Magnolia

Magnolia denudata · Edible flower

40 pairings

Magnolia is the large, fragrant flower of trees and shrubs in the genus Magnolia, several species of which bear edible petals (botanically tepals) prized in East Asia. Crisp and faintly mucilaginous, the petals carry a striking ginger-cardamom warmth that has long been used pickled, candied, battered as tempura, or steeped for tea.

Picking a good onedrag

Just picked, tepals crisp and spicyBrown at the folds, limp and dropping

Fully openThe largest volume of tepal. Pull them off the central cone and discard it; white ones are said to be milder than deep pink.Most tepal

Where it came fromYour own tree: an eating species you already know, never sprayed

The tepalsSound, with a faint tan line down one outer edge

One tepal in the handFirm, bending a little before it breaks

Bud or open flowerFully open, tepals flat but every one still attached

Smell at a torn edgeSpicy and floral, plain at a torn edge

What to look for, from just picked, tepals crisp and spicy to brown at the folds, limp and dropping.

Preparing