Perfect for decorating, giving, perfuming, infusing… and why not to eat? A few days ago we talked about “Realfooding”, an initiative that is fortunately taking positions in social networks and at the tables of many houses. For those who need a little more variety, color, taste or simply visual impact in their culinary preparations of real food, today we bring you this post in which we explain how to use this maximum exponent of “Realfooding”.
The use of flowers as part of our cuisine dates back centuries. Specifically known is the use of the pumpkin flower in Mexico, the violets in Roman culture, or in India, where the rose petals are part of the decoration of their most typical desserts. In Spain, this practice has not been so common, although perhaps unknowingly we are already using them in our kitchen because the cauliflower, artichoke, broccoli or chamomile are considered flowers.
Currently they have been in vogue thanks to international chefs who are introducing them in their creations, so that now it would not be strange to find as a starter of a menu a roasted artichoke perfumed with pink garlic flower, as a main dish a lamb shank confit with potato flower or as dessert a violets ice cream. And what a good idea! Because flowers, besides giving the dishes a great variety of colors, flavors and different aromas, improving the organoleptic characteristics, also help to increase the nutritional value of the meal.
Flowers are vegetables, with a water content higher than 80% and therefore have a low energy value, but with a high nutritional value, as they provide vitamins such as A, C, riboflavin or niacin; and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron and potassium. In some publications, flowers have been considered functional foods, since they contain bioactive substances such as phenolic compounds, carotenoids or anthocyanins with antioxidant properties.
There are more than 55 species of edible flowers known, with many applications and utilities at culinary level, both in salads and soups and accompanying white and red meats, fish, pasta and rice or desserts. For example, the seeds of the poppy are used to flavor pastry products and their petals for wines and oils; the chrysanthemum confers different colors and bitter taste to salads and sauces; or jasmine, with white and sweet flavor is used in bird or fish dishes. Of course, all of them “Realfooding 100%”
But beware! Not all flowers are edible. There are some toxic species such as belladonna, hemlock, oleander flower, aubergine flower or dulcamara, among others. Although there is not much regulation in this regard, in Europe they are considered traditional foods (EFSA Journal 2016; 14 (11): 4590) and as such, in order to be used in food, flowers must fulfill certain characteristics regarding their chemical composition and the form of cultivation (free of pesticides, herbicides and non-organic fertilizers) as well as being microbiologically harmless. Regarding the use of pesticides, edible flowers must follow Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 February 2005 on the maximum residue limits for pesticides in food and feed of origin plant and animal, which has been modified by EFSA on two occasions to change the maximum residue level of ametoctradin (fungicide) to 20 mg/kg and that of flonicamide (insecticide) to 6 mg/kg (EFSA Journal 2017; 15 (6):4869).
The impossibility of using pesticides and herbicides, together with the highly perishable nature of edible flowers, means that this product has a short shelf life and that during its cultivation, preparation and packaging it is necessary to take care of every detail. The temperature is one of the factors that most affects the quality of the flower, existing different needs between species. In general, refrigeration extends the shelf life of the product, but some species may be sensitive to cold. Another factor to consider is the reduction of perspiration to avoid losses due to dehydration. The high relation between the surface and the volume of the flower, and also the thin cuticle of the petals, makes it highly susceptible to the loss of water. Likewise, packaging will be important, which should be rigid, similar to that of strawberries and other delicate and highly perishable products.
There are already companies that grow, prepare and package flowers for use in gastronomy. Are you one of them? Do you need to expand your product portfolio, improve the performance of your process, change the packaging or increase the half life of your product? In CARTIF we can help you, contact us.
If on the contrary you are not interested in edible flowers at business level, from CARTIF we encourage you to make your own floral menu and to enjoy the real real food. Bon Appetite!
The macrobiotic diet, dissociated, pineapple, onion soup, detox … are infinite diets that have become fashionable since the issues of food and nutrition began to interest me. And it’s not to start in a destructive way but none of them has convinced me from the point of view of a Dietitian-Nutritionist who has always believed in moderation and a balanced diet.
