The Deliberate Owl

Last year, I discovered that magnolia blossoms are edible! My magnolia is one of the earliest blooming trees in my yard and its pink flowers are so lovely. How delightful to find that I could add the petals to an early spring salad! They have a mild gingery-clove-pepper sort of flavor.

I came across recipes for pickled magnolia blossoms (e.g., this, this, and this), which sounded like so much fun. I didn't end up trying it last year, so this was the year! I went with a quick refrigerator pickles recipe, no fermentation required.

It's surprisingly simple.

(Read: Seasonality and Natural Rhythms: Why Growing and Preserving Your Own Food Matters)

Instructions

1. Collect magnolia flowers. Be gentle with the petals so they don't bruise. Only the petals are used in the recipes I found, so pull them (gently) off the flower center. I collected 250 grams of petals, which filled a large mixing bowl.

2. Rinse petals to be sure they're free of debris, bugs, etc. I spread them on a kitchen towel to dry.

3. Mix brine in a large pot. I used 2 ¼ cups rice vinegar, 2 tsp salt, and ½ cup sugar. Other recipes vary the proportions of salt and sugar slightly, based on personal preference for taste. Consensus is to use a milder vinegar, such as rice or cider vinegar, so that it doesn't drown the magnolia petals' flavor. You can optionally add spices such as garlic, anise, black pepper, red pepper flakes, or whatever strikes your fancy. I'd like to try this, but wanted to do the basic recipe first.

4. Heat brine until salt and sugar are dissolved, then stir in the petals. Some people will chop the petals up first, but I didn't bother. I also saw recipes suggesting you pack the petals into jars then pour the brine on top, but I thought it would be easier to make sure all the petals were submerged in the larger pot first.

5. Ladle blossoms and brine into jars, cover, and let cool. I filled four half pint mason jars, preheated with hot water, and put leftover canning lids on them. Note, I did not actually water bath can these. I'll be keeping them in the refrigerator. If we love eating them enough I may try water bath canning them so that I don't have to take up fridge space, but this was a small first batch.

6. Let cool, then refrigerate. Wait a day for the flavors to meld before eating. Recommended as a side for various Asian dishes or sushi, since the flavors act similar to pickled ginger. Delicious!