Patent ID: 8029836

Claim:
A method for treating flower and flower petals to produce a dried non-perishable edible decorative flower or flower petal that substantially retains its original appearance as before treatment, comprising: a. by immersion, spraying, or by a combination of immersion and spraying, coating a fresh flower or flower petal with a preservative composition, wherein the flower or flower petal comprises an upper surface and a lower surface and wherein the preservative composition comprises: i. an aqueous solvent comprising water and from about 0.01% to at least about 50% alcohol on a volumetric basis; and ii. a binding agent that comprises egg white protein; b. adding a strengthening component to at least the lower surface of the preservative-coated flower or flower petal wherein the strengthening component is added while the preservative composition remains liquid; c. after the preservative composition dries, spray-applying a sugar coating to at least the upper surface of the flower or flower petal; and d. drying the flower or flower petal, thereby producing a dried non-perishable edible decorative flower or flower petal that substantially retains the same appearance as before treatment.