Magnolias for Lunch

Magnolia blossoms are more than beautiful. They are also edible. Magnolia blooms are short lived around here. They explode almost overnight and hold on for a week or two, or until a windy day. All the more reason to hurry up and harvest them. The flavor is floral with a hint of ginger and cinnamon in fresh blossoms. Once dried, they become more spice forward, flavor wise.

So how do we eat them? You have several options. Fresh blossoms can be eaten raw in salads or sauteed in cooked dishes. Just be sure to always separate the petals from the stem and rinse them before using. There are sometimes bugs hiding in the blooms.

You can pickle the blossoms to preserve them for later eating. Just make a solution of one part water, one part vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, sweetened, if you like. Just make the pickling solution and pour over cleaned blossoms in a jar. Put the lid on the jar and store in the fridge. they are best after a couple of weeks.

You can use the blossoms to flavor vinegar to use later in salads, dressings, marinades and other sauces. You just place cleaned blossoms in a jar. For every cup of blossoms you can add up to 2 cups of vinegar. Allow to steep for at least a few weeks before straining out the petals. It will turn a pretty color and the vinegar has a ginger/cinnamon flavor.

Maybe my favorite method to preserve the blossoms is to dehydrate them. I put cleaned petals in my dehydrator and in a few hours they are brittle/dry. They change color from violet to brown. Don’t be put off by the color change. They just look like tea leaves now. The dried magnolia blossoms can be used for tea, hot or iced, and as a seasoning. The dried leaves have a definite ginger like fragrance and flavor.

So before you say good bye to this year’s magnolia flowers, you might want to gather some to eat now and preserve for later.