Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Flowers in the Kitchen

For some time I've been playing with the idea of using the above hibiscus flowers in a recipe. Well soon we shall see that recipe in action in a coming soon to a monitor near you video clip.

But I also wanted to comment on the general use of flowers in food. Many times I've seen edible flowers tossed in salads or used as a garnish. As pretty as this many seem it's overdone and serves very little purpose in a dish. It's IMO the culinary equivalent of curly parsley on a plate in the early 80s. If the flowers serve a functional flavor or purpose in the dish more power to you but if they're there just to be seen and not tasted I question there use.

Who had the soapbox next?

2 comments:

  1. If the old saying is that you eat with your eyes first is true, then why is a flower garnish a bad thing? Are you against all garnishes?

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  2. I'm not against all garnishes, just the ones that are non-functional to a dish and/or overused.

    There are dishes where flowers can play a great role in both bringing visual and flavor elements to a plate. But just adding flowers to a plate is the same idea of curly parsley sitting next to a baked potato.

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