Cherry blossoms (Sakura)

[torakris]

It is that time of year again!

I just enjoyed my first sakura mochi of the season.

and not too long I tried the new sakura flavored Kit Kat, which I will never make the mistake of eating again....

[torakris]

I picked this up today in Hakone

Sakura soba!!

[torakris]

Sakura shigure

[torakris]

Can you tell I love sakura flavored food?

Yesterday I found sakura castella!

The cake part was ok (a little dry) but the salted cherry blossom on top left the parts that it touched so salty that you couldn't eat it...

[jeniac42]

Hmm, I might like the really salty part, but I'm someone who drinks pickle juice from the jar sometimes....

I bought some sakura denbu (桜でんぶ) at the store the other day. I haven't eaten much of it yet but it doesn't seem to have much flavor. They have a lot of sakura products so maybe I will try something else soon.

[torakris]

Sakura mochi ice cream

It wasn't awful but I won't get it again. It had litle chucks of "mochi" that tasted more of plastic.

Two days ago at Foodex I also was able to sample a sakura natto, with bits of minced sakura leaves, that I really enjoyed.

sakura natto

[Kiem Hwa]

Sakura is in Bloom already in Los Angeles!!!

Is this the same as the one in Japan? I was considering getting some of the blossoms and making the 桜の花漬け Sakura no hana tsukeru (Preserved Sakura Blossoms).

A recipe is here:

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:of1H4R...lient=firefox-a

Has anyone attempted making this themselves yet?

Do I just use fresh cherry blossoms?

Are these the right type of blossoms?

The recipe said 八重桜の花, which means... double-flowered blossoms? But these ones only have a single layer of 5 petals:

Also, regarding the leaves of Sakura used for mochi and stuff... is there a special way to preserve the leaves? Also, a way to cook the mochi with the leaves? If I were to get the leaves, is there a particular age of leaf or season to collect leaves in?

[helenjp]

J site on preserving cherry leaves. Choose fresh, soft, young leaves that have just reached a reasonable size.Prunus lannesiana var. speciosa, the large-flowered single "Oshima" cherry has large leaves and plenty of fragrance, which apparently comes from toxic substances which make you feel good...right up until the point where you pop your clogs, that is! Pix here, scroll down - these are taken at the university where I teach (part-time, without honor or glory, I might add), though this is not the hort. department site. Several other varieties are related to this, including the fairly popular greeny-yellow "ukon" variety. The Oshima cherry family have soft leaves, but you can still pickle other cherry leaves and either chew harder or just use them for flavoring.

To summarize: 1 part by weight of fresh cherry leaves, weighed. 20% of that weight in coarse salt such as kosher salt. 1 part by weight of uncolored or "white" ume-su, the briny vinegary liquid that seeps from umeboshi as they are first pickled. You can also buy it bottled, and if you have none, make a brine of 5 parts water to 1 part salt by weight.

Wash leaves, put in a colander in a big bowl, pour boiling water over them, drain, and refresh quickly in cold water. Remove excess water, for example using a salad spinner.

The text talks about putting the leaves in the bottom of a cake tin, but that's asking for rust! I'd use a tabletop pickler, or a casserole which you can fit some kind of plate or board inside. Lay leaves out so that you can easily sort them by size (helpful when you want to make sweets etc). Spread 1/3 of the salt in the bottom of the container, fold leaves in half vertically, and lay in the container, then sprinkle the remainder of the salt over. Here she just shows 10 of the leaves.

Pour over the ume-su or the cooled brine. Spread wrap over the top (press firmly to exclude as much air as possible). Put a plate or board on top, and add weights - rocks, a stack of plates, a jar etc. Text doesn't say, but use 2-3 times weight of leaves at least. Store in a cool dark place or in the fridge, and after 2-3 days, when liquid has been exuded, reduce weights by half.

Text doesn't say, but I think after a week or so, you can take the weights off and put them in a plastic container, preferably with wrap pressed over the surface.

[helenjp]

For salted cherry blossoms, you want blossoms with a nice long stem, heavily double. I won't give you a botanical name, as several varieties have double-flowered cultivars.

J page with photos of salted blossoms

This site doesn't give exact quantities, but 20% by weight of coarse salt in proportion to the blossoms would be about right.

Again, rinse blossoms gently, drain water, lay in salt, sprinkling some over the top, and press under weights for about 3 hours. Gently squeeze most of moisture out (use kitchen paper), and put in a jar with white ume-su or a 20% brine and white wine vinegar solution. Leave for a week.

Drain and again squeeze gently. Shake petals loose a little, and store in coarse salt - will keep almost for ever.

[helenjp]

Oh yes, another version: cherry blossom salt, which I tell you shamelessly that I read in a magazine at the bookshop the other day.

2 cups cherry blossoms

2 tab coarse salt

Preserved cherry leaves if desired.

Chop cherry blossoms finely into salt, ditto leaves if desired, mix well into salt, and use as desired - for example, on seki-han.

I'm planning to try this with our remaining ume blossom, if it would stop raining long enough for me to get some!

[Hiroyuki]

Is it legal to pick up cherry blossoms from a tree in a public garden in your country??

