Flowers

For today’s floral enthusiasts who champion flowers for their gustatory attributes, there’s nothing quite like a sauce laced with rose petals,

or crème anglaises infused with lavender, or squash blossoms stuffed with herb cheeses.

Of course, cooking with flowers is not a new culinary practice. In the 16th century, romantics were known to gather blossoms, leaves and seeds for their dinner.

In the golden age of Shakespeare, citizens stocked their larders with nasturtium, marigold and day-lily blossoms.
Elizabethan ladies fed well-turned calves carnation cordials and cupcakes; Dutch farmers mixed golden marigolds
into cheeses to glean their saffron-like color; and disciples of Confucius celebrated victories over bowls of chrysanthemum soup.

In more modern times, however, chefs use a more contemporary farm-to-table approach.
Every spring, chef Martín Rios grows enough organic herbs and edible flowers on the large patio of his Galisteo Street eatery,

Restaurant Martín, to add distinctive floral notes to his progressive American cuisine.

Diners can often see the James Beard-nominated chef picking flowers from the garden
but only what’s needed for the day’s menu.

“They flowers never go into the refrigerator,” said Rios, who learned the technique when he apprenticed for chef George Blanc in France.

Rios adds pansies and peppery nasturtium petals to his tuna tartar, floats them on top of chilled soups, and tosses them into salads along with the nasturtium leaves and cilantro flowers.

But it’s the herb flowers that bring the most delight to Rios. In his cooked dishes, he said, the herbs add their delicate essence without overpowering the palate.

Rios said he uses herbs at their peak and when they start to flower. Chamomile flowers are infused into Asian broth to cook salmon and tuna, while basil and mint leaves are dehydrated then ground together into a powder and sprinkled on desserts, such as the liquid-center truffle-chocolate cake. Mint flowers with cinnamon and chocolate notes are used as the base for Rios’s homemade ice cream.