Vegetables have long since been essential to any diet, containing many nutrients and minerals needed for good health in children and adults alike, and although some diets of the average American fail to get enough greens, it is easy to put these nutritious plants back in the kitchen and onto a restaurant plate, and they can be delicious and visually appealing instead of a chore to eat. Micro greens are one category of edible plants ideal for consumption, often being popular in upscale restaurants and available for purchases at most grocers. Different types of edible flowers, for example, can provide nutrition and other health benefits, and an edible candy flower can add flair to any food item.
The Basics of Micro Greens
According to Healthline, micro greens are young vegetables that are older than sprouts but younger than baby greens, typically harvested between 7-21 days of age, just as their first true leaves are forming. This makes them more similar to baby greens than sprouts, since only their stems and leaves are considered edible, although they are usually smaller than baby greens. These plants are harvested alive and can be bought whole, then cut at will at the home kitchen. For best results, micro greens are stored at 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
Different plants of micro greens, such as carrots, cabbage, and spinach have varying nutrition from species to species, but as a whole, most have a lot of iron, zinc, potassium, and magnesium, and can be highly nutritious in other ways. In fact, due to their limited size and maturity, these plants have concentrated nutrients and have higher vitamin, antioxidant, and mineral levels than fully mature plants, and they also often have a wider variety of these antioxidants than mature plants. These micro greens often have antioxidants such as polyphenols, which can lower the risk of heart disease and even Alzheimer’s. Some antioxidants can also help prevent diabetes by reducing stress that impedes cells’ absorption of sugar from the blood.
Micro greens are also popular at high end restaurants, and an edible candy flower is another sort of plant popular there. Over 30 years ago, restaurants in California started serving micro greens, and they have grown in popularity ever since. In the past year, visiting rates to fine dining have grown by 3%, meaning many thousands more Americans choosing fine dining where micro greens and an edible candy flower probably ended up on the diner’s plate. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics says that households with income of $100,000 or more make up 36% of food consumed away from the home. Similarly, about 10% of total American restaurant sales were from the upscale segment of the restaurant industry alone, where true leaf micro greens, sugar flowers, or any other sort of edible candy flower can be found.
Although not micro greens, any edible candy flower is a delicacy, and these decorations, once carefully made can make for highly fashionable and desirable accents and color on a wedding cake. A bakery can accommodate a wide variety of requests for their cakes, from the body to the icing, and these candy flowers can represent nearly any wild species and taste wonderful at the same time, and can make nearly any cake personalized and attractive for photographs. The colors and placements of these flowers can also coordinate with the icing color and flavor of the cake, as well as the cake’s overall size and height.
