Edible Sakura

Cherry blossoms and leaves in spring dishes - written by Risa Sekiguchi

It’s April, the month when Kyoto is transformed into another worldly paradise by billowy clouds of pink blossoms from the city’s many sakura (cherry) trees. The flowers — which bloom for only a few days in a riot of short-lived and poignant beauty — are celebrated in festivals, decorations, patterns on kimono and clothing, and eaten. Yes, the blossoms and l eaves are actually edible, and they have a delicate floral flavor and fragrance that are true reminders of spring.

But to eat sakura, it’s not a matter of simply plucking a few blossoms from flowering trees and sprinkling them into dishes. They are usually preserved by salting, and added to rice — especially mocha-gome (sweet rice), or put into hot water for sakura tea.

On the sweet side, sakura is now a popular flavor for ice cream, and has been used for centuries in wagashi (Japanese sweets) such as sakura-mochi. To make sakura-mochi, you take a dollop of red bean paste and cover it with a thin layer of pink mocha-gome that has been pounded to a point where there is still some texture. This is then w rapped in a salted sakura leaf. The sweet and salty combination is particularly delicious.

Other wagashi use the blossoms i n their entirely, such as the kanten (agar) sakura wagashi pictured here. The blossoms float, suspended in clear kanten over a bed of bean or dairy-based jelly. Their fleeting beauty is almost too beautiful to eat.

Sakura have been celebrated since at least 894, during the Heian era, as documented in written accounts of flower-viewing parties. Once a celebration of the aristocracy, the celebrations have grown in scope and popularity over Japan’s long history to become today’s sakura matsuri (festival). It marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

We can appreciate nature and beauty as represented by the blossoms— especially their transient nature. We especially love the sight of falling— and fallen blossoms, appreciating this intrinsically Japanese mix of beauty and sadness.

So while you’re in Kyoto at this special time, why not appreciate the sakura with all your senses by trying some of the sakura foods? You can savor one of the truly beautiful flavors of spring.

Risa Sekiguchi is co-owner of Mizuya, an online gallery for Japanese tableware, and the founder of Savory Japan, a website dedicated to Japanese cuisine and culture.

For more information on the sakura festival, visit savoryjapan.com