Dried chrysanthemum flower

Fleurs de chrysanthème séchées

What it is

The heads are steamed or dried whole in late autumn; the white hangbaiju of Tongxiang and the small yellow gongju of Huangshan were both sent as tribute and are still graded on how tightly the head holds together. The vegetable sold as chrysanthemum greens is a different plant, Glebionis coronaria — this is the flower, and it is drunk, not eaten.

In the kitchen

Infuse at 90 °C for three minutes with a little rock sugar; longer and the bitterness in the receptacle takes over. The classic pairing is ripe pu-erh — a few heads in a pot of shou cut its damp-earth edge.

Goes with

Goji berry Jujube Chinese rock sugar Pear Honey Shou pu-erh

Same species

Edible chrysanthemum petals (shokuyō-giku)

Also used with

Hairy crab Sheng pu-erh

Something wrong here, or missing? Tell us