Types of flowers that can be eaten and mixed in cooking

To meet my family's nutritional needs, I always make it a habit to add vegetables to my daily diet. Starting from making soup, sauteed, boiled, or eaten raw as fresh vegetables. Talking about vegetables, so far the parts of vegetables that are usually eaten are the leaves or stems. But did you know that the flower parts of some plants are edible too?

There is no doubt about the taste, because it is quite delicious and addictive. What are the names of these flowers?

1. Onion Flowers

Shallot flowers are shaped like leeks, with white flower buds at the ends. The taste of this onion flower is fresh, the texture is crunchy. It is suitable for mixing into a variety of stir-fries. Kembang Bawang is also delicious to be enjoyed fresh or raw with the typical Semarang spring rolls.

2. Papaya Flowers

Not only the fruit and leaves are consumed, it turns out that papaya flowers are also processed quite often, you know. The papaya flowers used are of course still buds, not yet blooming, and yellowish green in color. Although the taste of papaya flowers is a bit bitter, it can be disguised by boiling it with tamarind and adding a strong spice to the dish.

3. Genjer Flowers

Usually, the parts of genjer that are taken for consumption are the leaves and stems. But it turns out the flowers can be consumed. The shape of this genjer flower is small and still a bud. To get a fresh taste of genjer flowers like kale, choose young genjer flowers. Genjer flowers are usually sold in bundles separate from the genjer leaves.

4. Flower or Banana Heart

If this one flower is quite famous for cooking. Banana flowers have a shape like a human heart organ with a purplish-red color. The taste of this banana flower is slightly bitter with a soft texture. However, if processed properly, the bitter taste can be disguised.

5. Kecombrang Flowers

Kecombrang flowers are pink in color with buds as long as the index finger or longer. The taste of this kecombrang flower tends to be sour with a distinctive aroma. Kecombrang flowers are usually processed by mixing it with chili sauce, stir-fries, or mixing it into soupy dishes.

6. Best Flowers

The terubuk flower is the flower of the sugarcane plant. Even though the name is a flower, the shape of the stem is segmented and pale reddish green in color. The texture of this flower is crunchy and sweet when eaten. Usually people consume raw terubuk flowers as fresh vegetables, cooked with lodeh vegetables, tamarind vegetables, and curry.

7. Turi Flowers

Turi flowers that haven't bloomed or look like a crescent moon. When it blooms, it looks more like a butterfly. There are white tend to be pale green and also red. But the most commonly consumed is the white one. The taste is slightly bitter, but very distinctive. Turi flowers are often mixed into pecel. But some people eat it raw as fresh vegetables.