664 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



Flowers as Food 



GEORGE CECIL 



IN certain countries, and more particularly in those 

 on the far side of Port Said, comparatively little 

 meat is consumed. The natives, however, spare 

 no expense in flowers, which they eat — in one form 

 or another— with a zest. Indeed, in various parts of 

 India, and in Afghanistan, the cult of the edible flo\yer 

 keeps the aborigines busy for a considerable portion 

 of the year. whHe the inhabitants of the Ionian Isles 

 also devote themselves to floriculture for table pur- 

 poses. In the South of France, too, the peasant horti- 

 culturists cultivate certain flowers for kitchen use; 

 and the mountaineers of the Balkans follow their ex- 

 ample with ardor. As to the Chinese and Japanese, 

 their appetite for flowers, or, at least, for flower- 

 flavored food, is enormous, a taste which the Egyp- 

 tians and the Cingalese share with them. Nor are 

 the people of Morocco behindhand in turning the oc- 

 casion to account. Finding cereals improved by a 

 flavoring of flowers, their native porridge is rendered 

 appetising by the addition of a curious jelly (made 

 from pomegranate flowers) which takes the place of 

 the red-currant jelly of Europe. 



As to the West Indies, where exotic flowers grow 

 as thick as daisies or dandelions in England, flower 

 dishes are in extraordinary request, the blossom of 

 the banana, for instance, being converted into a 

 strange confection, which is in enormous demand with 

 all classes of the colored community. Pure-blooded 

 negroes, octoroons, quadroons and mulattoes esteem 

 themselves fortunate if they can include the delicacy 

 in their morning and evening meal, while the highly- 

 placed European officials do not disdain it. 



As succulent as any of the flower confections is the 

 rose-leaf jelly which figures in the menu submitted to the 

 Egyptian gourmet. Prepared from the petals of red rose 

 buds, well pounded and mixed with powdered sugar, 

 water and isinglass are added, the toothsome concoc- 

 tion being poured into a small mould. If the cook 

 is an artist in his particular line, he steeps a few ten- 

 der, tin}' buds in the jelly, leaving them in the mould. 

 The dainty is served at the conclusion of the meal, 

 being handed round on a great silver tray, and cut 

 into small squares about the size of a marble. If the 

 diner, like so many Egyptian gentlemen, has come 

 under Europeanizing influences, he skewers each 

 piece with a fork, or with a little sharpened piece of 

 orange wood : but the ordinary Egyptian, who does 

 not hold with (what he is pleased to term) new- 

 fangled notions, prefers to use the natural knife and 

 fork with which bountiful Nature has provided him. 

 And he invariably enjoys his rose-leaf jelly. 



In the North of India the aromatic flowers of a 

 certain shrub — which grows almost wild — are actually 

 made into cakes! A "dekshi" (saucepan) is filled 

 half full with the blossoms, the rest of the space be- 

 ing given ovei; to "ghee" (rancid butter) and a quan- 

 tity of coarse "bazaar"-made sugar. The moment the 

 butter melts, the "bowarchi" (cook) stirs the mix- 

 ture with a long wooden spoon, which, alas! is by no 

 means as clean as could be desired. More blooms are 

 then added till the concoction attains the right con- 

 sistency, after which it is poured on a well-greased 

 dish, and allowed to cool. T'inally, the saccharine 

 mess is cut into squares, and sold to expectant cus- 

 tomers at the e(|uivalent of twopence a large chimk. 



and consumed greedily. Incidentally, a meal of 

 flower-cake leads to various stomachic ailments, 

 which, however, the natives attribute to the inter- 

 position of Providence. 



In agreeable contrast to the flower-cake of the Pun- 

 jab is the candied violet preserve made on the Riviera. 

 The petals are throv^^n by the handful into a vessel 

 containing boiling sugar, and when the concoction 

 has set in a brittle state, it is chopped into pieces the 

 size of a sixpence — which are disposed of by the local 

 confectioners to "folks as cares to buy 'em." 



In China the lily is cooked as a vegetable, in water 

 or in milk, according to the means of the diner, a 

 ])inch of salt and pepper being added at intervals dur- 

 ing the boiling process. The Celestials also esteem 

 the blossoms of the banana, dipping them in vinegar, 

 and munching them at every meal. Popular, too, are 

 candied jasmine petals with the Chinese ; these being 

 treated as are violet petals in France. Mention also 

 may be made of the lotus jelly to be met with in 

 Southern India, and which is considered a delicacy by 

 the inhabitants, nearly all of whom are vegetarians. 

 The petals are taken from the young flowers, steeped 

 in well-sugared water, and then boiled till a very stiff 

 paste is formed. After being powdered with sugar, 

 the contents of the mould are let to set — and the local 

 gourmets indulge in pleasurable anticipations. Truth 

 compels one to admit that there are nicer things in the 

 world than lotus jelly. 



Certain flowers are converted into drinks bj- the 

 Servians, lily-water being a favorite beverage with 

 those Serbs who can bring themselves to forget the 

 joys of the national plum-brandy. The petals are 

 crushed in a tumbler till a slight alcoholic odor is 

 exhaled, a little water being added, and, if the weather 

 is hot, a lump of ice. To any but a Servian, lily-water 

 tastes rather disagreeabl}-, suggesting, as it does, the 

 washings of a bottle which, in the dim and distant 

 past, contained diluted brandy. There- is also the old- 

 English cowslip wine, a beverage which makes a 

 strong appeal to those who like such things. 



The Nepalese and the Lepchas — a monkey-like 

 race to be met with in the Himalayas — cultivate the 

 geranium for table use. Scorning the juicy fresh 

 flower, they store the petals till they are as dry as 

 pot-pourri; and when a respectable heap has been piled 

 up. the colored gourmands, adding a few spoonfuls of 

 molasses, boil the dried blooms, eating the mixture 

 hot. Oddly enough, they usually live, not only to tell 

 the tale, but to enjoy many a meal of the singularly 

 unappetising compound. 



Perhaps the most edible of all are the butter- 

 lilossoms, which the Cingalese gather during the 

 "hot-weather." and reduce to a pulp by boiling, 

 sweetening the concoction with sugar, and adding a 

 flavoring of cinnamon or cloves — according to taste. 

 Totally different from any Western dish, boiled but- 

 ter-blossom is distinctly worth the attention of the 

 white visitor to Ceylon. 



There are great victories and struggles and noble acts 

 of heroism done every day — in nooks and corners, and in 

 little households, and in men's and women's hearts — any 

 one of which might reconcile the sternest man to such a 

 world, and fill him with belief and hope in it. — Dickens. 



