Blog

Friday 16 June 2017

Written by Elisabeth Gallagher

Flowers - a forgotten harvest

We often think of flowers as beautiful things to rest our eyes on in the garden, but flowers have been used for pollination, medicines and to repel and attract insects for hundreds of years.

Now, we are seeing many well-known restaurants serve dishes adorned with flowers which not only look, but also taste delicious! If you’re looking to add flowers to your cooking this winter, make sure you pick up some of our favourites including:
- Calendula
- Roses
- Cornflowers
- Fuchsias
- Lavender
- Salvia
- Violets
- Geraniums
- Nasturtiums
- Citrus flowers 
- Borage blossoms

Lavender ice cream recipe
Ingredients:
8 washed and dried stems of English lavender 
600 mL thickened cream
Rind of 1 small lemon
160g sugar
4 egg yolks

Method:
1. In a saucepan, put washed and dried stems of English lavender with the thick cream and lemon rind 
2. Heat until almost boiling, then stir in the sugar until dissolved
3. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl and set aside
4. Strain the lavender through a fine sieve and slowly pour into the bowl of egg yolks
5. Return the lavender and egg yolks to the pan and stir over low heat until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon
6. Freeze until frozen around the edge, but not in the centre
7. Beat mixture until smooth in a food processor or bowl
8. Freeze again and repeat this process twice more
9. Cover with greaseproof paper and freeze
Recipe serves 6-8