The Most Unusual World Dishes with Flowers

Flower cooking is not new; even in ancient Rome, gladiolus flowers were served to the table, flavored with vinegar and olive oil. And in English cookbooks of the 16th century, there are many recipes with flowers.

Today this direction is gaining popularity. Flowers contain a large number of useful compounds, amino acids, vitamins and trace elements. Chefs from European cuisines compete to create new, unusual and healthy dishes using flowers. Of course, floral desserts come first, but there are many more recipes for soups, side dishes, sauces, casseroles and drinks.

You can even try to cook some of the dishes yourself. For example flower jam. To do this, order a festive bouquet of flowers without a case, for example alstroemerias bouquet. After you enjoy the beauty of the composition in the interior, put the alstroemerias in a separate vase, because this type of flower lasts a long time, separate the petals from the roses and boil them with lemon and sugar. And voila: the bouquet of flowers didn’t wilt in vain, and you have a delicious dish on your table.

In addition, there are other recipes. We will talk about them below.

Candied violets

With their help in the Middle Ages, timid European youths declared their love to their chosen ones. And to this day, this also means an invitation to a cafe for candied violets. This sweet is especially loved in Vienna. It is impossible to leave the capital of Austria without a jar bought at the Demel confectionery. The one who supplied the candied petals to the legendary Queen Sissi.

Tulip bulbs baked at the stake

During the Second World War, they saved the lives of the Dutch who were dying of hunger. Today, dishes made from these flowers can be found in some Dutch and French restaurants.

A Vancouver restaurant offers a spring tulip menu every year. It includes a salad from the shoots of the plant. A portion of salad is placed inside a fresh bud. Boiled tulip buds taste like cabbage, they are served with fish sauce. Pies are stuffed with petals or tea is brewed with them.

Lily soup with asparagus

Lilies are graceful flowers that look like princesses. They can please not only external beauty, but also taste. Lilies contain a lot of protein, iron, and magnesium. They are also rich in useful carotene and vitamin P. Buds, bulbs and flower petals are used for cooking soups. It is customary to soak the buds and petals before cooking, and the onions are added to dishes in a fried form.

Nasturtium pate

Didn’t you expect that? Many simply love toast with nasturtium pate. It has a pungent taste, similar to watercress. Nasturtium flowers need to be crushed in a blender or meat grinder, add squeezed garlic and mix everything with mayonnaise – and voila! The resulting mixture is ideal for making sandwiches.

By the way, nasturtium stems are often used in the preparation of pasta with pesto.

Candied lotus seeds

In China and India, the lotus is considered the main flower of Buddhism. In the summer, sometimes the inhabitants of these countries admire the blooming lotuses, and in the fall they eat their roots, petals and seeds (lotus stems are poisonous).

Lotus roots are eaten raw and boiled, in some provinces of China they are made into starch. Candied roots, which look like openwork lace when cut, are a popular marmalade-like sweet. Tea is brewed from petals and stamens. Rice wrapped in a lotus leaf and cooked in a traditional bamboo steamer takes on an unusual jade color.

Deep-fried chrysanthemum petals

This dish is the signature dessert of Chinese restaurants, where it is served with a scoop of ice cream. For its preparation, a special vegetable variety of chrysanthemum – shungiku is used. The autumn menu of Japanese restaurants often includes dishes from the fleshy stems and leaves of this chrysanthemum, and in Japanese houses they serve sake cups, into which shungiku petals are thrown as a sign of the wish for longevity and prosperity.

Rose petal jam

In Turkey, it is called “Gulbesheker”, and Bulgarian housewives cook it in the famous Valley of Roses. In Arab shops you can buy a fragrant extract of rose petals, called rose water. It is used to flavor Turkish Delight, which is so delicious with black coffee. Rose water is included in the classic halva and Iranian ice cream. In England, along with fresh cucumbers, they add it to a refreshing bag.

Order a flower box to make jam yourself: separate the petals from the roses, wash them with water, add sugar and ?ook rose petal jam over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring. Add citric acid to the finished jam. In a few seconds, the citric acid will dissolve and you will get jam of incredible beauty and taste.

Wrap up

Of course, preparing dishes from flowers every day is quite problematic. But now you know how you can please yourself and surprise your guests. Be sure to try to include new recipes in the flower menu, we guarantee you will like it!