Hi Does anyone know, are the blossoms of the Kanzan cherry tree edible? Can I use them to make tea or jam? Thanks
I have had salted 'Kanzan' flowers that @eteinindia brought us from Japan. I'll ask Mariko to confirm that, and to mention whether she knows of people using them off the tree in tea or jam.
I can answer this question. They are borderline edible. They are actually used to decorate traditional Japanese sweets as an edible garnish, mostly ornamental. However, cherry blossom petals do contain some level of cyanide, so you should not eat very many. Eating just one small flower is perfectly okay though. There have been cases were dogs have been poisoned because they were eating all the blossoms that fell from a Japanese cherry tree (not died but got very sick). (Don't let this put you off though, marzipan also contains very low levels of cyanide because it comes from bitter almonds, and the cyanide is where much of the flavor comes from. You would have to eat a pretty large serving to suffer any noticeable ill effect from it)
