The flowers are beautiful. There are more and more cauliflower in the new menu, which makes people drool at a glance. In addition, all kinds of emerging private restaurants also use flowers as raw materials, which makes people love not only the beauty of flowers, but also the deliciousness of flowers. Summer is hot and dry. Flowers placed in the living room can not only bring you cool sight and smell, but also give you a wonderful and refreshing taste experience from the inside out, which can relieve summer heat, strengthen the spleen and benefit the stomach, and help you spend the summer safely with intimate protection.

What do you know about edible flowers?

Edible flowers, such as gorgeous pomegranate and bright red medlar, are not only nutritious, but also have the functions of expelling worms, stopping diarrhea, tonifying kidney and improving eyesight. Huangguo and lotus seeds are excellent tonics for invigorating spleen and removing dampness, benefiting kidney and astringent essence. Lily, Polygonatum odoratum and other plants have beautiful shapes and pleasant flowers, and their underground bulbs harvested after autumn are also edible treasures. In recent years, there are dozens of health drinks made of flowers. Common ones are: rose health drink, chrysanthemum tea, apocynum tea, cassia seed tea, honeysuckle tea, golden lotus tea and so on. Cold drinks and health drinks with wild flowers and cultivated flowers as raw materials are reaching a climax, which has aroused widespread concern all over the world. Other uses, such as using magnolia and jasmine to make tea; Make cakes with osmanthus and roses; Extract spices from gardenia and violets; The leaves of Amorphophallus konjac and banana are thick, and the tubers can be processed into starch, which is a nutritious food.

■ Special reminder

Not every kind of flower is edible, but some flowers are poisonous, such as oleander, corn poppy, rhododendron, narcissus, Catharanthus roseus, Datura stramonium, sea taro, Lycoris flavescens, lily, cicada and so on. These flowers are inedible. Common edible flowers: chrysanthemum, rose, jasmine, osmanthus, lotus, cherry blossom, orchid, lily, rape, carnation, cauliflower, Luoshen flower, etc.

Trilogy of flower consumption

First, choose fresh and pure flowers.

1. Try to choose flowers that are not polluted by pesticides. If they are contaminated with pesticides, they must be cleaned.

2. Try to choose flowers that have just opened.

Secondly, soak the flowers before cooking. Take the whole flower apart, remove the calyx, then take off the petals one by one and soak them in clear water for 2-3 hours.

Finally, choose the appropriate cooking method.

Scented tea: dry the flowers and drink them.

Practice: Remove the calyx and pedicel from the bud or newly opened flower, spread the corolla downward into a thin layer, and dry it with slow fire or oven. When drying, turn it over from time to time to make it evenly heated. After drying, put it in a sealed container and put it in the refrigerator for refrigeration. When drinking, it is brewed directly with hot water, and crystal sugar and honey can be added to increase sweetness.

Suitable flower species: rose, chrysanthemum, lotus, osmanthus, water lily, camellia, jasmine, pear, gardenia, lavender, cherry blossom, magnolia and so on.

Flower wine: Soak flowers or dried petals in wine.

Practice: soak the petals in salt water for 2 hours, remove astringency and sterilization, take them out and dry in the shade, add them to white wine, and add a proper amount of rock sugar at the same time. After sealing, put it in a cool place for 2-3 months, so that the fragrance and color of the flowers can fully blend with the wine, and then open it for drinking. Suitable flower species: chrysanthemum, dandelion, osmanthus, jasmine, rose, orchid, plum blossom, camellia, cherry blossom, lotus, magnolia, pansy and so on.

Flower porridge: make the petals into porridge with rice and water.

Practice: soak the petals in salt water for 2 hours, remove astringency and sterilize, then add rice and water to cook.

Suitable flower species: rose, lotus, osmanthus, plum blossom, magnolia, chrysanthemum, lily, lily, etc.

preserved fruit

Practice: Wipe the petals with salt, wash them with cold boiled water, drain them, add sugar according to the ratio of petals to sugar 1:2, and marinate them in a sealed container for 3 days before eating. Applicable flower types: rose, chrysanthemum, luoshen, jasmine, orchid, Zhu Jin, hibiscus mutabilis, gardenia, lotus, camellia, plum blossom, magnolia flower, lily, cherry blossom, etc.

