por Bridget O’Donnell
Aunque las lluvias de abril traen algunas flores comestibles, hay que investigar un poco para encontrarlas. Muchas plantas tienen propiedades medicinales si se preparan correctamente, pero es importante verificar qué partes de la planta se pueden comer o servir.
Ten en cuenta que ALGUNAS PARTES DE LAS PLANTAS SON VENENOSAS si se comen O se tocan.
Si eso no te ha disuadido del todo pero no has curado un jardín privado de
plantas comestibles
elija con cuidado dónde adquirirlas. La floristería probablemente no sea el mejor lugar para hacer la compra. Para que las flores conserven su belleza en el interior, a menudo se utilizan productos químicos para mantener su vida útil, literalmente. El inmenso mar de trébol o diente de león por el que pasaste en tu último paseo en bici puede ser igual de desconcertante. Las flores que ves a los lados de la carretera pueden estar expuestas a los gases de escape de los coches, a grandes volúmenes de tráfico peatonal y sí, algunas de esas verdes llevan subproductos de [wo]el mejor amigo del hombre. ¡Guau!
Si aún no estás preparado para experimentar con la Cocción (Flores), puedes probar a utilizar una Harina alternativa. Para espolvorear ligeramente la superficie, se puede utilizar harina de teff, trigo sarraceno, sorgo, cereales integrales y antiguos. Otros ingredientes naturales sin gluten y sin trigo, como los frutos secos, como el coco y las almendras, las legumbres y las semillas, también pueden molerse para hacer harina. Mezcle las harinas para crear un perfil de sabor único, pero preste atención a las características idiosincrásicas de cada una de las utilizadas. No hay dos harinas que tengan el mismo comportamiento y textura.
Title of Cookbook: Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers.
Author of Cookbook: Miche Bacher.
What prompted you to check out this cookbook? Tammy, one of my coworkers at the library, is an adventurous baker who saw a recipe online for “Honey Dandelion Shortbread Cookies.” She took the initiative and went dandelion picking then prepared and baked the dainty petals into a pretty little dessert which she graciously shared with me. Here I was familiar with the health benefits associated with eating the tender greens raw or, boiling and sautéing more mature leaves. I also periodically hear tea made from dried dandelion leaves and, dandelion wine have medicinal properties but I knew nothing beyond that.
Note: If you have allergies to the pollen of a particular flower, avoid consuming them in liquid or baked goods.
What did you like about this cookbook? Everything in this cookbook looks delicious. The desserts photographed are beautiful and full of color. To satiate my curiosity there are a number of recipes for each flower, including dandelion cookies, though a slightly different variation than my coworker’s. “The Basics” section located in the back of the book is simple and appears manageable which is encouraging.
What didn’t you like about this cookbook/website? If cooking with flowers is something that interests you, there’s little to dislike.
- Because I don’t bake dessert often I don’t own a lot of baking equipment, utensils or pans which may or may not influence the prep and cook time.
- Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing a longer “Resource” section. However, this cookbook was published in 2013. Since that time new businesses have opened and some no longer exist or carry the same merchandise to no fault of the author.
Favorite recipes (that you tried from the cookbook/website): [My coworker’s Honey] Dandelion [Shortbread] Cookies. Whether or not they were medicinal, I’m going to consider them healthy.
Did you alter the recipe or make any substitutions? I didn’t make them so I didn’t alter this recipe.
Would you recommend this cookbook/recipe? Yes, over Juliet Sear’s Botanical Baking, a lovely publication from the U.K. Although both authors write authoritative, it might be easier to source ingredients regionally from a book published right in the U.S.
References:
Books –
Botanical Baking: Contemporary Baking and Cake Decorating with Edible Flowers and Herbs / Juliet Sear.
Bakerita: 100+ No-Fuss Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Refined Sugar-Free Recipes for the Modern Baker / Rachel Conners with Mary Goodbody. (Primary focus: gluten-free and dietary restrictions. Edible flowers are shown in photos on pages 51 and 132.)
Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers / by Miche Bacher ; photography by Miana Jun.
Edible Plants: A Photographic Survey of the Wild Edible Botanicals of North America / Jimmy W. Fike. (Informative book with amazing pictures. Photographs are a negative of the flattened plant with the edible parts shown in color. This is not a cookbook.)
Flavor Flours: A New Way to Bake with Teff, Buckwheat, Sorghum, Other Whole & Ancient Grains, Nuts & Non-Wheat Flours / Alice Medrich with Maya Klein.
The Homemade Flour Cookbook: the Home Cook’s Guide to Milling Nutritious Flours and Creating Delicious Recipes with Every Grain, Legume, Nut, and Seed from A-Z / Erin Alderson, creator and founder of the blog Naturally Ella.
Websites –
Cherry Valley Organics – retailer for organic products including edible flowers.
Freshly Preserved – retailer for freeze-dried fruits and vegetables including edible flowers.
Honey Dandelion Shortbread Cookies / Amy Bartlett (Savory Moments).
Some people may remember homophones from their English grammar. There are about seven sprinkled into this post. A few examples not found in this post include: hoarse (throat, voice) – horse (riding), soul (you have a beautiful) – sole (owner, fish, shoes), sun – son, War (make love not…) – wore (clothes).
Quick Subject links to the Library catalog:
Cooking (Wild foods) – foraging
Flour. (Results from a key word search can be Refined. Under Found In, check the box next to “Title,” “Subject,” or “Author.”)
Flowers. (Vega, New Catalog)
Food allergy — Diet therapy — Recipes. (Vega, New Catalog)