Spring is in full swing, everything is blooming and booming.
Nature offers us its gifts.
I remember when I was a child, we used to get fried acacia flowers for dessert. It was one of those moments when my mother would cuddle us and let us know how much she loved us.
And when I was returning from her grave today and saw flowering acacias along the way, my memory reached back to that time.
Without much thought, I plucked a few clusters of flowers and took them home.
But first, let’s clear things up.
The tree, and flower, which we call acacia is not acacia at all, but black locust. With the scientific name Robinia pseudoacacia.
Robinia pseudoacacia, commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized hardwood deciduous tree, belonging to the tribe Robinieae of the legume family Fabaceae. It is native to a few small areas of the United States, but it has been widely planted and naturalized elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe, Southern Africa and Asia and is considered an invasive species in some areas.
And because of the Latin name pseudoacacia, another common name is false acacia, a literal translation of it (pseudo [Greek ψευδο-] meaning fake or false and acacia referring to the genus of plants with the same name).
The genus is named after the royal French gardeners Jean Robin and his son Vespasien Robin, who brought the plant to Europe in 1601, in what may be regarded as a reintroduction. A black locust planted by Jean Robin in 1601 still grows in the Square René Viviani in Paris, and is believed to be the oldest living tree in that city. Another was planted in 1636 by Vespasien Robin at the Jardin des plantes and can still be viewed today.
Now that we have cleared up the confusion about the name, let’s try making a dessert like my mother used to make.
So we need eggs, milk, flour, sugar, a pinch of salt, vanilla sugar, acacia flowers, and oil for frying.
In a bowl, beat the egg white until stiff. Mix the egg yolk and milk, then gradually add all the other ingredients and finally mix in the egg whites.
Stir in the acacia flowers.
Heat the oil in a pan. Pour in the mixture and fry until golden brown.
You can make a savory or sweet version. It depends on your taste and preferences.
Serve with powdered sugar and compote – sweet version. Or with ketchup and seasonal salad – savory version.
But be careful, the twigs and leaves are poisonous.
There is a variant in which instead of acacia, you use elderflowers. The whole process is identical, just use different flowers. And of course it’s a matter of taste what you like better.
And last but not least, let your imagination run free.