Stew: Flowers with medicinal properties or rich flavor can be treated by stewing. Practice 1: pour in water or broth, and the main ingredients (chicken, fish, etc. ), seasoning, etc. Directly into the pot, bring to a boil with high fire, then simmer with low fire, add petals, turn off the fire and then take out the pot. Practice 2: Put petals and other materials into the pot for stewing. This method will make the soup full of flowers, but the petals will be boiled. Practice 3: steam the petals in a small pot and add them to the cooked soup. Suitable flower species: lily, chrysanthemum, lotus, lily, platycodon grandiflorum, thistle, magnolia, epiphyllum, trollius, tuberose, etc.

Hot pot: the seasoning of hot pot.

Practice: soak the petals in salt water for 2 hours, remove astringency and sterilization, and put them into hot pot soup.

Suitable flower species: cauliflower, epiphyllum, tuberose, rape flower, Zhu Jin, chrysanthemum, wild ginger flower, hollyhock, etc.

Season cold food with sauce.

Practice: add salt to the petals first, generally rub them with salt, put them in a container, take them out before eating, wash away the salt with boiling water, and add some seasonings, such as sesame oil. When ironing, in order to avoid discoloration, time should be reduced as much as possible. Put the flowers in hot water and take them out quickly. Suitable flower species: rose, chrysanthemum, orchid, osmanthus, violet, carnation, pear, lotus, camellia, jasmine, lily, etc. ? Youzhengzha

Practice: soak the petals in salt water for 2 hours, wrap them in batter made of flour, egg juice and water, and fry them in oil pan until golden brown. Suitable flower species: rose, magnolia, marigold, towel gourd, chrysanthemum, platycodon grandiflorum, hibiscus mutabilis, Zhu Jin, lotus, wisteria, lily, tuberose, gardenia, trollius chinensis, canna flower, etc.

Unsuitable flower species: osmanthus fragrans.

Quick frying

Practice: Stir-fry tenderloin, chicken and vegetables first. In oil. When the pot is ready, mix in the fresh petals and stir fry a few times.

Flowers cake

Practice: Use petals as seasoning materials and add them to the cake.

Flowers menu

cactus

Cactus assorted salad

Ingredients: cactus 150g, pineapple, melon, cherry and other fruits 200g. Can be increased or decreased according to personal hobbies.

Accessories: salad dressing 150g.

Methods: Cut the stem slices of cactus and various fruits into small pieces, add salad dressing and mix well. Features: sweet and sour.

Cactus mixed with tofu

Ingredients: 250g of tofu, 0/50g of cactus/kloc.

Accessories: cooked vegetable oil 10g, refined salt 2g, monosodium glutamate 2g.

Methods: Wash cactus, remove thorns, cut it into cubes, then cut tofu into small pieces, and add refined salt, monosodium glutamate and cooked vegetable oil to adjust the taste according to personal taste.

Features: fresh, tender, fragrant and beautiful.

jasmine

Jasmine can benefit gallbladder, improve eyesight, cool and detoxify. Put a pinch when cooking, it is fragrant and fragrant.

Chinese wistaria

The petals of wisteria flowers are soaked in sugar and made into cakes, which become the famous cakes in Beijing. Take the flowers to dry. Wash it with clean water when eating. Slice the bacon and cover the flowers. Steamed in a pot, the fragrance can be preserved for a whole year.

azalea

Rhododendron has the effects of moistening lung, clearing throat, invigorating qi, calming nerves, regulating menstrual blood, strengthening brain and calming nerves. Cook soup with broad beans, bacon, ham, etc. It is the material that Bai people use to entertain guests, weddings and funerals.

chrysanthemum

"Chrysanthemum fried shad balls" is a very popular chrysanthemum dish, which is to make shad meat into balls, stir-fry them with peanut oil, and then mix with fresh chrysanthemums. In Japan, fried chrysanthemum is a famous dish. It uses chrysanthemum, platycodon grandiflorum, hibiscus and other flowers, wraps a thin layer of egg coat on the back of the flowers, and fries them in a pot to make a crispy and delicious meal.

osmanthus flowers

Osmanthus fragrans has been an important spice since ancient times. Osmanthus fragrans is sweet and delicious, with pleasant smell. Osmanthus fragrans can be used to make sweet-scented osmanthus dumplings, sweet-scented osmanthus moon cakes, sweet-scented osmanthus whole ducks, sweet-scented osmanthus scallops and so on.

lotus

It is often used as a spice or filling for China cakes. Picking its petals and drying them in the shade to make lotus porridge can make the face rosy, radiant, smooth and delicate, which is most suitable for women to eat. There is a Yunnan dish called "Phoenix Bamboo" in Beijing Gulou Old Street. This restaurant is an "organic dish", and one of the dishes is "fried lotus", which is similar to the famous dish fried magnolia.

