Colorful
Recipes
– Sweet
Blooms
Did you know that the
flowers
of 'Cats' pansies are edible?
Add a special, pleasant fresh taste
to your salad creations while turning
them
into a piece of art.
If you are expecting friends for an
aperitif, just prepare
several ice
cube trays, by adding one pansy
flower to each
cell to create "flowering
ice cubes".
Your friends will always
remember a very special evening!
SUGAR-FROSTED PRIMROSES
AND PANSIES
Coating flower petals with sugar is not
just a
simple but effective
method of
preservation,
it also
intensifies the
flowers' fine
aroma. Moreover, most
sugar frosted flowers are a lovely
sight.
The flowers
of pansies,
primroses, violets, cow-slips,
carnations
and roses have the
most decorative effect.
Sugar frosted flowers are ideal to decorate
cakes, cookies and
deserts. They are also
great on pies or whipped cream. With gum arabic instead of egg white as a “glue”, sugar
frosted
flowers stay good until well into the summer.
METHOD I
White of 1 egg
A handful of pansy flowers, all stems and green parts removed
Mint stems
Remove the white flower bases prior to sugar frosting the flowers.
Whip the white of the egg lightly and use a small paint brush
to spread the egg onto the petal surfaces and undersides.
METHOD II
Use the same ingredients as above, replacing the white of an
egg by gum arabic.
25 ml (0.88 fluid ounces / 1½ tablespoons) water or colorless
alcohol.
USING GUM ARABIC
1. Dissolve 5 ml (0.176 fluid ounces / 1 teaspoon) gum arabic
in 25 ml (0.88 fluid ounces / 1½ tablespoons) water
or colorless alcohol such as Vodka or Gin. (Gum arabic is available
from pharmacies and chemist's shops.)
2. Spread the solution on both sides of each petal. Sprinkle
with extra fine sugar.
3. Place on a wire rack and let dry in a warm place. Flowers
sugar frosted by this method will stay good for several months.
NOTE
To avoid salmonellas, pregnant women, babies, toddlers and the
elderly should not eat raw eggs. If in doubt, use egg white powder.
KITCHEN TIP
Sugar frosted pansy flowers will make any cake a holiday cake.
An orange or lemon flavored cake icing is the ideal partner because
the sour lemon taste harmonizes perfectly with the fine flavor
of the flowers.
Reference
„Der Geschmack von Blumen und Blüten“
Elisabeth Lestrieux and Jelena de Belder
Du Mont publishing house
ISBN 3-7701-8621-4
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