On Monday, for my Sabbath 'fun thing', I went for a wander looking for edible plants. I was particularly interested in nasturtiums and jasmine, both of which I'd recently learned could be used to make cordial. I was also wanting to see if I could ID some giant daisies that I was hoping might be edible oxeye daisies.
Success on all fronts!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3qjDz6g73FwU-KKDs4AyElT2WXnv63tVIXs3eyZVU1yXzxg11I4EbsPaku3Fdz-vCmKn2n8PL5UJsJVLhd5Vqc1xhhssY2VVx-Vy2nwIQCOZK5ylTyUdlCjTq-rKhjlw_B8sJlWVuHs3GYGqMUxHtfavV8FrzSFnyikEAd765LS16K45PaM5Bo2Z/s320/IMG_20220919_105241.jpg) |
nasturtium flowers - about 2/3 of an ice cream container worth
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUArMJcPPxRc8fMtWJMagBEaUj4_34DHY_T4uRERAeBvgU8BcIWbS-126c2oZu9bT0ugepz4TbggxDNT1ALQFtOk06SmuY8a_ZUyLt-Lw4ha_BvFZbrrRnDqAtnifAyvShOteOYM8i9QMSkGcEXiwmq-0scu4i2O34D7QrBFALbIJR6-SCCiRj04d/s320/IMG_20220919_110032.jpg) |
soaking in boiling hot sugar syrup
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVFId60SL5p9lho_hD3Wtgku9Mfq74DHb9uDZAHT0MVyW3mhjSGjzLRvUJRvkyMbpbPpo75DDjfxiXEIVF8OdmJwZERKJkZ0x6N3bdhyINxEhLr3h0OT6kZi0w88r9smpgLmbukIhxz0I7N8TZ_Bd2wJaHZHVASrN0zFsMnua7t0Sis08J0ziiUiJc/s320/IMG_20220919_110150.jpg) |
lots of jasmine flowers. They smelled amazing!
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMSyzMw2VFKCgkLFUNClfdk6AFa83CRmYFrslbnrTRxOYN_VQ-uUzdS67bvA2zgXdEpCl3EOcZWEoz2udhR6GhqfELa5CsGDcGkLb36PEH3fche2AjRsis1XfPDCd46khMe-FiA29niW_LVSwh07MrXBiutdSALG4kbx7LVJJXGELJ8MN9P91rLT9j/s320/IMG_20220919_112156.jpg) |
jasmine flowers, plucked off their stems and soaking in boiling hot sugar syrup
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXueYv07zCIUj1Mhb556zcSYhM5AG3D4kYlYEnhRXqbcEu1x0M4aDWb2JSHxWxA6qufTO2Bsg7udRQ51PsdDrw8NUr1Ut085K41xjFbN22pHSe37ufzaRIO5KplOR9ydKsPBXkFOLHPK5KSaDFlAxhBqUQYxPoxScJHbj6J2V0DYmIajSPXLymXzl/s320/IMG_20220919_131920.jpg) |
steeping overnight
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxX0w_CU_XdHk0Ja3p0v_OTWU8BTGGKkt4E6VFxrnG70nryVLhHLSqbEvd9VML6nau_h8ZDVc1KBcIuT4s3PWUP1wevOEuMO-rFAyZqyvNKU3u4nhLsU0H1N-ZNFd6EFjdIkDb5UN-j5TILSzcWY_baAIwFry3XnPbZXZCpj1PeJMS3jrl1UrBEui/s320/IMG_20220920_100614.jpg) |
after straining the next morning. The colours really surprised me - pink from the orange and yellow nasturtiums; yellow from the pink and white jasmine!
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BFWl-dHYqwbadHpDVMxZKjQOg9_O9XlhAm6QkzFr_Z_6dhq495u1D_yP0f8UxN3Bb2OaqiaQKxE5NmdWS8HgK11AAUyCp3yJy1qMcHg-pExza7zszEWK2nh_LtHxB-mLgmGNgKLH6kDdGZO9ebcimL3PlImXDAZaIaidjq0q-JBJea7W2ekKRuHb/s320/IMG_20220920_101530.jpg) |
bottled and ready to use. This one works nicely as a cordial, thinned down with plain water. It's unusual, but a nice mix of floral and spicy.
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHy--SJDAdTaMzpyH_wVuMu8Uv-whZDnxgtoFYdRW8mnOBVLAUSfs97p63uAHxzfG7pfjuqs6_xRBOvDMyC4_5W7uB-Wk4jEtmxsmWoVb3nlE1WSexAljGqkDCIez9b3tCUEteBe5r1mhp3xqcL0rolw-b_k_tpgU2Q_TH3OvSGZEqcZrqDv3YtTp/s320/IMG_20220920_162640.jpg) |
jasmine
'cordial', which turned out to be incredibly strong! About 1/2 a
teaspoon is all you need in a whole glass of water - hence the small
bottles I put it in. It's really nice added to ginger tea. I think
it'd be good mixed with a lime cordial. I think it'd be amazing in
icing, and also for jasmine jamun (i.e. gulab jamun, but with jasmine instead of rose).
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSEQ7JLg9FzjYbVSYbsvE10rtn_Zcw1EkBRRfdQh63sRoToo_jX8e7e86oD9KRYH5gqnSZmgp2VXdk1nP9WMbFioh-RzqfbEVRsO-e5DZ720n9D9OKiKrWFLV3GwJq2Ny_ANL4aBqy0YAMqrFmLZNBewN2fCeq8Axe5T910L2sVGQcFPDoVD_qxSA-/s320/IMG_20220922_121153.jpg) |
mint kefir also turned out even nicer with a hint of jasmine :-)
|
If you'd like to have a go, look at my notes on nasturtium cordial and sweet jasmine essence.
And the daisies were, indeed, oxeye daisies - with thanks to this site, which also listed the things they're most commonly confused with, meaning I'm pretty confident of my ID.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJjYsxMmYAXUguuVdm_sfO4OhdxhvJiD-jzCkA379hTygVPSDx1c6l0ARpzV2dqpFgNbC6FdAzyfhAbx6S81HXyAIjbsEkTm8JVPnmsRYzaxGdrU5AjdjP8SUZgaZSIzLWh-cuCKY4FyQQrEbtJpOFwfqZSktgTN0SpDUYmzbRyIa3JuWZeYBrW7bF/s320/IMG_20220919_114155.jpg) |
the leaves are currently stashed in our fridge. They're a curious flavour - bitter, perfumy and grassy all at once. I had some chopped over fried egg for lunch today it worked really well. I also think they'd be a nice addition to a salad, but in 'herb' rather than 'lettuce' quantities!
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8AYcaRgj4QdPrmW6ufzCOr6UXCyRDi1er_I7aCgVBvSUHVCriMeSLA4SdP-eLMPx1scYwuqNr5Imzo_fIIjA83CT0_s1r9ekuOXBFUxtAQeenbIOzr_QCb239ncY1W-BiWp9uUB_5SkGK6CGL5l8wG4JAUqZD6-V3P1E6_iNIn4salfQ2N67lTzL/s320/IMG_20220919_123905.jpg) |
and I'm enjoying the flowers on my dresser, in a vase that used to belong to my Grandma :-)
|
No comments:
Post a Comment