There have been some truly remarkable food breakthroughs in the past few years. Everything from something as large as foods grown with natural insect repellent to something as quirky and innocent as glow in the dark strawberries. Human health is being revolutionized in the twenty-first century and people are taking notice. One of the biggest trends to come out of recent years is the organic micro greens trend which is truly changing the way people eat, and subsequently, the way people live. As we continue our environmental efforts, less factory farming, cleaner energy, we focus more on greens and less on meat. This is where organic micro greens, and especially the discovery of different types of edible flowers, come in. What follows is a short list of the types of edible flowers and some fun, mealtime projects that go along with them.
- Soups and salads
Of course, one of the most popular types of dishes to include edible flowers is in salads but there are just so many different take on the traditional salad that you can try. Here a few, quick examples of the organic micro greens garnishes you can try.
Rose petals
For a sprightly and refreshing taste, you can sprinkle a few edible rose petals on a wide variety of salads to make them better. With the rose’s cool taste, you’ll want to go with something a little sweeter. Rose petals aren’t especially good for savory salads or salads with a lot of dressing or clashing components. Mix the rose with a hint of tomato for best results and don’t be afraid to experiment!
The many uses of hibiscus
Hibiscus
has a bit stronger of a flavor than rose petals. It isn’t by much but it’s definitely noticeable in slightly larger quantities so you’ll want to be careful with that. Hibiscus sugar flowers, and other parts of the hibiscus flower, are good on slightly more complex salads with more moving components. Try these on salads with lighter dressings and salads that might involve more fruit or nuts. Hibiscus in general tends to have a bit of a sweeter flavor than rose petals and it comes through more of the general salad material than rose petals do. The best rule of thumb when putting hibiscus on any salad is to have more than enough ingredients to cover it up. Better to have too much than not enough when it comes to hibiscus.
Soups
It might seem like an odd suggestion at first but you can also put a wide assortment of organic micro greens in soups as well to expand a potential flavor base. If you have a lighter minestrone, for instance, you might want to consider any of the varieties of edible flower for enhancing its taste. As with the salads, this often works better with lighter rather than heavier soups. For instance, you won’t want put an edible flower into a cream soup. Not most of the time, anyway, unless you’re feeling really experimental. But for something a light more refreshing, something with an airy or open and slightly salty taste, edible flowers can be a great way to balance the taste with something a little sweeter!
Sandwiches and lunches
For a faster and easier mealtime example, we can turn to that perennial of lunchtime favorites. Organic micro greens go easily on a lot of different kinds of sandwich and pair well with a wide variety of sandwich condiments. For example, say you’re marking a riff on the traditional caprese salad and turning into a type of caprese salad sandwich instead. Going to be a little sweet and savory at the same time, right? To add a bit of depth to that flavor, try adding a few edible rose petals. The texture is going to be phenomenal and it’s going to bring a crucial balance to the sandwich that just wasn’t there before. It’s going to be a new type of sandwich with a new type of flavor! Organic micro greens are the food of the future, after all. That’s why it pays to experiment and play around.