Over the coming weeks we are going to see a surge in delicious seasonal produce as they come into season and we are very excited about it. Think strawberries, broccoli, asparagus, and all the gorgeous berries for foraging over the summer months!

With the changing of the seasons, it means we’ll say goodbye to a lot of pickable edibles for this season, but thanks to preserving there are so many ways to keep them in your fridge over the coming months. We visited Burtown House & Gardens during the week for a photoshoot – more to come on that over the coming weeks – and absolutely love their approach to using everything seasonal and a big part of their menu is grown on the grounds. They also create sauces, pickles, and syrups so that these ingredients can still be used on the menu in months to come.

This week we’re pickling Magnolia flowers. These vibrant flowers have been brightening our gardens over the past couple of weeks, but as beautiful as they are to look at, they’re incredibly delicious to eat too.

The recipe is slightly different to that of our Dandelion buds in that it also includes rice vinegar.

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of Magnolia flowers washed and dried

1.5 cups rice vinegar

1 cup white sugar (granulated or caster work)

1 teaspoon salt

Place rice vinegar and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil adding salt at the end. Place your magnolia flowers in a jar and pour the mixture over. Leave to pickle for a day or two. These are delicious to eat on their own or with your salads and once kept in the fridge will last you a number of weeks! Happy Pickling!

We were very much inspired by Leviathan Food for this, who have a great selection of recipes with stunning photography on their website.