Pickle a Few Cherry Blossoms Before It’s Too Late
They call it the Flower Bomb.
Truck-sized pink cotton balls have been planted along the sidewalks where simple twigs stood last week. By mid-April, the slightest breeze scatters rose petals across the snow, which will soon cover the streets. It’s cherry blossom time and it appears overnight.
During this weeks-long pink apocalypse, the neighbors are relaxing on their front lawns, more sociable than usual; although this may be an illusion, everyone seems a little more contented. Since contentment is in short supply these days, I was wondering how to keep that moment in time. Last year, the ancient Asian pickling gurus sent me a plan: pickle some cherry blossoms .
It really isn’t difficult. Look for cherry trees that you know have not been sprayed. Make sure it’s actually cherry trees , as many of the flowers look the same; a quick petal count will help. Flowers can be from both fruit trees and non-fruit trees, but the latter, in my opinion, is preferable, because every flower on a fruit-bearing tree is a potential cherry, and I don’t even dream of taking their cherries away from anyone.
The ideal time to pick flowers is on a sunny day after rain, when the flowers are clean and dry. Otherwise, hit the road in the middle of the morning, after the dew has dried. Pluck the inflorescences, trying to get younger, partially open buds.
Look inside and place the flowers and sea salt in a glass or other non-reactive container with a lid, using the ratio of one part salt to four parts cherry blossoms by weight (25 grams of salt per 100 grams of flowers). I rub the inside of the glass with vodka to make sure it’s really clean before I start layering. When you’ve finished laying out the layers, place the plastic bag in the container. (Use a thicker ziplock bag or vacuum bag instead of a grocery store bag that is so thin it can leak or tear.) Open the top of the bag and add enough water to fill the rest of the bag. container, pushing out all the air and slightly pressing on the flowers and salt. Place the bag with the top over the edge of the bowl and close the lid. You now have an airtight seal.
Over the next few days in the refrigerator, the salt will mix with the moisture coming from the flowers to make vinegar, and thanks to our bag of water, the flowers will remain immersed in this liquid. After three days, you have two options: dry the flowers or put them in an umesha bath. To dry them, simply rinse them and place them in a dehydrator or oven set to the lowest temperature.
I prefer them in umesha, so I give them an ice water bath and dry them well, then repeat two more times to make sure I get rid of all the salt. Then I (very carefully) lay the petals out on a kitchen towel and gently twist it to squeeze out the water. Then I put them in a glass jar and pour over umesha to cover. (Umeshu is the umeboshi plum vinegar we talked about earlier . You can buy it.) (Honestly, you can also just buy salt-preserved cherry blossoms, but what’s so great about that?)
While you can use any vinegar here, umeshu is the traditional choice and worth keeping an eye out for its pungent, salty-sweet taste. You can leave the jar of flowers in the refrigerator or on the shelf. (They’re in vinegar, so the pH will stay safe as long as all the flowers are immersed in water, but if that makes you nervous and you have room in the fridge, it doesn’t hurt to chill them.)
Be sure to pickle enough flowers throughout the year because you really only have a limited amount of time to make them. Traditional uses include onigiri and wagashi like sakura mochi , but once they’re in your kitchen taunting you off the shelf, you’ll find additional excuses to get this umami.
Ice cream
I love savory and sweet, so I put it in whipped cream , but vanilla ice cream or matcha ice cream rises in the most divine way with some salty cherry blossoms on top.
Sushi
If you’re looking to shake up your vegan sushi game, here’s a simple maki with cherry blossoms, preserved magnolia flowers, and cucumber that offers a firm slap to the taste buds. Just adding cherry blossoms to sushi rice is spectacular, but turning them into onigiri like Jane Hashimawari is even better.
Pork stew
I love how the salt and sweetness of these florets bring out the richness of the pork roast, so I make a very simple cherry icing (see a similar one I used for duck here ) and then decorate with a few cherry blossoms.
Cauliflower soup
I make cauliflower soup every year. Simply sauté some leeks and onions, then add the chopped head of cauliflower, including the greens. Pour in the broth and let it brew for 30 minutes. Blend it long enough to be silky smooth and add 1 part heavy cream to 4 parts soup before mixing again. The end result is so sumptuous, and garnished with salted cherry blossoms, it’s one step closer to heaven.
Even if you don’t know how you’ll use them (yet), get your ass outside for an hour and spend it slowly bud-picking a cherry tree while looking up at the sky from under a giant pink cotton pad. At the very least, this simple outdoor activity will make you feel a little more content.