Can You Eat Peach Blossoms? A Full Guide to How to Eat Them and Their Benefits

Peach blossom, the flower that blooms on the peach tree, belongs to the Rosaceae family. It originated in central and northern China and is now widely cultivated in temperate countries and regions around the world. In summer, peaches are a much-loved fruit, so can their flowers be eaten? How do you eat them? What benefits and effects do they have? According to the Guojing Bencao, if you pick fresh peach blossoms, steep them in liquor and drink a little each day, your complexion can become rosy and beautiful as a peach blossom. In ancient China, peach blossoms were already used as a food ingredient, so they are quite safe to eat.

How do you eat peach blossoms?

1. Peach blossom porridge

For peach blossom porridge, take 2 grams of peach blossoms (dried), 100 grams of japonica rice and 30 grams of brown sugar. Put the peach blossoms in a clay pot, soak them in water for 30 minutes, add the japonica rice, simmer the porridge over low heat, and when the porridge is done add the brown sugar and mix well.

2. Peach blossom pills

For peach blossom pills, take newly opened peach blossoms, dry them, grind them and sift the powder, then knead with honey to form pills and take 6 grams each time, morning and evening. These pills are effective for dull dark complexion, acne, pimples and melasma caused by liver qi stagnation and poor blood circulation; they can also be used to treat menstrual pain and migraines in women.

3. Peach blossom tea

For peach blossom tea, take 4 grams of peach blossoms (dried), 5 grams of winter melon seeds and 3 grams of white poplar bark. Gather peach blossoms on the third day of the third lunar month each year, dry them in the sun and store them. Each day put the dried peach blossoms, winter melon seeds and white poplar bark in a cup, pour boiling water over them, cover, and drink after 10 minutes. You can brew them repeatedly 3 to 4 times and drink it as tea, one dose per day.

4. Peach blossom liquor

For peach blossom liquor, take peach blossoms (gathered on the third day of the third lunar month) and a suitable amount of top-grade baijiu. Pour the peach blossoms into a liquor jar, add the top-grade baijiu, using just enough liquor to submerge the peach blossoms, cover and seal, and after steeping for 30 days open it, decant the medicated liquor into another container, and take 5 to 10 milliliters each time, morning and evening.

What benefits and effects do peach blossoms have?

1. Peach blossoms have the effects of promoting diuresis, invigorating blood circulation and relieving constipation. They are used to treat edema, swelling of the limbs, accumulation of phlegm and fluids, and difficult urination and bowel movements.

2. The nutrients in peach blossoms can moisturize the skin and change the vitality of facial cells, thereby achieving a beautifying effect of a rosy complexion, smooth, glowing and elastic skin.

3. Peach blossoms have high ornamental value and are a common material in literary creation.

4. Peach blossoms are also rich in plant proteins and free-state amino acids, which are easily absorbed by the skin, are effective against dry, rough skin and wrinkles, and can also enhance the skin's resistance to disease, thereby preventing and treating skin diseases, seborrheic dermatitis, purulent dermatitis, scurvy and so on, greatly benefiting the skin.

How do you care for peach blossoms?

1. Watering peach blossoms: do not water when the soil is not dry, and water moderately to prevent waterlogging from causing root rot.

2. Fertilizing peach blossoms: apply liquid fertilizer once or twice each year after flowering; at other times no fertilizer is needed.

3. Pruning peach blossoms: peach blossoms grow from the axillary buds of vigorous one-year-old peach shoots, differentiate flower buds in July, and bloom the following spring, so attention must be paid to pruning. For young peach trees, focus on building the canopy; prune promptly after flowering, and for branches that have already flowered, keep only two or three buds at the base and cut off the rest. In summer, pinch the tips of overly vigorous branches to encourage flower bud formation. For plants growing poorly, avoid excessive pruning; suppress the strong and support the weak, and make sure the branches are evenly distributed to create a graceful plant shape.

4. Repotting peach blossoms: do this at the Spring Equinox each year. When repotting, put some phosphorus fertilizer in the bottom of the pot as a base fertilizer, cut away overly dense roots, and fill in fresh potting soil.