Fried Pumpkin Blossoms

Fried Pumpkin Blossoms

The idea of fried pumpkin blossoms may seem strange to the uninitiated, but these tasty little frites are simple to make. Mine were from a mini pumpkin plant, but any pumpkin, squash, or zucchini flower should be suitable. My plant's flowers only last a day, so each morning I wake up to new pumpkin flowers to fry.

Don't worry if you are new to frying, these edible delights were my first foray into frying. I used a modified tempura batter to be light and crisp like the flowers rather than drowning them in batter.

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin flowers
• Frying batter (1:1 cold water and flour. You can add more cold water. Batter should be more of a liquid than a paste. Thankfully, it does not have to be an exact ratio)
• Oil (for frying)

Procedure:

1. Wash the flowers and cut out the center of the flower (stamen) which is covered in pollen (see Figure 1).
2. Heat oil to about 350ºF/177ºC.
3. Mix batter ingredients in a small bowl.
4. Dip flowers into batter and place them in the hot oil. Allow to cook until browned on the edges.
5. Remove, cool, salt to taste, and enjoy (see Figure 2).

Figure 1.

Figure 2.