Can Fresh Osmanthus Be Eaten? A Detailed Guide to the Benefits and Contraindications of Osmanthus

In the eighth month, osmanthus blooms with a fragrance that fills the air, and some people like to take fresh osmanthus home to eat. Can fresh osmanthus be eaten?

Osmanthus is one of China's ten traditional famous flowers, an excellent garden tree species that combines greening, beautification, and fragrance, possessing both ornamental and practical value. Its fragrance is so pure it seems to rise above the dust, and when intense it can carry far, making it truly exceptional. However, freshly picked osmanthus cannot be eaten directly. Freshly picked osmanthus contains relatively high levels of tannins, which taste bitter and astringent in the mouth and lack sufficient fragrance. Therefore, fresh osmanthus is generally subjected to a long curing process, and only when the astringent taste is reduced or even completely gone is it suitable for processing into various foods.

If you are really in a hurry, it must at least be simply processed before eating. You can wrap the washed fresh osmanthus in cloth, squeeze out the water from the osmanthus, then add an appropriate amount of white sugar and mix well, then put it into a glass jar, press it down firmly and seal it. It can only be taken out for consumption after being preserved for more than 4 days.

I. Two Ways to Preserve Osmanthus

Method One: Sugar Osmanthus

Take an appropriate amount of osmanthus, rinse it clean with water, drain the water, mix it evenly with white sugar of equal weight or twice the weight of the osmanthus, put it into a jar, and it becomes sugar osmanthus with excellent color, fragrance, and taste.

Method Two: Salted Osmanthus

Take 500 grams of osmanthus, add 125 grams each of table salt and alum and 500 milliliters of cold boiled water, stir briefly. Seal it in a bottle and it can be stored for a long time. This method keeps the color and fragrance of the osmanthus unchanged. When using, take it out and rinse it with cold water.

Osmanthus products processed and preserved by the above methods can generally be directly mixed into various sweet pastries and snacks for consumption. For example, adding a little to glutinous rice sweet fermented wine, eight-treasure rice, lotus seed porridge, red bean paste dumplings, and other snacks immediately gives off a delightful fragrance and greatly increases appetite. In addition, osmanthus can also be used as a seasoning to make various homemade desserts such as lotus root starch osmanthus cake, osmanthus yuanxiao, osmanthus cakes, osmanthus glutinous rice shaomai, osmanthus sugar lotus root, osmanthus sugar taro, osmanthus chestnut pastry, and osmanthus sweet potato chunks.

II. Benefits of Osmanthus

1. Resolving phlegm and relieving cough

The aromatic substances contained in osmanthus can dilute phlegm, promote the discharge of phlegm from the respiratory tract, and have the effects of resolving phlegm, relieving cough, and calming asthma.

2. Promoting qi flow and relieving pain, dispersing blood and stopping dysentery

Osmanthus is pungent and fragrant, with the function of promoting qi flow. It can relieve spasms and pain, disperse blood and resolve stasis, and promote the excretion of turbid materials from the intestines, and treat intestinal wind and bloody dysentery.

3. Removing bad breath

Osmanthus is fragrant and can remove unpleasant odors in the mouth, and has the effect of killing bacteria in the mouth, making it an excellent food therapy for patients with bad breath.

III. Contraindications for Eating Osmanthus

1. Osmanthus is pungent and warm. Those with a constitution tending toward heat or with excessive internal fire should eat it with caution.

2. Osmanthus has the effect of promoting blood circulation. Pregnant women who consume cold-natured foods or blood-activating foods during pregnancy may easily experience miscarriage. Therefore, pregnant women should avoid eating it.

3. Foods such as osmanthus sugar made from osmanthus have a relatively high sugar content, so people with diabetes should avoid eating them.

4. The fragrance of osmanthus is too strong, so it must not be consumed in excess, lest adverse reactions occur and it loses its original health benefits.

IV. Osmanthus Delicacies

(I) Osmanthus Fermented Rice Wine Poached Egg

Ingredients: 400 grams of fermented rice wine, 1 egg, an appropriate amount of water, 1 tablespoon of goji berries, 1/2 spoon of dried osmanthus, 2 drops of oil, an appropriate amount of white sugar

Instructions:

1. Soak the goji berries in water until they swell.

2. Drop two drops of oil into a soup ladle and spread it evenly.

3. Pour an appropriate amount of water into a cooking pot. After it boils, place the soup ladle over the water, crack the egg into the ladle, and cook it over water until it is eight-tenths done.

4. First put a small amount of the water used to cook the egg into a bowl, then gently scoop out the cooked egg with a spoon and place it into the bowl.

5. Pour away the remaining water in the pot, add the fermented rice wine, bring to a boil over low heat, and add the soaked goji berries.

6. Add the egg and its water from the bowl, white sugar, and dried osmanthus, stir well, cook for another half minute, and serve.

(II) Osmanthus and Red Date Small Glutinous Rice Balls

Ingredients: 1 small bowl of small glutinous rice balls, 10-odd red dates, some dried osmanthus, 500 ML of water, 30 grams of rock sugar

Instructions:

1. Put the small red dates that have been soaked for 2 hours into a pot. After bringing to a boil, add the rock sugar, switch to low heat and cook for 10 minutes.

2. Add the small glutinous rice balls, push them a few times with a spatula to prevent them from sticking to the pot.

3. Cook over low heat until the small glutinous rice balls float to the surface, then remove from the pot. After serving, sprinkle with dried osmanthus and it is ready to eat.

(III) Osmanthus Cake

Ingredients: 100 g of millet, 10 g of dried osmanthus, an appropriate amount of red bean paste filling, 30 g of rock sugar

Instructions:

1. Soak the millet in warm water overnight in advance, until it can be crushed by rubbing firmly with your fingers.

2. Pour away the water used to soak the millet, leaving a little to keep the millet moist, then mash it with one end of a rolling pin, or mash it in a mortar. (It does not need to be too fine; keeping some texture is better.)

3. Add the dried osmanthus and rock sugar to the millet, and stir evenly.

4. Take a clean container and brush a thin layer of oil on the inner wall of the container.

5. Spread a layer of osmanthus millet on the bottom of the container, then a layer of red bean paste filling, and then another layer of millet on top. You can drizzle a little water on the surface to help it steam thoroughly. Put it into a steamer, and after bringing the water to a boil over high heat, turn to medium-low heat and steam for about half an hour.