Organic Flower Butter

From Rosalind Creasy. Both savory and sweet butters can be made with flowers. Probably the most versatile savory butters are made from chive blossoms or nasturtium flowers. Serve these savory butters with a crisp French bread or melt them over vegetables, fish, or poultry. Or also add savory herbs, lemon juice, or other flavorings such as ground chipotle peppers or grated fresh ginger. Sweet flower butters can be made with roses, violets, lavender, and pineapple sage and are a treat on egg breads, sugar cookies, or as a mystery filling between layers of pound or sponge cake. Not all edible flowers are equally tasty. Before you prepare the blossoms taste a few petals to make sure they please your palate.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Yields: 1/2 cup Organic Flower Butter

Ingredients

• NASTURTIUM BUTTER

• 4  ounces  unsalted organic butter, room temperature (1 stick)
• 12 -18  organic nasturtium petals
• 2 -4  fresh nasturtium leaves or 2 -4  a few sprigs fresh parsley
• 3 -4  chives, leaves (optional)

• Chive Blossom Butter

• 4  ounces  unsalted organic butter, room temperature (1 stick)
• 10 -12  large  barely open organic common chive blossoms, florets (petal clusters)
• 2  small  sprigs fresh parsley (or 8 or 10 large chive leaves)

• Rose Butter

• 4  ounces  unsalted organic butter, room temperature (1 stick)
• 1  teaspoon  superfine sugar (sometimes called baker's sugar) or 1  teaspoon  finely granulated sugar (sometimes called baker's sugar)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  almond extract
• 1  generous handful of fresh organic edible  rose petal (from the fragrant old-fashioned types, such as Belle of Portugal, any of the rugosa roses and damask)

Directions

1. Making any flower butter involves the same process. First, remove the petals from the flowers and wash them well in cold water—check for critters. Gently pat them dry in a towel or dry them in a salad spinner.
2. Using a very sharp knife, mince the flowers and any leaves. (Mincing is easier if you roll the blossoms into a small ball before cutting them.)
3. Cut a stick of room-temperature butter into 6 or 8 pieces and then mash them with a fork.
4. When the butter is fairly soft, slowly incorporate any flavorings and the flowers and leaves.
5. With a rubber spatula put the mixture into a small butter crock or decorative bowl.
6. Refrigerate until serving time. Flower butters can be frozen in sealed containers for 2 months.
7. All three recipes make a little more than ½ cup (125g).