I came across the following from an article about raw food in the NY Times Magazine section:
When the restaurant opens for the evening, Roxanne takes her post in front of a collection of small cobalt medicine bottles. Some contain original herb-infused oils, which she drizzles on dishes as they leave the kitchen. Others are more exotic. Parsnips may be Roxanne’s ”magic thing,” but they are positively mundane compared with her flower essences. The highly diluted amounts of magnolias and roses are flavorless, but no matter. ”The flower essences just bring in some senses that haven’t been defined,” Roxanne explains. ”They’re more . . . vibrational.”
Now this is new to me! Hmmm. The idea of using flower essences to bring a new ’sense’ to the table and enhance the dining experience is positively intriguing. Now admittedly I’m a bit of a traditionalist: I prefer the original standards of Dr. Bach and supplement that with local ‘homemade’ essences where warranted. The latter being based on the concept that we are very much connected to the energy of our local geography and do best when we take advantage of local foods and therapies. But back to the subject at hand. Breaking out of the box and using flower essence vibrations to enhance an experience –like music or lighting might work in the same restaurant to create atmosphere and thereby expanding the stimulus beyond the palette into a comprehensive whole– perked my ears right up.
First I was curious, why these two essences? Magnolia and Rose? I assume that ultimately she uses them based on her own impressions and experience. But why try them in the first place? Why not something like Aspen, intended on a secondary level to open us up to the higher realms? So I did a little research.
Rose Essence
Flower Essence Magazine has a good writeup on Rose Flower Essence. What caught my eye was rose’s traditional use as a mood enhancer and the hips high content of Vitamin C. It is the signature of the flower that holds the key to how it will affect us vibrationally. A scent that ‘elevates’ and a chemistry that ‘binds’ would take on a new meaning when integrated with a dining experience. Additionally Bach’s Wild Rose Flower Essence is for resignation and apathy, lingering illness, lack of ability to embrace life, lethargy. It fortifies the will to live and commitment to life despite trials or pain. Seems to me that would be a good pairing as eating is the epitome of embracing life. To nourish the body is to embrace both life and health.
Magnolia Essence
New Millennium Flower Essences, which are highly regarded, has a White Magnolia Essence. It is considered a linking essence, helping in blending different essences together. Pacific Essences Purple Magnolia echoes this as it is for promoting intimacy and non-separateness, and this is interesting, also enhances all the senses. Flora Corona’s Magnolia Essence, which I gather is not a pure essence as it suggests it has a scent, again demonstrates a now reoccurring theme “when you need to open to the sensual beauty of the world around you”. So ‘blending’ and ‘enhancing’ seem to be the operative elements that would certainly be applicable to food.
Essences To Experiment With
The above two in mind, I turned my mind to what I might try with my standards, not to use to restore balance but to enhance a meal. An herbalist might use garlic or ginger just as a cook, but they have two very different intentions in mind! Here are a few I am going to try at our next dinner party:
Olive – might enhance the rejuvenating power of a dish and its relaxing properties
Crab Apple – as a cleanser and purifier, especially if I couldn’t use all organics
Honeysuckle – to connect and bring the whole tradition and history of a dish to the present
Rock Water – to bring out the spirit of a recipe (even if I don’t follow it exactly – handy if I make a mistake to late to correct it!)
I encourage you to try using flower essences with cooking – with whatever you have on hand in your essence kit and inspires you – and let me know your results! I’ll post mine here as well. This is really an interesting concept…
