About wrong marigold tea, Imeretian saffron and beauty

It all started last year here from this my article about marigolds:

It was read by 101 thousand people. people, more than 4000 likes, 373 comments. Another article was stolen from at least five Internet sites. I mean that the topic turned out to be relevant.

Your comments were the most valuable to me. Thanks to them, I chose suitable seeds and drink tea from marigold petals. And I'm going to master the Imeretian saffron.

About marigold petal tea

Several people have recommended, as the best, fine-leaved marigold tea. I bought Mimimix seeds, I thought there would be a lot. One flower has risen. And that dried up under the apple tree... So my tea is "second grade", not from thin-leaved, but from rejected marigolds :) I share my impressions.

These are my not terry beauties:

Tea made from fresh petals has a light aroma, light, transparent. The taste is pleasant. I think there will be different types of tea from different varieties. It's a pity for me to cut off the flowers, only for the benefit of this article I decided on half a cup.

And here is tea made from dry marigold petals:

And this is today's harvest of petals:

My tea raw material is completely dry on the bush. She walked and cut absolutely dry petals, only for dark marigolds. They, when absolutely necessary condition, are easily pulled out. Seeds are not needed, I also learned about this from you, dear readers!

Result: the petals themselves smell very nice, delicate. And tea looks like an infusion of nettle. It's nice to drink, and the petals themselves are generally delicious, I eat them when I finish my tea.

In general, I liked it.

But this is not at all what Olga Yakub writes about in her comment:

“Last year I read about Imereti saffron, planted the“ correct ”))) marigolds, dried the petals. The tea, indeed, turned out to be unusually aromatic and very tasty. This year I dried it again. I advise everyone. "

I concluded that for taste, it was necessary to ferment the petals, as described in this articlelike apple leaves. But where can I get such quantities?

Gathering fresh petals for a cup of tea is not for me. I'd rather drink nettle from dry petals.

For now, that's all about tea.

About Imeretian saffron

As always, there was conflicting advice. Someone advises dark marigolds for seasoning, someone yellow and orange. For example, Elena Artemova (Bondarenko) writes:

“I pick flowers and cut only the petals (no seeds needed). I dry it and put it in jars. It must be dried very well, otherwise it will rot in the jar. I add to salads, meat, tea, etc. It is very good to add to pilaf. The color becomes very beautiful and a pleasant spicy smell. I collect only the petals of the dark varieties of rejected marigolds. "

Agrofirms sell rejected terry marigolds called Imereti saffron. Their color scheme is different.

Unfortunately, I did not find a comment in which it was written that Georgians collect the wildest single-row marigolds for seasoning. I think this is more correct.

In short, I have these marigolds planned for seasoning:

The seeds are:

Germination rate 50-80%, only 10 seeds per pack. But I really like them, I didn't expect that I would smile at them every morning :) Bright interesting color and simplicity!

Although there is such information from Irina Lysenko, I will definitely try when thin-leaved marigolds sprout from me:

“Today I found one of the varieties of fine-leaved marigolds, and the description says that this particular type is used in cooking as a spice. So, the author, you are wrong when you stated that Imeretian saffron is a rejected marigold. Thin-leaved! "

And here's another comment by Elena Sivakova, generally gorgeous:

“In Astrakhan, marigolds are called saffron. And they are always used as a seasoning. Both greens and flowers. It was only when I moved to Moscow that I learned that our Astrakhan saffron is tagetes, or marigolds. But I still plant and use both fresh and dried. "

How do you like the historical fact?

Until now, I have not made a spice, because yellow marigolds blossomed much later than dark ones, and did not have time to dry at all. I also want beauty, not just experiments :)

It's time for beauty

I planted some marigolds solely for beauty:

They are erect, they do not improve the ground, but a 10 cm flower is cool!

Seeds:

And these are for color therapy:

The color is so bright that it seems to glow at dusk.

What marigolds do you use in cooking and for tea?

And which ones are for beauty?

I would be grateful for your subscription and communication :)