Crystallized Edible Flowers
A Recipe and Method for Creating Candied Blossoms
Crystallizing, Frosting or Candying Edible Flowers and Herbs is an Easy Way to Create Amazing Decorations for Cakes and Pastries. An Easy to Follow Recipe!
19th century cooks had a sweet secret: the flowers in the back garden weren’t just there for show, you really could eat the daisies…or better yet, the violets, roses, nasturtiums, pansies, lilacs, carnations, cherry and apple blossoms – along with herb flowers like borage or lavender, rosemary and mint. Tulips are also edible – they taste a bit like a cross between peas and asparagus – but in past centuries were rarely consumed, because they were considered too costly a bloom to just toss into the salad.
Candied – also referred to as “frosted” or “crystallized” - flowers were one of the most popular ways of using the blossoms, as the crystallized flowers would keep for several weeks, once they had hardened, and looked exquisite perched atop cakes and pastries and used in other fanciful food presentations.
But crystallizing or candying edible flowers was just one of the ways flowers were – and are – used in cooking. Rose, orange, cherry and lavender blossoms can be steeped into flower waters that still hold a huge place in world cuisines. Rose petals (especially) can be “potted” – or preserved in small containers of unsalted butter for spreading on warm biscuits or scones. And many, many different sorts of flowers can form a bed for a fruit salad or make a unique ingredient in a basic field greens toss up.
Candying Flowers Recipe and Method:
You will need:
- Flower blossoms (see list above)
- 1 –2 egg whites (or about ¼ cup of the pasteurized variety)
- Finely granulated white sugar (about 1/2 cup)
- Tiny, clean, artist’s brush
- Cup of cool water
- Wax or parchment paper for drying the flowers
- Paper or cotton towels
Steps:
1. Cut the prettiest blossoms you can find at their peak of bloom, taking care to keep enough stem on them to allow you to hold them easily (3 to 4 inches).
2. Use only unsprayed flowers. This cannot be emphasized enough.
3. After picking the blossoms, gently – but thoroughly – wash them in cool water to remove every single speck of dirt, dust or unexpected life form.
4. Dry gently with absorbent paper or cotton towels and place each stem in a glass of cool water, until you actually are ready to frost the flowers.
5. Beat the whites from two or three fresh eggs with a whisk or fork, until they have lost their original heavy texture and become a bit frothy.
6. Place about a cup or two of finely granulated white sugar in a soup bowl - this will be used to dip the flowers.
7. Taking a single flower at a time, use the tiny brush to gently – but completely – coat the entire flower blossom, one petal at a time. Do NOT immerse the blossom in the egg white, as it causes the flower to take-up too much egg white. It will then not harden properly.
8. Dip the egg-washed blossom into the sugar, taking care to get the sugar onto each petal. Gently shake off any excess sugar.
9. Place the blossom on wax paper – or parchment paper – and snip the flower blossom off its stem-holder.
10. Allow the blossom to completely dry and harden.
11. Store in an airtight container – they will keep for weeks.
The candied flowers add an especially nice touch perched on a frosted cupcake or cake. Or top an iced tea with candied flowers for an unexpected touch! Check out another use for Candied Violets!
