Sous Vide is French for "under vacuum"
April showers, bring May flowers. And what do May flowers bring? No, not pilgrims.😅 May flowers bring bright and edible ways to kick up your menus and meals. With summer soirees and the wedding season upon us, now is the perfect time to perk up your palette with a bounty of bouquets blooming all around us.
Many people are familiar with edible flowers in baking and tea blends (primarily of the rose and hibiscus variety), but that isn’t all that edible flowers can be used in. Oils, cocktails, salads, pasta… pretty much anything can be paired with some part of some flower if you’re brave enough to “eat weeds”. They don’t have to be just a garnish either. Zucchini blossoms can be the star of the show stuffed with herbs and cheese. This versatile flower can even be found on pizza or paired nicely with ham.
As with any seasonable produce, it’s best to harvest edible flowers in peak season. However, that leaves winter months rather drab and void of color. So just like other spring and summer treats, edible flowers can be stored for the colder months for little pops of color whenever the mood strikes. But what’s the best way to do this?... Vacuum sealing and freezing.
You’ll want to make sure that you are harvesting your edible flowers at a time when you can quickly prep them for storage. Soon after harvesting flowers will begin to dry. While dried flowers are best for teas, they aren’t generally as pretty as freshly preserved blooms. Depending on how you plan on using the flowers in the future will determine the best approach for filling your vacuum pouches. If you’re going to want the flower mostly intact and still looking good, careful arrange a single layer of flatter kinds of blooms (think violets, pansies, and chamomile). These types of flowers will crush less in the vacuum process and hold their original shape better than a multi layer flower like a rose.
For flowers that will be used in less decorative forms that you don’t mind getting a little squished in storage (for oils and stocks for example), feel free to just toss them into the pouch and proceed with the vacuum process. As the air is removed from the pouch the blossoms will condense and lose a bit of their fullness. While some flowers will perk up slightly when the pouch is opened for use, do not expect the flowers to return to their original form.
Plascon Sous Vide vacuum bags are not only perfect for vacuum sealing and freezing your edible flowers, but your meats and veggies as well. The seven layer film will safeguard your blooms, briskets, and brussel sprouts from freezer burn, and the flexibility will lessen the possibility of a puncture causing damage to the contents. Contact us today to learn more, and request a free sample!