peony

Whether fried, thick or stewed, the rich aroma of peony flowers will not change. There are peony tremella soup, peony flower slices, peony tenderloin silk and peony petal wine in the menu.

interconnection

Since ancient times, eating flowers has produced beautiful women.

the Queen

According to legend, Cixi often feeds on flowers for beauty and physical fitness. In the season when lotus flowers are in full bloom, she asked the maids to pick the most complete and charming lotus flowers and bring them back to the kitchen. They soak the petals in starch paste mixed with eggs and egg soup, and then fry them until they are golden and crisp as snacks. She also mashed roses, mixed them with brown sugar, processed them into a flower sauce with special ingredients, and applied them to pasta snacks, leaving a fragrance on the teeth and cheeks after eating. Because Empress Dowager Cixi often used flowers to extract essence for beauty, hairdressing and moisturizing, her skin became old and lasting. Princess perfume

The fragrant princess created by Jin Yong in The Sword is naturally fond of eating flowers on the grassland, so she has become the most beautiful and tasteful woman in Jin Yong's novels.

Ancient flower recipes raise beautiful women

According to the determination of scientific research institutions, flowers contain 22 kinds of amino acids needed by human body, rich in protein, starch and fat, and contain vitamins A, B, C and trace elements such as iron, magnesium, potassium and zinc, which have certain medicinal and health-care functions, and can enhance physical fitness and prolong life. For example, chrysanthemum can soothe the nerves and nourish the stomach, benefiting blood gas; Honeysuckle clearing away heat and toxic materials, nourishing blood and quenching thirst; Jasmine nourishes muscles with long hair; Pear flower clearing away heat and resolving phlegm; Gardenia flowers clear lung and cool blood; Roses promote blood circulation and regulate qi, staying on people's faces; Peony flower can promote blood circulation and qi; Chinese rose can reduce swelling and treat sores.

Edible flowers have a history of more than 2,000 years in China, and Qu Yuan's poem "Drink Mulan in the morning and Qiuju in the evening" is the earliest record about edible chrysanthemums. There are also many famous dishes with flowers as ingredients in all parts of China, for example, Guangdong's chrysanthemum dragon and phoenix bone, taro-roasted eggplant, chrysanthemum perch, osmanthus soup, Shanghai's magnolia fried fish fillets, frost magnolia, osmanthus chestnuts, chrysanthemum cakes, Beijing's osmanthus scallops, jasmine chicken breast, Henan, Shandong and other places' sauce vinegar, jasmine tofu, peony soup, osmanthus balls and so on. In fact, it is not far from us to use flowers as vegetables. A common day lily on the dining table is an orange flower that looks like a lily before drying. Here we will select some classic flower recipes from ancient recipes and introduce them to you!

Jasmine recipe

Jasmine can benefit gallbladder, improve eyesight, cool and detoxify. Ming's "Drinking and Eating" records: "The tender leaves of jasmine are picked, washed and cooked with tofu, which is excellent." The fragrance of jasmine can penetrate the top of the head, descend to the lower abdomen, relieve all the stale breath in the chest, and also have a mild calming effect on the spirit. Put a handful when cooking, it will be very fragrant and comfortable.

Wisteria formula

The petals of wisteria flowers are soaked in sugar and made into cakes, which become the famous cakes in Beijing. Taoist priests and their families live in Yun Qi. They picked flowers and dried them. When they are eaten, they are washed with clear water. They sliced the bacon and covered it with flowers. They steamed them in a pot, and the taste of spring was preserved for a whole year.

Magnolia recipe

In early spring, the magnolia trees are full of fragrant flowers as white as jade, as if they were in spring snow; The petals of Magnolia grandiflora are thick and big. If you wrap it in wet flour and fry it in oil pan with bean paste, it is sweet and delicious. This is the famous "Magnolia Monument" at home and abroad. "Yulan Tablet" is sweet and crisp, very delicious, and it is said to have the function of detoxification and pain relief.

Rose recipe

Rose petals are slightly sweet and bitter when eaten alone. Rose dipped in sugar is a famous rose sugar cake, which can be used as an ingredient of various sweets and tastes sweet and delicious. Red roses can be stewed with chicken legs, fresh bamboo shoots and trumpet mushrooms, which is a good tonic in winter.

