SWEET OSMANTHUS

The 'Sweet Osmanthus' (Latin name: ''Osmanthus fragrans''; also known as 'Sweet Olive', Tea Olive and Fragrant Olive) is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 5-12 m tall. It is native to Asia, from the Himalaya east through China to Japan.
The leaves are 5-10 cm long, entire or finely toothed. Its flowers, produced through the summer, are small (1 cm long), white, with a four-lobed corolla and have a strong fragrance.
It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in gardens (both in Asia and elsewhere in the world) for its deliciously fragrant flowers which carry the scent of ripe peaches or apricots. There are two very fine examples in the public gardens in Menaggio on the shores of Lake Como in Lombardy, Italy.
The plant is semi- to moderately-hardy and will survive light frost but will not survive a prolonged or hard freeze.

Contents

Culinary uses

References

See also

Culinary uses

In Chinese, the plant is called ''xī'' () or ''mùxī'' (), and its flowers, called ''guì huā'' (桂花, literally "cinnamon flower" or "cassia flower") are used, infused with green or black tea leaves, to create a scented tea called ''guì huā chá'' (桂花茶).
In Chinese cuisine, the flowers are also used to produce osmanthus-scented jam (called ''guì huā jiàng'', 桂花醬 or 桂花酱), sweet cakes (called ''guì huā gāo'', 桂花糕), dumplings, soups, and even liquor (called ''guì huā jiǔ'', 桂花酒; or 桂花陈酒, ''guì huā chén jiǔ'').[1] Osmanthus jam is used as an ingredient in a type of gruel called ''chátāng'' (茶汤), which is made from sorghum or millet flour and sugar mixed with boiling water. This dish is typical of the northern city of Tianjin, although it may also be found in Beijing.

References

★ ''Fact Sheet ST-425'' , United States Forest Service

See also

★ Osmanthus