[helenjp]

Only when wearing a mask and ski-hat, between the hours of sunset and sunrise...

[Kiem Hwa]

Thanks for all the responses! The variety of this particular sakura tree is Prunus serrulata "pink cloud". This weekend we are going on a picnic at a place that has a lot of trees so I will see if there are different varieties there. Is there a reason double and not single blossoms are used?

Is it legal to pick up cherry blossoms from a tree in a public garden in your country??

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Well....maybe I would only do it if noone was around, but I dont see why it would be considered illegal...more like inappropriate maybe. This is actually the first blooming Sakura tree i have seen in real life, and it is (a single tree) in the botanical garden at my school... and seems to be quite an object of affection right now... hobbyist photographers are swarming all over it!

[torakris]

It is that time of year again!

I think there are more sakura flavored products now than there are blossoms on the trees.

A local newspaper showcased a couple of the products

Sorry, it is a bit hard to see.

from the left is

sakura tofu

sakura herb tea and sakura leaf tea

sakura cheese

sakura pasta

sakura soba

sakura ice cream

[torakris]

This is a wonderful sakura cream puff I enjoyed two weeks ago

and this the sakura cheese thread

[sk_ward]

In addition to all of the sakura food products that are nice to enjoy this time of year, it's also great fun to see all of the decorations that restaurants come up with!

Seen on the restaurant floor of Times Square in Shinjuku, which incidentally has just been redone and looks great.

In a restaurant in the Park Hyatt Hotel in Shinjuku (The Lost In Translation hotel). A great hotel to visit because it's beautiful and there are bars with great views. Just don't hope to hold on to much money...

A soba shop in Kamagoe, a town famous for a garden that has one huge sakura. You can see a picture of it in the back.

[sk_ward]

'tis the season for beautiful cherry blossoms and for the sea of black suits that overcomes the streets! It's the time for all new grads to go job hunting and it seems to be a mortal sin to wear anything other than black. This past weekend, all of the new employees had their orientation and we were fortunate to be able to enjoy some sakura viewing during the lunch hour. There were some new men employees also, but they have cooties, so the women wouldn't sit with them. I can't imagine that it was comfortable to sit like that for so long, especially because the thin mat was all that separated their poor legs from very pokey gravel!

More hanami photos. Some people get a little elaborate, for others, all you need is a friend, your dogs and a mini keg of Kirin!

I think the little stroller is for the dogs

Did you do any hanami this year? If so, what was in your obento?!?

[sk_ward]

Okay, so I like to take pictures of sakura! Here are a couple of examples of how they are used to accent the food. How could you not want to take pictures! These were taken at a shabu shabu/sukiyaki restaurant (º£È¾¡Ëin the Times Square building.

The flower was made out of hanpen and ground up imo.

The fish on the elevated plate is sayuri, a fish that I have really been wanting to try. But I didn't really know the person who ordered this plate so I couldn't exactly ask for a bite!

[sk_ward]

Sakura is in Bloom already in Los Angeles!!!

Is this the same as the one in Japan?

They look a little different from those that I saw here in Tokyo, but what a great picture! The flowers here seem more light pink and the petals look more rounded.

[torakris]

sk,

What great pictures!

We had a hanami party planned for yesterday but the unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate... I don't think we are going to be able to get one in this year as my 6th grader is off to school today and tomorrow is the official start of the school year and everyone goes back.

[Hiroyuki]

Thanks for all those photos, sk_ward. The park where the hamani was going on was Sotobori Koen, right?

Cherry blossoms are not in bloom here in this snowy region. I will post some photos when we have hanami.

[sk_ward]

Thanks for all those photos, sk_ward.  The park where the hamani was going on was Sotobori Koen, right?

Cherry blossoms are not in bloom here in this snowy region.  I will post some photos when we have hanami.

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You could tell the location from the pictures? Wow, I'm impressed! Yes, you're right--just outside of Yotsuya station, to be exact. Actually, I had to check the internet to see if where I was is indeed called "Sotobori Koen"!! After yesterday's storm, I think that the sakura season in Tokyo is officially over. Please post pictures when sakura appear in your area!

[torakris]

This week my co-op was selling sakura umeboshi, this was new to me and though I was intrigued by the thought I really need to finish up the 3 packs of umeboshi that are already in my refrigerator.

Though these are more expensive than the ones my co-op was offering the pictures are prettier.

[helenjp]

Yes, although the cherry blossom here in Matsudo is still viewable, the cherry blossom at our son's school entrance ceremony (held at the big university campus, where there are lots of cherries) was about 70% over - still looked good at a distance .

Surprisingly, few students were eating under the blossoms, but a few local families had turned up, complete with Grandma and small kids, to enjoy a bento under the last blossoms.

[prasantrin]

I've not had much time for hanami this year. I arrived back from holidays with it in full swing. I'm hoping to get some pictures of the campus tomorrow (entrance ceremonies for the junior high)--it's on a mountain (or big hill) so they bloom a wee bit later up there.

In the meantime, I found some sakura bread and sakura macaron at one of my favourite bakeries. Burdigala has some very good breads, desserts, and an awesome croque monsieur.

Picture is a bit dark because I didn't want to use the flash.