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Article: Spicy nasturtiums: the hot-hued flowers of these prolific annuals jazz up summer side dishes with their subtle sweetness and mustardy bite. (includes related article on nasturtium cultivation)
- Article from:
- Country Living
- Article date:
- August 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Hearst Communications, reprinted with permission of Hearst. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When I was a kid in Arizona, I'd occasionally pick nasturtium blossoms from the rambling vines that grew in my dad's garden. Although I didn't particularly like to nibble on the petals and leaves, which I found too pungent for my young taste buds, I took pleasure in the touch-of-honey sweetness hidden in the flower's spur.
In time I came to appreciate nasturtium's pronounced peppery flavor, which comes from the mustard oils concentrated in the plant's green leaves. Similar in taste to watercress, nasturtium numbers among the most easily grown annual flowering plants. Its showy spurred flowers and fanlike leaves make savory additions to summer salads and appetizers.