“Deep violets, you liken to The kindest eyes that look on you, Without a thought disloyal.”
~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Flowers in food, have you ever given it a second thought? In the East, flowers are more commonly used in cuisine than in the West. This harks back to the olden days when food was scarce, so enterprising housewives started experimenting by adding blossoms in their cooking. I'm quite sure there were several tragedies along the way, just so that we are able to enjoy eating the flowers we know to be safe today.
Over here, you will find Thai and Chinese food are often the ones infused with a variety of flowers. The dishes range from sweet to savory, but flowers are found in beverages and herbal remedies too. A few of the most used flowers off the top of my head are chrysanthemum, jasmine, cherry blossoms, peonies, chamomile, ginger flower, osmanthus, hibiscus, rose and many others. Growing up on predominantly spicy (but flower-less) Malay cuisine, I've had to slowly get used to tasting flowery flavors in my food. Now, however, it's an acquired taste I couldn't possibly live without and I make sure there's always some dried edible flowers in my pantry for hmm... cravings and experimentation.
