Cooking with flowers for health

Flowers please our eye and our sense of smell, their oils are used in aromatherapy and many flowers themselves have medicinal benefits as dietary therapy.

Chinese were cooking with flowers thousands of years ago and flowers, such as the special Chinese rose, are important ingredients in the cuisine.

"Drink the dew of magnolia in the morning, and eat the falling petals of chrysanthemum at night," wrote Qu Yuan in his famous poem "Li Sao" ("The Lament") about a nobleman's life in the Warring States Period (476-221 BC). Magnolia and chrysanthemum symbolize nobility and integrity.

Chrysanthemum wine was routiely served in the imperial palace on Chongyang Festival (Double Nine Festival) in the reign of Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).

However, flower cuisine didn't become popular until the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). It first became popular among the nobility, especially women who used flowers to improve their complexion.

It is said that Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history, ordered servants to collect hundres of flowers, mix them with mashed rice and make them into bai hua gao (hundred-flower cake).

Various flower cuisines were invented, including cakes, soups and dishes. Cookbooks such as "Shan Jia Qing Gong" by Lin Hong in the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279) gives 15 flower recipes.

Apart from adding scent and flavor, some flowers are rich in nutrition, including vitamins, minerals and micronutrients.

Some people believe that eating beautiful flowers will help make them beautiful.

Health is closely related to what we eat, says Steven Jiang, chief Western-style pastry chef of JW Marriot Hotel Shanghai, at the opening of Yu Fashion Garden IAM Eating.

"A Western saying goes that we are what we eat," says Jiang. "A good diet can help us not only gain health but perfect our appearance as well. Flowers, of course, can help make us beautiful."