However, there is currently a movement in motion (notice that I say movement and not diet) that is changing my mind: the movement “Realfooding“. Of course, with some nuance.
According to Carlos Ríos, creator of the initiative, “Realfooding” is a lifestyle based on eating real food and avoiding ultra-processed ones. It aims to improve the health of the population through food.
And what is “Realfooding”? By real food is known all those minimally processed foods or whose industrial or artisanal processing has not worsened the quality of the composition or negatively interfered with their naturally occurring healthy properties. Specifically they are vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, tubers and roots, vegetables, fish and seafood, eggs, meat, whole grains, virgin oils, quality dairy products, coffee, cocoa and infusions, herbs and spices. Also considered as real food is the “good processed” which are those with an industrial or artisanal processing beneficial or innocuous for the quality of the food with respect to its healthful properties. The “good processed” are the second-range foods (real foods in canned and semi-preserved), third range (real frozen / deep-frozen foods), fourth range (real foods packed in modified atmospheres), fifth range (real cooked food dishes and vacuum packed).
The movement “Realfooding” is also based on avoiding ultra-processed foods, which include: soft drinks, energy drinks, packaged juices, sugary milk, pastries, white bread, processed meats, commercial and pre-cooked pizzas, cookies, refined grains and bars , chips and snacks, sweets and ice cream, diet products and commercial sauces.
The pillars on which the movement “Realfooding” is based are:
The excess of overweight and obesity in the population
To be healthy: Eat real food
Real food does not focus on calories or nutrients, but on food
Real food is cooked
More market and less supermarket
Real food does not have conflicts of interest
Ultra-processed products are bad for your health
The “Realfooding” initiative encourages people to participate in #challengeamonthwithrealfood, which consists of being a month eating only real food and no ultra-processed food. In this way, the initiative aims to challenge the population to test how they feel by maintaining a healthy eating style. “Realfooding” makes available to the “Realfooders” a series of tools that help them meet the challenge, such as support teams in social networks where they can ask questions, tell their experiences, difficulties and achievements; publication of recipes with real food, etc. You can find all the information on its web.
“Realfooding” could mean the beginning of the change of eating habits that population needs to reduce the high rates of overweight and obesity that currently exist; for that reason it should not be left only in a temporary fad diet but in a practice that lasts over time; a fashion that has come to stay.
Obviously, this initiative does not mean that all lesson learned so far in terms of education campaigns in food and nutrition is useless, but is another tool. Therefore, if you intend to do the “Realfooding” challenge, remember the following keywords:
Variety: In addition to choosing foods within the group of real food, these must be varied, that is, we can not always and only eat meat or rice or natural yogurt, however much it is real food.
Balance: Our body needs nutrients in greater quantity than others and those nutrients are found in different amounts in food. This is the reason why some foods should be consumed more frequently than others. This reminds us of the famous balance diet pyramid of which we spoke in the previous post “malnutrition by excess”.
Culinary technology: It is important to process the chosen foods correctly; for example, the potato is a vegetable considered real food, but better roasted or cooked than fried.
Moderation: beware of the quantities! the fact that the eggs are real food, does not mean that it is beneficial to eat 3 eggs a day.
With respect to the food industry and the regulatory bodies in terms of food, nutrition and health, we must highlight the effort and investment made dailyin the improvement of food safety, in the diversity of packaging, presentations and formats to maintain quality of these foods, more adapted to current society, in the creation of culinary alternatives for people with food intolerances and allergies, etc. However, there is still a long way to go in terms of improving the nutritional profile of food, the regulation of labeling, etc.
From CARTIF we congratulate the creators of “Realfooding” for the initiative and we support real food as the basis of a healthy, varied, balanced and moderate diet but always in the hands of the food industry and the regulatory bodies, who every day work and invest to give food products of higher quality and safety to all population groups.
