Osmantus flower of fall - How sweet it is
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E-mail People's Daily, October 18, 2012
Osmanthus in the kitchen
The flower epitomizes autumn and is only available from September to November, says Gao Xiaosheng, the Chinese executive chef at Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai.
September is best for fresh flowers, while October and November are good for dried flowers, says Jason Wang, sous chef at Club Jin Mao, a Shanghainese restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Shanghai.
"The freshly picked petal, without being dried, has certain bitterness, although its seductive scent reaches its peak," Wang says.
He usually chooses fresh petals as the final topping of a dish to enhance the aroma, but not influence or overwhelm the taste of other ingredients.
Du Caiqing, chef de cuisine at Hyatt on the Bund, typically immerses fresh petals in brine for five minutes, then tosses them with sliced lily root or adds them to stir-fried chicken fillet. "It's a good way to highlight the flower's natural fragrance," he says.
Chef Gao from Shangri-La prefers dried petals. "Osmanthus is a little like wine, which needs to be dried and aged for one or two months until the bitterness is completely gone and its floral note is fully preserved," he says.
Chefs agree that dried osmanthus is more versatile than fresh flowers.
Honey and crystal sugar are ideal combinations for osmanthus.
"If honey and some citrus are added to osmanthus, the taste is balanced and moderately sweet, not overpowering," says chef Wang from Grand Hyatt Shanghai.
He shares two personal recipes sweetened osmanthus and osmanthus jam, both using honey.
"For sweetened osmanthus, simply marinate honey, sliced lemon and dried osmanthus together for four days," he says. Then it can be used to flavor various desserts such as osmanthus rice cake or infuse tea. For osmanthus jam, replace the sliced lemon with preserved plum.
Osmanthus jam makes an ideal dipping sauce for roast duck and pork, Wang says. The floral, sweet-and-sour flavor cuts through the fattiness of the meat, giving each bite more layers of flavor and fragrance.
Crystal sugar cooked with osmanthus adds a smooth, round taste to a dish.
Dried osmanthus also enhances the sweetness of tubers and roots, such as lotus and taro, according to chef Du from Hyatt on the Bund.
Different growing areas produce flowers with different characteristics. Chef Wang prefers the Hangzhou area because the flowers have a "mild and elegant fragrance." Chef Gao likes the golden color and intense bouquet of osmanthus from the hills around Suzhou in Jiangsu Province.
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