Flower Foodstuffs: Experiment 1 [texture, shape, flavor]

This entry is documentation of my first experimentation with edible flowers in foodstuffs. 

Last week I headed to the Union Square Greenmarket at 7:30 a.m. to vie for what was left of the season's edible flowers. I took all that Two Guys from Woodbridge had left in the name of edible flowers which was four small containers of calendula, borage, tarragon and pansy flowers. Later that day my professor, Natalie Jeremijenko, and I started what was to be my first experimentation with edible flowers. 

The goal of the experiment was to incorporate the nutrient density of edible flowers -- flowers as nutraceuticals -- into foodstuffs. In today's culture of convenience, where foods are designed around shelf life and cost of nutrients, how can we make a shift from food as calories and energy to food as nutrition? So we set out to make flower foods that taste and look delicious, and are also good for the health. Since flowers are so highly perishable, we thought about experimenting with edible flowers in foodstuffs while veering away from anything candy-like, especially taste-wise.

Experiment
We decided to use gellan gum (low acyl), a simple carbohydrate produced by fermentation and used in molecular gastronomy for gelification, in this first experiment. To experiment with texture, we toyed around with ratios of gellan gum to water and blended the mixture and a couple spoonfuls of inositol in a Vitamix to smooth out any clumpy bits before pouring it into various molds such as baking dishes, a silicon ice ball mold, glass plates and even a glass tabletop surface. We decided to try out a clumpy mixture, too, to see which of the two mixtures came out more appealing when hardened. We had decided to save flavoring for experiment 2 but ended up adding rose oil and cola concentrate because...why not. And when pouring these mixtures, we added edible flowers. 

Recipe
1/3 cup gellan gum [low acyl]
6 1/3 cups water [more or less depending on preferred texture]
2 spoonfuls inositol
edible flowers [calendula, borage, tarragon and pansy flowers]
flavoring of choice [rose oil, st. john's wort, cola concentrate, lemon grass, cucumber...]

Results: The clumpy mixture hardened quickly while the smooth mixture took a little longer. According to Molecule-R, "Dissolution occurs between 85°C (185°F) and 95°C (203°F) and gelling takes place on cooling between 10°C (50°F) and 80°C (176°F)." 

Both mixtures came out quite beautiful. The smooth mixture came out clear while the clumpy mixture came out with little bubbles showing throughout (see below).

We noticed that when we poured the mixture into the silicon ice ball molds and onto the glass plates, added flowers and then poured more of the mixture on top, the first and second pourings didn't solidify and instead could be easily peeled apart. So, we realized we could only pour into a mold once, consistently and fast. We placed flowers at the bottom of the mold, poured the mixture and then added more flowers while pouring. The silicon ice molds created a plastic-y, bouncy ball look which didn't totally rule it out as a possibility but I preferred the pieces that were cut out of the baking dish (see below).

Thoughts for round 2: Making a powder out of dried edible flowers to add to mixture; using cucumber to flavor gellan mixture...

Photos: Caitlin Keller