Flowers have always held a certain fascination for me, add to that the novelty of edible flowers and I am even more interested.
A number of years ago I became quite obsessed with edible flowers. So much so, that I began writing a book about them. The book is still a work in progress, and hopefully will one day see the light of day, but the novelty has yet to wear off.
I thought I had a pretty good grasp on just how many edible flowers there were, but after a recent visit to Gourmet Garnishes, I realised that there were still multitudes yet to discover.
Gourmet Garnishes is based in Tinbeerwah – just out of Noosa – and they are growers of a vast (and I mean vast) range of edible flowers, decorative leaves and culinary herbs, which they supply predominantly to the restaurant industry ending up as pretty adornments on the plates of an excited dining public.
I was a little bit excited myself when it came to visiting Monique and Keith Roberts, the equally (or perhaps a little more) obsessed individuals behind Gourmet Garnishes. Flowers are a passionate industry, so a little obsession is a welcome necessity… I understand it perfectly…
It would appear that the flowers cannot help but flourish… the property is beautiful – what an aspect – views over the lake at the base of the property – if I were a flower I would be bursting into bloom with view like that too!
Gourmet Garnishes has been operation for about 18 months now, only really retailing in recent months. As with any operation there is infrastructure, then a degree of experimentation, and after some trial and error, what amounts to a gloriously beautiful, and edible, bounty. Keith tends to the harvest – and let me just say picking these blossoms is tedious work – but it is one that he happily does, appreciating each new blossom the season presents… it’s those views… makes any amount of hard work pleasant!
Pansies, violas, cornflowers, geraniums, nasturtiums, borage blooms, orchids, salvia and so, so many others, dot splashes of colours throughout the garden. Countless varieties, and so many that I didn’t realise were edible… fuchsias and begonias especially. Then there are the flowering culinary herbs; mints, thymes, marjoram, and a beautiful bronze fennel with its feathery plum of foliage.
While all the flowers grown are edible, as Keith pointed out, it is not like you sit down and eat a plate of them. They are pretty garnishes and are used sparsely. However, it is important to know which flowers are edible and which are not – not all flowers are edible, so don’t just go plucking them out of your own garden and serving them up without knowing exactly what they are and whether or not they are in fact edible.
Not all flowers taste as pretty as they look either! In fact, in most instances, it is more about their appearance than it is about their taste, as many don’t impart any great flavour. Having said that, some of the herb blossoms do take on the flavours of their parent and have their own subtly sweet or spicy uniqueness, take the bright yellow tarragon flowers for instance, they have an intense aniseed bite. Or another, social garlic, it has a beautiful spray of tiny purple flowers, and it would not come entirely as a surprise that they have quite a garlicky flavour – not something your would want to sprinkle on the top of your strawberry pav, so there is an element of selectiveness required. This has resulted in some of the more creative chefs expressing flashes of inspiration and taking these tiny edible visual enhancements just that little bit further to create dishes with real ‘wow’ factor that is not just a visual one.
I wandered the garden ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ at all of the beautiful blooms. I had a bit of a thing for all of the black blooms. Not really true blacks, but more of a deep purple, but so beautiful. Pansies, violas and the cornflowers… I had only ever seen cornflowers in blue, so the black had me fussing over it for quite some time. They also come in white, which was pretty too, just not quite the ‘wow’ of the black. Oh, and there was a white borage flower too – which did manage to get a ‘wow’ out of me, as in contrast, I had only seen ever the blue.
However, out of all of the beautiful edible flowers, I was the most captivated by the one that I thought would impress me the least – and that was the dainty little blossom sprays of the marjoram. Who would have thought? Though I am not entirely surprised… the fragrance of the crushed blossom immediately transported me back to my childhood – my mother was an avid user of marjoram – and the fragrance was always a favourite of mine. I had never seen marjoram in blossom before – obviously not paying attention – but it entertained me for hours after playing with the dainty little buds in front of my camera. So pretty, and that incredible woody green scent!
I was quite taken with the fern leaf geranium as well. Not only does it have the pretty pink edible flowers, the fern-like foliage makes an attractive and fragrant garnish.
Distributed through Suncoast Fresh to specialist stores, restaurants, hospitality and catering services, every season welcomes a new range of edible florals – serving up has never been prettier!
I admit it, I am a sucker for a flower garnish, so I hope Gourmet Garnishes continues to blossom and I look forward to discovering some of their more experimental offerings… and maybe, just maybe… it will be the impetus to help me to finally finish my book!
For more information visit:
http://www.gourmetgarnishes.com.au
or visit their profile on:
http://www.sunshinecoastregionalfood.com.au/item/gourmet-garnishes
This story was written by Petra Frieser – Pebbles + Pomegranate Seeds
To find out more about the Sunshine Coast’s regional growers, producers and cooking schools visit:
http://www.sunshinecoastregionalfood.com.au
