How to air-dry flowers

This is the most straightforward way to dry freshly picked flowers. Air-drying is a completely natural method that encourages the natural moisture within the component parts of a flower to evaporate over time. The drying process can take a couple of days for a wispy single stem with a small head, such as a cornflower, or up to a few weeks for dense, fleshy flowers such as dahlias and sunflowers.

Pick flowers when they are in full bloom. To reduce the drying time, cut away any buds and as much foliage as possible without damaging the flower and keep the stems quite short.

Once picked, lay your flowers out on a flat surface and remove any excess moisture by dabbing them with kitchen paper or a soft tea towel. Remove any brown petals, traces of soil or tiny insects with a pair of tweezers.

Take a length of soft twine, fine-gauge florist’s wire or a reusable rubber band and secure it gently around the bare stem, leaving enough flexibility so you can easily attach it to a hook or a peg. You can combine wispy stems to make small bunches, but make sure that the heads are not touching. For roses, camellias and other multi-petalled heads, drying them separately produces the best results.

Suspend your flowers upside down on a hook in a dry space away from direct sunlight or bright electric light as this causes the colours to bleach. They need to be in a place where the air can circulate freely and should be kept bone dry. If they get damp, they will go mouldy and rot. If you see this happening in one bunch or even in one flower, then discard it immediately as the mould spreads very quickly to other bunches.

Once the drying process starts, the heads will droop. The stems will start to feel brittle and gradually the whole flower will follow. It is dry and ready to use when it feels papery to the touch. At this stage, you can remove them from their hooks, cut off the stems and store the heads in glass jars or any other sealed container away from the light, or leave them suspended ready to use in your food prep.

DRYING BY DIRECT HEAT SOURCE

It’s easy to dehydrate fresh, edible flower petals and foliage by drying them rapidly via a direct heat source, so they can be used in cooking weeks, months or even years after they have been picked. The key to doing this successfully is to start the drying process immediately after picking and to work in small batches. This is an efficient method for drying single leaves to make teas and tisanes or lots of individual petals to make edible confetti.

An airing cupboard or a boiler room is the perfect environment for overnight drying, but an oven on a very low heat for a couple of hours, or repeated bursts of a few seconds in the microwave, will produce the same results.

Spread out leaves and/or an assortment of petals that have been carefully removed from the flower head on a tray or other flat surface. Use a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper for oven drying or a plate for microwave drying. Dry them until they are slightly crispy but not totally desiccated, as they will crumble too quickly when handled.

Store in recycled spice jars or vintage tins away from direct sunlight and use as required.

PRESSING FLOWERS

Pressing the heads of edible flowers is another way to make them last. Again, they will retain their shapes and colours for up to a year if you keep them in an airtight container and layer between sheets of tissue paper. Flat-headed flowers such as violas, pansies and primulas are the easiest to press. If you

have a flower press, you’re ready to go; if not, you can use sheets of thin card layered between two pieces of plywood and bound together with ribbon, or simply place your flower heads between two layers of blotting paper and place under a heavy book. Small, individual flower heads will be ready within a week and make beautiful decorations for cakes and cookies.

PRESERVING FLOWERS

There are many ways to preserve and conserve edible flowers following the same methods as for fruits and vegetables. Preserved flowers in salt, sugar, vinegar or alcohol will last for at least six months, although they will gradually start to lose their colour.

Salt, sugar and vinegar all act as preserving mediums and allow for imaginative experiments with various flowers and leaves in small-batch combinations.

Alcohol is more expensive, but an equally effective option. Choose a clear, unflavoured alcohol such as gin or vodka: about 250ml to 30g of edible petals.

Place the petals in a sterilised glass jar and cover with the alcohol. It should roughly be the same amount of alcohol to petals. Leave to macerate in the fridge for a week and then strain into a sterilised bottle. Use for adding flavour to both sweet and savoury dishes, dilute for long drinks or enjoy as a flower-powered shot.