Comments on: Pickled Magnolia Flowers Recipe

By: Robin on Magnolia virginiana

Robin on Magnolia virginiana — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:17:12 +0000

Kojith – Sweet bay (Magnolia virginiana) leaves used to be added to roasts and gravies to add flavour. Not sure how they would turn out pickled… experiment?

By: kojith

kojith — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:40:52 +0000

can the Magnolia virginiana’s petals also be used for this recipe?

By: Mark Lawton

Mark Lawton — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 06:00:38 +0000

I always used to say magnolia petals looked nice enough to eat!

We have Soulangiana, and Grandiflora; the scent is tremendous when they are in flower.

I have a page too about magnolias…

http://mark-lawton.com/growing-magnolias-successfully/

A few nice pictures, and an interesting read I hope.

Thanks,

Mark Lawton

By: Robin

Robin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 23:38:35 +0000

Lindsay – Your post has prompted me to write an article I have been meaning to write, namely, how plant taste varies from region to region and country to country. What can I say, you’re in NC, which I assume is the USA? I’m in the UK and they are divine. Did you nibble the flowers raw before pickling them, to make sure they had flavour. I have found different species vary quite considerably. I eat from mature trees, although for the actual recipe experiment I used quite a young tree. Anyway, thanks for your feedback, it all helps the journey down the greenpath.

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:00:40 +0000

I made two batches of these (rice wine and apple cider) and was very excited to try them. I was shocked and confused at how disgusting they were! The sweet tang of vinegar smelled delicious and started out beautifully in the mouth, but the petals themselves were so bitter and awful that I spit them out with a tart face. I kept trying the edges of the petals, the stems, the next day (in case they mellowed), and they were just inedible. I threw it all out. They were fresh, beautiful, aromatic flowers from my NC magnolia tree. Maybe the mature tree gives the petals a more bitter taste.

By: Robin

Robin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 20:07:45 +0000

Lindsay: You don’t have to use rice vinegar although it does make a difference to the taste. I’d most probably replace it with cider vinegar. This is a delicate recipe and I don’t think the magnolia petals would survive such a harsh treatment as canning.

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:41:22 +0000

How important is the rice vinegar? We’re moving soon (so I’d rather not buy a new bottle) and would love to save some of our magnolias for later! I have apple cider, red wine, and plain white. Also, can this be processed in a hot water bath (for canning) and saved for many months?

By: caroline

caroline — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 13:43:51 +0000

I hardly think you are still waiting for an answer Nadiya but in case anyone else is curious (as I was) I think the answer is yes. I assume the magnolia you mean is grandiflora – which has evergreen leaves that look more like laurel. The Plants for a Future Database says the petals can be pickled.

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Magnolia+grandiflora

By: Nadiya

Nadiya — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:16:07 +0000

Can you use this recipe for both the tulip magnolia (deciduous) and the evergreen magnolia? The photo shows the tulip flowers – the evergreen flower’s shape is more rosette like… ??? =)

By: Robin

Robin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:34:05 +0000

If you can’t 100% ID the plant, then don’t eat it. I’d say a mature Magnolia is a tree, others might call it a shrub. Either way, trees, shrubs are all plants… just bigger ones