers create a ‘new vegetable’ perspective for the flowers. The organoleptic properties further only add to this purpose. Corollas, a pigment abundantly present in flowers to attract pollinators, have a remarkably high antioxidative power. This power has been studied not just in the flower itself, but also post digestion in the human body highlighting its nutraceutical benefits. There have also been numerous experiments to show the medicinal properties. Chyrsanthenum flowers have exhibited anticancer properties, many other properties such as antimicrobial, prevention of liver injury, and anti-obesity amongst others have been found in specific species of flowers. Routinely integrating flowers in the diet would eventually lead to reaping the benefits of these beauties.
The composite nutraceutical activity of flowers is associated with carotenoids, flavonoids, simple phenolic acids, and essential oils. Apart from these, the flowers also contain a significant number of macronutrients and micronutrients. Potassium is found in Dianthus or Viola, Calcium, and Magnesium in Monarda, while zinc is found in a few others. To keep up with this growing interest in flowers as additions to our dishes, recent panel tests conducted have directed not only to the overall acceptance of the dishes, but also to the individual organoleptic attributes such as the spiciness, sweetness, and nuttiness of the flowers.
So, which flower are you picking up next to add to your kitchen ingredient? Do your research. Pick wisely, there are a lot of poisonous ones out there. The potential of this sector is immense, and the benefits they could provide in gastronomic innovations are not the ones to be taken for granted.
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