Rhododendron recipe

Rhododendron with white flowers and big flowers, with large corolla and plenty of meat, is used by Bai people to make soup or stir-fry with broad beans, bacon and ham, and is the material for entertaining guests, weddings and funerals. Rhododendron contains amino acids and vitamins, and has the effects of moistening lung, clearing throat, invigorating qi, calming nerves, regulating menstrual blood, strengthening brain and calming nerves.

Peach blossom recipe

Peach blossom is a natural emollient. "Tai Fang Qing" wrote: "Peach blossoms are picked on March 3, soaked in wine, and all diseases are cured, which is lewd." Peach blossoms bloom in March in spring. At this time, picking peach petals in the shade and putting them into porridge can add charming color to the service.

Pumpkin flowers cookbook

Pumpkin flowers is very common in local dishes, with huge flowers, which are washed and chopped, mixed with flour, fried into cakes or boiled porridge. Some people may think that pumpkin flowers vegetarian dishes are not delicious enough. Add some preserved eggs, medlar and broth, and it won't taste so good when cooked.

Chrysanthemum recipe

Among all kinds of chrysanthemum dishes, nothing is more popular than "fried herring balls with chrysanthemum", that is, herring meat is made into balls, fried with peanuts and mixed with fresh chrysanthemums. In Japan, fried chrysanthemum is a famous dish, which uses chrysanthemum, platycodon grandiflorum, hibiscus and other flowers. The back of the flower is wrapped in a thin egg coat and fried in a pot to make a crispy and delicious meal.

Osmanthus fragrans formula

"Compendium of Materia Medica" records that osmanthus fragrans "can nourish the mind, and the color is lasting, and the intellectual person is suitable but not old, and the face is bright." Osmanthus fragrans has been an important spice since ancient times. Osmanthus fragrans is sweet and delicious, with pleasant smell. Osmanthus fragrans can be used to make sweet-scented osmanthus dumplings, sweet-scented osmanthus moon cakes, sweet-scented osmanthus whole ducks, sweet-scented osmanthus scallops and so on.

Lotus recipe

In China style, it is often used as seasoning or stuffing. When the lotus is in full bloom, the petals are dried in the shade and cooked into lotus porridge, which can make the face rosy, radiant, smooth and delicate, and is most suitable for women to eat. There is a Yunnan dish called "Phoenix Bamboo" in Beijing Gulou Old Street. This restaurant is an "organic dish", and one of the dishes is "fried lotus", which is similar to the famous dish fried magnolia.

Peony formula

The consumption of peony flowers began in the Song Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people had a more complete raw material formula and production method. "Historical Records" records: "Peony petals can be boiled in soup, soaked in honey, or marinated." In fact, whether it is fried, thick or stewed, the rich aroma of peony flowers will not change. There are peony tremella soup, peony flower slices, peony tenderloin silk and peony petal wine in the menu.

In the practice of seeking natural food, human beings have long discovered that cauliflower is delicious, nutritious, convenient to eat and has the functions of both medicine and food. As early as more than 2,000 years ago, the great poet Qu Yuan wrote a famous sentence about cauliflower in Lisao: "Drinking Mulan in the morning and dew in the evening, autumn chrysanthemum in the evening." Ancient medical books and recipes also recorded a large number of flowers: Shennong Materia Medica in the Qin and Han Dynasties said: "Chrysanthemum clothes are light and fit for anti-aging"; Compendium of Materia Medica in Ming Dynasty has the knowledge and methods of flower health care and disease prevention. In the Song Dynasty, Shanjia Qing Palace included plum blossom porridge, chrysanthemum cold cake and osmanthus brocade soup. In the Qing Dynasty, Yang Xiaolu also set up a special chapter called "Rice Shop Manual", which recorded more than 20 kinds of cauliflower production methods in detail.

The flower plate was once put on the table of the palace at an extraordinary price. Aisingiorro Hao is the wife of Jeff, the younger brother of the last Chinese emperor Puyi. In her book Diet in the Palace, she described the "flowers, fruits and vegetables" in China court dishes.

Many ancient temples and temples picked flowers from the four seasons to make vegetarian fast food. According to the Qing dynasty, the Qing dynasty, the Qing dynasty, the Qing dynasty, the Qing dynasty, the Qing dynasty, the Qing dynasty, the Qing dynasty, the Qing dynasty, the Qing dynasty, the Qing dynasty.

There are countless folk flowers. There are not only high-grade cauliflower such as "Red Sea Cucumber", "Roasted Shrimp with Chinese Rose Flower" and "Stewed Chicken with Motherwort Flower", but also home-cooked cauliflower such as leek flower, rape flower and acacia flower. In Yunnan minority areas, there are more than 100 kinds of cauliflower that are often eaten.

