US (CA): Chefs and growers push petals into the mainstream

Flowers have long been used by chefs as a quick and colorful way to add flair to a dish, but in recent years the culinary obsession with flowers has reached full bloom.

Peter Jacobsen has been growing edible flowers for 35 years. In the early days, Jacobsen didn’t give much thought to flowers, viewing them simply as a by-product of the cover crops that improved the soil for his Napa orchards.

Some chefs might consider putting a flower on a plate as just “low-level trickery,” says Jacobsen. But he now sees his farm — and the flowers grown on it — as a culinary muse for chefs, so much so that he can’t keep up with demand. The farm grows about 25 culinary flowers throughout the year and sells about 85 percent to the French Laundry. The rest are divvied up among a handful of other high-profile local restaurants.

Far beyond “low-level trickery,” savvy chefs know that flowers can bring unexpected flavors and seasoning to their cooking.

Read more at the San Francisco Chronicle (Sarah Fritsche)