When the rosemary blooms, it fascinates with its colors and becomes an eye-catcher in pots and beds.
Edible or not?
Many other herbs and spices become intolerable or at least inedible when they bloom. However, this is not the case with Rosmarinus officinalis. But on the contrary. In addition to the widespread use of needles - be it fresh as a twig, dried or ground - the individual flowers can also be consumed without hesitation.
The taste
The aroma of rosemary flowers is similar to that of the more popular needles. However
it is much more restrained and finer because the flowers lack the strong and distinctive resin of the leaves. The aroma of the rosemary flowers disappears quickly, especially in connection with dishes with an intense taste of their own. Therefore, their use is neither very well known nor widespread.Usage forms
When used in the right context, however, rosemary flowers also help to create a subtle and restrained rosemary aroma. Since this evaporates quickly when cooking, other uses for the flowers have established themselves:
- By adding to coarse table salt as rosemary salt
- Pure and fresh as an edible decoration on cheese platters, desserts, etc.
- As a fine note in salads
How to harvest
The easiest way to harvest rosemary flowers is to remove them together with the rosemary sprig that goes with it. Especially if you want to use both anyway, the branch can simply be broken off or cut and later separated into flowers and needles in the kitchen. Alternatively, you can carefully twist off the individual flowers directly on the bush and continue to use them without damaging the branch.
TIP: As is well known, the eyes eat with them. So why shouldn't hearty rosemary dishes prepared with the sprigs also be decorated with a delicate purple rosemary blossom?
How to make it durable?
in the
In contrast to the rosemary needles, the flowers are very delicate and disintegrate very quickly. Normal drying in a dry and warm place therefore usually leads to less than satisfactory results. You should therefore support the drying process in a controlled manner in order to continue to receive attractive and at the same time durable flowers:- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper
- Spread the flowers individually on the baking sheet
- Dry the flowers in the oven at 30 degrees Celsius for around 30 to 45 minutes top and bottom heat
- Let the flowers cool down and store in a dark, airtight place
ATTENTION: The small flowers are lightly swirled in a convection oven and spread off the baking sheet. You should therefore choose top and bottom heating without the air movements of the convection level. Because of the low level of moisture in the flowers, they are removed to a sufficient extent even without air movement.
