The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1903-06-27
COOKED FLOWER FAD.
Flower Feasts Is the Hobby Of


Have you ever tasted a chrysanthe-
mum %fritter, a honeysuckle OF apple
blossom wafer? If you have not, says
the New York Mail and Express, get
out your chatting dish at once and try
your skill on the very latest in dainty
desserts. This is the day of novelty.
Every up-to-date hostess is trying to
Guido her neighbor in the way of new
ideas, and just now the hobby their
hour bids fair to be a very delightful
one-that of giving flower feasts.
Not a flower for decoration, be it I'M
derstood, but flowers to eat-roses,
violets, apple blossoms, even little yell
low buttercups, Or any flower that is
favored by the bee, for the little hon
ey gatherer determines at once the
plants that are pleasing and reliable
for the human palate to sample. The
fashion of learning something about
cooking has been seriously taken up
and pursued with much interest by
the debutantes of the season, but
nothing has been more heartily well
coined than this idea of preparing
flowers for edibles. The fashion has
been borrowed from the Chinese 400,
who, dating from the time of Con-
fucius and before, have been noted
for their ~epicurean tastes. Their ia
vorite dishes may be widely differ
ent from ours, but, as the American
invasion into the oriental restaurants
indicate, they are not at all entirely
unappetizing, Not long ago a popu-
lar society girl returned from a several
months %sOjourn in the far east, and
one of the first things she did was
to astonish her friends by serving
them a Chinese luncheon with the
famous flower desserts, which she
prepared at table with the chatting
dish.
Chop sueN pineapple chicken and
the various water chestnut and bean
sprout dishes, so dear to the heart
of the Chinaman, have become an old
story to the average New Yorker, but
to watch a dainty hostess convert the
table decoration of La France roses
into a most delicious dessert is new,
If one were to take a peep into the
kitchen of one of the large apart
ment homes on upper Madison av-
enue some Thursday afternoon the
picture of a flower feast in progress
would meet their admiring eyes. A
h~alf-dozen or so girls have formed a
social club, and "experimenta meet
ings" are held in their various homes.
The original recipe imported from
China is the chrysanthemum fritter.
To make this a member of the All
Chez golden branches club furnishe,
the following: "Take two eggs, beat
lightly; add wheat flour to make
thin batter; no salt. Take a fresh
chrysanthemum, yellow or white pre-
ferred, though any color will do:
wash well, then pluck leaves and stil
in batter. Chop a little Of the leaf.
also, and add. Stir well together
Have ready smoking hot peanut oil
Take fork or chopsticks, pick up q
few leaves out of the butter, droE
lightly in oil, brown for a moment
and remove to drain on absorbent pa.
per. When dry, sprinkle well witt
powdered sugar and serve" A more
dainty dish cannot be imagined thar
this chrysanthemum %conceit, which
looks as tempting as it tastes. Rost
leaves or viOlets are delicious cooked
in this way, and the tiny waters ART
altogether novel substitutes for cham
payne waters.