Edible Flowers for Liquors
摘要
Aromatic plants have been used for the preparation of different kind of foods and beverages since ancient times. With this purpose, different plant organs were used, including flowers. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a series of information, as exhaustive as possible, relating to the flowering species most used worldwide to produce alcoholic beverages. The chapter has been structured based on the sensory properties conferred to beverages by the flowers of various species of agricultural interest. Following this approach, the identified species have been grouped into four categories: aromatic taste, bitter taste, bitter-aromatic taste, and sweet taste. For each of the identified species, information has been gathered and presented regarding the content and accumulation of metabolites responsible for sensory characteristics. Also, botanical characteristics, pedoclimatic requirements, and agronomic practices are presented, when available. Due to the availability of data and information, much of the content provided throughout the text is specific to the Northern Hemisphere, as indicated by references to certain months.