Flowers cooking

Chefs in our country are trying to apply ever-changing cooking techniques to colorful cauliflower, so that flowers can "bloom" on the dining table, and they often bloom all year round.

In spring, saute the sliced meat with magnolia flowers, mix cold dishes with Dendrobium flowers, make candied fruit with roses and Chinese rose flowers, make salty rice porridge with purple flowers, and make stuffing pancakes with Sophora japonica flowers.

In summer, squid is fried with lily, fish fillets are fried with jasmine, pearl orchids are used as auxiliary materials of eight-treasure rice, and summer porridge is cooked with mint flowers, mung beans, red dates and sugar.

In autumn, chrysanthemum, shredded pork and seaweed are used as soup, pumpkin flowers and hibiscus flowers are used as scrambled eggs, roses are used as soup, and osmanthus flowers are used as cakes.

In winter, we use orchids to simmer soup, hibiscus flowers to make pipa jasmine tofu, peony flowers to stew venison, and plum blossoms to make pickles or soup accessories.

Those pleasing cauliflower, flower-heart snacks and flower sauce are delicious enough to make people memorable. However, not all flowers can be eaten. Some flowers are colorful, fragrant and poisonous. Poinsettia, narcissus, iris and rhododendron are all ornamental, but they can't be eaten.

Re-select cauliflower After carefully selecting non-toxic raw materials, we should be extra careful when using frying techniques in the face of exotic flowers, fresh petals and gorgeous pollen. Sima Guang once wrote in the poem "Eating Chrysanthemum Soup at Night": "It is bittersweet to choose a chef and teach him. Don't let Jiang Guiduo lose his true taste. " He was afraid that the chef would put too much seasoning and destroy the "original flavor" of chrysanthemum. Some flowers need to be boiled in water to remove trace toxins and bitter smell; Some flowers should pay attention to reasonable compatibility to prevent food from interfering with each other and destroying internal nutrition.

Flowers and plants are not only passed down from ancient times to the present, but also constantly developed and innovated. Chongqing once exchanged cooking skills in the form of cauliflower cooking competition, with 45 chefs and 90 dishes. The Nishanggong Chinese Restaurant of Taiwan Province Hotel in Beijing presented more than 20 kinds of cauliflower such as "Chrysanthemum, Crab Yellow, Shark's Fin", "Stewed Chicken Breast with Lily" and "Rose Shrimp Ball" through the "Flower Flavor" cauliflower exhibition, which not only paid attention to promotion, but also paid attention to listening to the opinions of all parties, and improved the cooking quality of cauliflower.

Cauliflower consumption

The call for cauliflower in the catering market is increasing day by day. In addition to the traditional eating habits, it is largely because people are not satisfied with big fish and big meat after the improvement of living standards, nor are they limited to the "old three" of potatoes, radishes and cabbages. In the heat wave of natural cuisine, more people want to eat cauliflower.

As a result, flower farmers have targeted this huge consumer market. According to the information provided by the Flower Food Professional Committee of China Food Industry Association, at present, China's flower planting area is more than 300,000 mu, and there are more than 200,000 enterprises and institutions engaged in flower food production. Flowers have formed a large-scale food industry with an annual output value of about 5 billion yuan. Aloe, vanilla, ginkgo, plant flowers, cactus, calendula, yew, dwarf pumpkin, etc. A series of flower foods have been formed all over the country.

This information is encouraging. However, the flower food professional committee of China Food Industry Association, which has just been established, also points out with regret that compared with the flower food in developed countries, there is still a big gap in China. People engaged in flower planting, scientific research and development, processing and production, and marketing come from different industries, and there is no corresponding industry coordination and self-discipline mechanism. Some people invest blindly, some people compete viciously, and some products have a low level of research and development. As a new food industry, there is no unified national standard for flower food. The cooking technology of cauliflower also needs to be strengthened in training and communication.

In the face of flowers and food, Mr. Liao Guangming, who has just been elected as the director of this professional Committee, is the general manager of Beijing Flower Fashion Flower Food Marketing Co., Ltd., and he explained his "director" as follows: "He specializes in flower business and adopts various marketing methods to let more flowers and food quickly enter people's diet." According to him, the way forward for this professional committee is not a smooth road full of flowers, but a lot of hard and meticulous work to be done, such as formulating the industry standard of flower food, establishing the self-discipline mechanism of flower food industry, carrying out the safety certification of flower food, effectively supervising the flower market and guiding people to consume flower food scientifically.