Friday, 23 August 2013

Spring and Peach blossom bath oil


It's almost the end of August and spring is in the air! It's been a couple of weeks now that my almost 20-year old peach tree has been threatening to blossom and this week it happened! I was afraid we might get a cold spell (not that it can't still happen!) and that her buds would be killed. 

Did you know that peach blossoms are edible? The flavour isn’t very strong; the petals are sweet, and taste like nectar. The flavour has been likened to almonds.


Peach blossoms are used for adding colour and flavour to dishes. Scatter pink peach blossoms onto a salad or soup or use as a garnish for a dessert. Peach blossoms can also add colour to drinks or punches. Pluck the petals from the base of the flower because the rest of the flower can be rather tough.

Peach Blossom bath oil

This time of the year is when I make my own Peach Blossom Bath Oil. Using an essential base oil like Almond oil, I pour it into a clean Nescafé instant coffee bottle (because it has a wide mouth), add a couple of handfuls of peach blossom petals, screw the lid on tightly and leave it for about a week. I then pour it carefully into a pretty bottle (I have a great collection of those!), careful not to disturb the peach blossoms as they tend to break up and make the oil look murky. Once in the new bottle, just for good measure and for prettiness, I add a couple of fresh petals and voila! your own peach blossom bath oil!



Some interesting facts on peach trees :

- The blossoms of the Peach tree are pale to dark pink in color and have five petals.

- The Peach blossom appears before the Peach leaves.

- The delicate pink Peach blossoms may be large and showy, but sometimes are quite small.

- Peach trees (Prunus persica) grow 15-25 feet high. Their slender leaves have toothed edges.

- Peach trees start to bear fruit at 3 to 4 years old, reaching a peak at about 12 years.

- Peach trees are native to China and have been cultivated there for over 2500 years.

- Peach blossoms are in the same genus as plums, cherries, apricots and almonds.

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