Cooking with flowers and particularly roses has been around since Roman Times. Most modern folk think that roses wouldn’t be good in food, but they are wrong. Recently master chefs in fancy restaurants are using them and implying it is something new.
When cooking with any flower, you must first find out if it is edible or if it would cause someone to be sick. There are lots of flowers that are poisonous but more that aren’t. Check under ‘edible flowers’ on the Internet and you will find some lists that will tell you what you should eat and what you shouldn’t.
Never use a rose that has been sprayed with pesticides. Get them from an organic gardener or grow them yourself and do not use anything but organic methods to grow them. Never use roses from a florist. Sometimes flowers can cause some digestion problems, mainly because you aren’t used to them. Use them sparingly at first. Always remember to pull the petals from the rose and remove the white part of the petal that connects to the center. This is really bitter so you do not want to add it to any recipe.
Roses taste somewhat like the smell so each rose is going to give you a different taste. They are sweet and aromatic. In the Renaissance they were popular in breads and cakes. Use them in punch floating on top, in jellies, butters and even are found in soups and main dish recipes.
The following recipe is old coming from the Rennaissance era and made into a modern recipe. It is delicious.
Rose Petal Bread
Ingredients:
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 2 cups warm water (it will feel comfortable if you put your finger in)
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 7 cups white flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (you can use any coarse salt)
- 6 eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon crushed rosemary
- 1 teaspoon crushed thyme (or lemon thyme)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped rose petals (red or pink) That is about 2 large roses minus the white ends
- 1 or 2 drops red food coloring
Directions:
- In a large bowl pour in ½ cup of the warm water. Sprinkle with yeast.
- Carefully stir in honey and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Add remaining water and stir in about 3 cups of flour using a wooden spoon.
- Cover with a damp cloth and put in warm area to let rise for 45 minutes or until doubled.
- Punch dough down and beat in the salt, butter and 5 of the eggs along with the yolk. Set the other egg aside.
- Stir in the raisins.
- Crush the rosemary and thyme in a mortar with pestle and add along with cinnamon and rose petals. Knead in the bowl, blending well.
- The dough should have a pink color and if it doesn’t add food coloring but don’t make it too pink.
- Add the rest of the flour a little at a time and knead it in.
- Flour a bread board and turn out dough.
- Knead until smooth and elastic about 10 minutes, using more flour if the dough is too sticky to handle.
- Place dough in a buttered bowl and cover with damp cloth. Let rise about 45 minutes or until double.
- Punch down, cover, and rest 30 minutes.
- Punch down again and turn onto floured surface to rest 5 minutes.
- Shape dough into 2 round loaves and place on buttered baking sheet.
- Cover with a towel and let raise 25 minutes.
- During that time preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Brush bread with remaining egg which has been lightly beaten.
- Bake 50 minutes or until browned and loaf sounds hollow when tapped with knuckles.
- Place on rack to cool
You will find this bread to be delicious and a great conversation piece.
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