The cherry blossoms are blooming! Spring is officially here. Whether you’re off to Gucun Park, the Botanical Gardens, Tongji University, Zuibaichi Park, or Luxun Park along with the couple of other flower fans out there…

Just kidding, you know there’s going to be approximately one gazillion people there.

…make sure to get your eat and drink on as well! Did you know that instead of just looking pretty, cherry blossoms also taste great?

The short lasting sakura season leads to an avalanche of petals, blossoms, and leaves, all of which can be used to make an array of dishes, desserts, and drinks. The fresh petals don’t have much flavour, but if they’re freeze-dried or pickled in vinegar and then salted, the aroma and taste become much more pronounced. The same goes for the leaves, they can also be pickled or simply ground into a powder used to add flavour to certain desserts.

Pickled cherry blossoms

Finely ground leaf powder

Let’s take a look at some of the delicious things that can be made with these ingredients!

Onigiri

This traditional Japanese rice ball snack is filled with a variety of ingredients, including sakura during the short cherry blossom season!

Mochi

 Pink sweet ricecake is rolled around a red bean filling and then wrapped with a pickled sakura leaf to make this delicious snack. It’s a popular item to eat during Japan’s Girl’s Day (Hinamatsuri) and cherry blossom viewing parties called ‘Hanami.’

Yokan

A unique mixture of sakura and bean paste, this dessert is strained to create a smooth texture and then mixed to agar agar jelly to give it consistency. Petals can even be embedded within the jelly for an awesome visual display!

Cake

Let’s not forget about Western desserts! Batter for cakes and other sweets can be mixed with chopped sakura leaves to impart a floral flavour while the icing can also be infused with sakura petals for a wonderful taste and lovely pink hue.

Senbei

It’s not all about dessert, senbei are a type of savoury rice cakes that are toasted over an open flame. The toasting process unleashes even more of the fragrant sakura aroma for a snack that smells and tastes great.

If you’re not feeling hungry, you can always sip on a nice glass of cherry blossom tea…

or, for the wild ones out there, sip on awesome cocktails…

…wine..

…or even take advantage of the craft beer craze!

Cheers

Of course, the big companies like Starbucks, McDonalds, Häagen-Dazs, and the Hershey company are also geting in on the action.

How about it? Which ones look good to you?

🌸🌸🌸