How to Make Crystalized Borage Flowers Step by Step

 

 Crystalized borage flowers

"The borage always reminds me of the clear blue sky."

- Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea

Crystallized borage flowers (candied borage flowers or sugared borage flowers) have decorated desserts and particularly baked goods since before 1831 when the Victorians adopted this small, lovely confection as their own and used it as a garnish and symbol of courage. Before it's culinary debut as an edible decoration, borage was widely used as an herbal sedative and treatment for kidney disease, so it has had a long history as a useful herb. 

Borage was known as "starflower," and revered as a symbol of valor dating to the time of the Roman legions. Its brilliant blue blossoms were said to instill courage in the hearts of warriors as they faced the enemy in battle. The Druids held borage sacred believing it was imbued with mystical powers. Warriors would drink borage-infused wine before battle and consecrate their weapons with it. 

During the medieval era, ladies would embroider borage flowers on scarves for their knights as symbols of courage as they competed in jousting competitions. An old English adage captured this sentiment. It says, "Sow Borage, sow courage."

If you enjoy using fresh flowers for garnish or making more elaborate candied decorations for your cooking and baking projects, consider making crystallized borage flowers. You can see by the pictures that they are quite lovely. They taste refreshingly of cucumber.

How to Make Crystalized Borage Flowers

You will need:

Supplies

• A wire drying rack or wax paper lined baking sheet
• 2 small bowls (One for sugar and one for the egg white mixture)
• A small paint brush
• Paper towels

Ingredients

• Fresh borage flowers 
• 1/2 cup sugar (Superfine sugar is best)
• 1 egg white (For food safety, prefer pasteurized egg whites.)
• 1 tsp. water

Step One - Harvesting

1. Harvest borage flowers -  This is best done mid-morning. Snip blossoms being careful to leave about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch of stem. This will give you something to hold on to when processing the flowers later. You can snip the stem pieces off later if you need to.
2. Wash the borage flowers - Rinse them under a gentle flow of cold water to remove dust and dirt.
3. Dry the flowers completely on a paper towel.

Step Two - Prepare the Ingredients

1. In a small bowl, add egg white and water.
2. Beat the mixture with a fork to break up the egg whites and incorporate the water. Avoid creating a froth.
3. Place the sugar in a bowl for easy access. You can use granulated sugar if you don't have superfine sugar. The results will look coarse, though. Another option is to take regular granulated sugar and pulse it in your food processor for a few seconds. This will approximate the consistency superfine sugar. You can also do this in a coffee grinder or spice grinder. Just make sure your tool of choice is clean.

 Step Three - Crystalize the Flowers

1. With your ingredients ready and a wire draining rack or prepped  cookie sheet nearby, dip the paintbrush into the egg white mixture with one hand, and pick up a borage flower by the stem with the other hand. 
2. Apply the egg wash evenly to every petal, front and back. This can take some finesse, so work slowly.
3. Place the treated flower in sugar immediately while it's still wet. It can help to use a small spoon to coat the flower completely. It can also be helpful to keep a wet paper towel nearby to wipe your fingers on.
4. Once coated, remove the flower to the drying rack.
5. Repeat the process for all the flowers.

Sugared Horace flower

Step Four - Finishing Up

1. Dry borage flowers for 24 to 36 hours, or until they are completely dry. When humidity is high, drying may take somewhat longer.
2. Crystallized borage flowers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Try making borage ice cubes, too!

If you have extra borage flowers, consider using them another way. Freeze these beautiful fresh flowers in ice cube trays, one per section, and serve them in  beverages. They make a lovely presentation. Take a look:

Borage flower ice cubes