Feasting And Flowers: A Colourful Celebration Of Spring

There is something particularly magical about springtime.

The barren land, once frozen by snow and ice, and shrouded in the darkness of the winter months, now bursts forth in life. The birds begin to return; the geese flying home once more in their V formations, and smaller birds begin to emerge from their hedgerow nests.

Flying insects begin to buzz and fill the air once again, spreading the pollen for flowers to bloom across fields, woodland, and urban gardens alike, swaddling the hardened ground in a soft blanket of pink, yellow, and blue.

Here, we’ve collected a vibrant variety of tasty floral treats to celebrate the rebirth of Spring and the joy of the blooming natural world!

Primrose Curd

The Primrose is a small, yellow flower, found across the UK. It blooms from December through to May, making it one of the first signs that Spring is on its way. It is traditionally associated with spring, innocence, young love, prosperity, The May Day festival, and faeries in traditional folklore. It is subtle in flavour, but adds a dash of colour and vibrance to any dish – sweet or savoury.

Ingredients

Two large handfuls of primrose flowers

900g sugar

4 Granny Smith’s apples

4 lemons

250g butter

8 eggs

Instructions

1. Chop up the flowers and mix them well into the sugar. Leave to infuse for at least 24 hours.
2. Prepare the apples by peeling and finely chopping them. Add to a pan with the zest and juice of the lemons and 200ml of water, and heat over a low flame until the apples are a mashable consistency. Keep the water aside.
3. Create a bain-marie by placing a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. To this, add the water from the apples, the butter, and the sugar with the primroses. Stir until melted and mixed.
4. With a sieve, strain out the primrose flowers and add the eggs, whisking continually.
5. Keep stirring continuously until the mixture thickens; about twenty minutes.
6. Pour into sterilised jars and refrigerate until cool.

Dandelion ‘Honey’

Also known as “Poor Man’s Honey” due to its reputation for being a cheap alternative to honey produced by bees, dandelion honey used to be a staple in many working people’s larders across the UK.

An excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K, and of the mineral calcium, dandelions are traditionally associated with happiness, luck, and faery magic. In fact, the tradition of making a wish on a dandelion seed head may go back to its associations with the faeries and their ability to grant wishes.

Dandelion honey contains no real honey, and is therefore completely vegan.

Ingredients

2 handfuls of dandelion flowers

240ml apple juice

200g sugar

Instructions

1. Remove the petals from the flowerheads, wash in a sieve, and set them aside.
2. Add the flowers, sugar, and juice to a pan, and reduce to a light syrup.
3. Strain the petals from the ‘honey’ and pour them into sterilised jars.
4. Allow to cool in the refrigerator, and enjoy on toast, or as you would any honey product.

Rose And Cardamom Shortbread

What better way to celebrate the fertility of Spring than with the flower of love?

Roses have a range of different meanings depending on their colour and openness.

A red rose symbolises romantic and sexual love, while a pink rose represents pure and honest love. A yellow rose represents friendship, while a white rose represents innocence and virginity. A closed rose represents a new relationship beginning, while an open rose represents love in bloom.

Ingredients

284g plain flour

2 tbsp organic rose petals

1.5 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp salt

225g unsalted butter

85g icing sugar

2 tsp rosewater

Instructions

1. Combine flour, petals, cardamom, and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the butter and sugar and add the rosewater.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and rosewater mixture and shape into a round of shortbread.
4. Chill for at least two hours, or up to two days.
5. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C.
6. Cut the shortbread into rounds using a biscuit cutter and place it on prepared baking sheets. Prick with a fork.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until pale golden in colour.
8. Allow to cool, then enjoy!