Magnolia Leaves, Old Timey Bay Leaf Substitution

Magnolia—Is it a seasonal landscaping plant or seasoning ingredient? If you guessed both then you are right. Magnolia trees are abundant in the south. They have dark green leaves with brown, furry undersides and creamy milk colored flowers. They can grow into very large trees over 20-feet in height.

Edible Magnolia flower and leaves (when cooked)
Copyright 2017 by Helen A Lockey

According to Green Deane of “Eat The Weeds,” an educational company based out of Orlando, Florida, both magnolia flowers and leaves are edible. The flowers can be eaten raw and they taste like they smell. The leaves though have to be cooked and they taste like bay leaves.

This past summer I had the good fortune to go one of Deane’s foraging classes ($30) at a park in South Florida.

Deane warned us to make sure the leaves were washed before we cooked then into a recipe. You have to be careful they have not been sprayed with chemicals like pesticides too.

If you want to find more about him you can go to his website: Eat The Weeds and you can find him on YouTube.

Peanut Butter Fruit And Basil, Florida Homegrown

South Florida, Fla.--Have you ever eaten peanut butter fruit with basil flowers? First, do you know what peanut butter fruit is? It's not related to peanuts, so there is no allergy potential. Instead it is a red, fleshy fruit that grows above ground on a tree. To learn more you can go to my previous post on peanut butter fruit.

Florida grown peanut butter fruit with basil flowers, Copyright 2017
by Helen A Lockey

How about basil flowers, have you ever tried eating these? No, well you should because they are delicious. They combine concentrated herb essences with sweet nectar.

And when you combine the peanut butter fruit with the basil flowers you come out with a delicious semi-tropical treat. The basil enhances the flavor of the fruit ten fold.

If ever you get a chance to eat this combination, jump at it, tick off your bucket list and feel happy that you tried something deliciously unusual.

Shirataki Sake Brewery Co., Ltd, Japan, Sake Made Right

Orlando, Fla.--Soon you won't need to fly to Japan to taste delicious sake (rice wine). Shirataki Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. gave out samples of their delicious tasting sake at this year's Florida Restaurant and Lodging Show, held in Orlando, Florida. Shirataki Sake Brewery, who started business in 1855, said most of the sake served in American restaurants is of poorer quality than theirs.

Shirataki Sake Brewery Co., Ltd, Jozen Sake (rice wine), Florida
Restaurant & Lodging Show, Orlando, Fla.
Copyright 2017 by Helen A Lockey

They say that to make excellent sake you need excellent water because finished sake is 80 percent water. Their sake starts with pure water sourced from melted snow off the mountains around their brewery.

High quality sake also depends on the type of rice grain used, according to Hide Hashizume, International Sales Manager. They buy all their rice directly from farms Uonuma, inside the Niigata prefecture. This area is known for its high-quality rice, grown with pure, melted, mountain snow run-off water that is full of minerals.

According to the company president Shintaro Takahashi, who talked to me through a translator, for many decades they used to use wild captured yeast in their sake but this led to inconsistent products. Now they grow their own yeast in-house so the wine will retain a consistent taste batch after batch.

In the traditional style of making sake (junmai), they use short grain, sticky rice (sakamai), pure water, mold (koji, essential for converting the rice to sugar) and domesticated yeast to make their rice wine. And the results are remarkable.

I have not liked sake in the past, but after trying Shirataki's sake I fell in love. I especially liked the Uonuma Nojun, an 80 percent polished, aged dry style sake, served cold from a blue bottle. It's aged two-years in steel tanks. And the aromas that are released are savory with an almost clean earthy essence.

Jozen Junmai Gingo, a 55 percent polished sake had sweeter taste profiles and aromas of spring flowers, and tastes of pear, vanilla and slight tropical fruit.  It was served cold from a a red bottle.

Unfortunately, these saki are not yet available in any restaurants but one is available through Westchester Wine Warehouse in White Plains, New York. You can find and buy a 300 ml sized bottle of Uonuma Nojun for $9.99 online at www.westchesterwine.com
, and by typing in the keyword Jozen in the search box.

Shirataki Sake Brewery Co., Ltd., is looking for more distribution companies to carry their wine so that more Japanese restaurants can carry it and more people can buy a bottle.  "We want American public to drink at home, like wine," said Takahashi.

To find out more about distribution opportunities or other sales opportunities please contact Hide Hashizume at (914) 582-5943 or email him at hidehashizume@gmail.com