Sunny yellow, cornflower blue and a strong orange-red: the cheerful flower colors of so-called decorative drugs make tea mixtures and dishes more attractive to the eye - after all, it eats and drinks with you. In this article you will find out which plants are suitable and how to use decorative drugs correctly.

Decorative drugs give teas, salts and the like that certain something extra

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. What are jewelry drugs?
  3. Plant parts used
  4. Collect and dry jewelry drugs
  5. frequently asked Questions

    6. the essentials in brief

    • Decorative drugs are pharmaceutically non-effective but visually pleasing plant components in food.
    • Mostly colorful petals are used, which keep their color even after drying.
    • It is important to only use edible and untreated plants for this purpose.
    • In addition to tea mixtures, ornamental drugs are also suitable for flower sugar, flower salt, for salads and desserts.

    What are jewelry drugs?

    If you've never heard of jewelry drugs before, you'll probably cringe at first. After all, the word “drugs” sounds pretty dangerous. In this context, however, this does not mean any intoxicating substances that cloud the senses, because from a pharmaceutical point of view, all substances are referred to as "drugs" that have some kind of effect on the body and soul.

    This also includes everyday products such as tea, coffee or sugar - and is also reflected in the use of the word "drogerie" for a shop that primarily sells cleaning products and care products. Decorative drugs are decorative substances that usually make tea blends or dishes more visually appealing. In addition to tea mixtures, decorative drugs often decorate these foods:

    • blossom butter
    • flower salt
    • blossom sugar
    • Decoration of salads, desserts, cakes
    • potpourris

    Blossoms in blossom salt are purely an optical ingredient

    What are the effects of jewelry drugs?

    “Bright colors delight the soul. The eye eats and drinks too!”

    Even if the flowers of medicinal plants such as calendula, chamomile or St. John's wort are often used as decorative drugs, they still have no significant effect in tea mixtures or salads - the amount used is simply too small for that. In addition, the petals are used in this context less because of their pharmaceutical effect and more because of their pleasing appearance. The bright colors are intended to ensure that tea (e.g. a medicinal tea that otherwise does not taste very good) is actually drunk or that the boring green salad is spiced up with splashes of color.

    Which plant species and parts can be used as a decorative drug?

    Colorful petals, which can be dried quickly and colourfast, are primarily used as decorative drugs. Of course, you may only use edible plant material and never use poisonous plants - so stay away from delphiniums or monkshood, no matter how brightly they shine!

    On the other hand, the flowers of these types of flowers are particularly suitable:

    • Hibiscus (flowers and fruits)
    • Johannis herbs
    • chamomile
    • Nasturtium
    • poppy
    • cornflower
    • lavender
    • mallow
    • lemon balm
    • marigold
    • Rose (little and wild roses, blossoms and rose hips)
    • sunflower

    From some flowers you can use not only the fresh or dried blossoms, but also the fruits. A good example of this are the rose hips, which often appear on many wild roses in late summer.

    Collect and dry jewelry drugs

    The decorative drugs should be uninjected, edible flowers

    When collecting the flowers, be careful that

    • You only collect safe edible flowers
    • have determined these beforehand
    • If you are unsure, do not collect (some poisonous flowers can easily be confused with edible ones, such as dog chamomile with real chamomile)
    • only use flowers that have not been sprayed (e.g. not from the field edge, where the farmer has probably applied weed killer or mineral fertilizers, also the edges of busy roads are not good collecting places)

    In the case of potted plants, such as potted roses, there is often a note that these plants are not suitable for consumption. This notice is not there without reason, because plants grown industrially in greenhouses are often treated with pesticides - and therefore contain toxins.

    In addition, you should refrain from collecting rare wild plants in order not to endanger their propagation and thus protect the stocks. The pretty cornflowers, for example, which used to be found en masse in cornfields, only grow very rarely today. However, you can grow such flowers in pots from collected or purchased seeds with little effort and pick them if necessary.

    Only use clean buds, as you should not wash them before drying. It is best to pick them just before they wither and dry them immediately - preferably in a dehydrator or in the oven. The self-made petals can then be stored in a well-closable container or used immediately.

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    frequently asked Questions

    Can colorful leaves also be used as decorative drugs?

    Some plant species have pretty, colorful leaves that are ideal as ornamental drugs. But beware: Even if the targeted leaves are a non-toxic species, the foliage often contains significantly higher concentrations of active ingredients than flower petals. This can be a problem, especially in tea blends. Therefore, you should better avoid using leaves or even needles for this purpose.

    What about birch bark, it stays nice and white after drying?

    Birch bark contains numerous active ingredients that are used in naturopathy for all kinds of purposes - for example for wound healing. In principle, you can use birch bark as a decorative drug, but only to a very small extent. Here - as so often - the dose makes the poison.

    tips

    Nicely packaged and labeled in a chic glass, tea blends or blossom sugar make a nice souvenir or gift.

Category:

Vegetable garden