Notable Edibles

A Palate For Petals

When roadsides, yards and market stalls explode with spring flowers, keep in mind they’re not just good for bouquets. Try a salad topped with redbud blooms—they’re pretty as a parade float and crunchy-sweet. That’s just one possibility in a whole new culinary adventure: Edible flowers are fabulous for adding zip to your dinner plate.

The taste of a flower ranges from spicy to sweet. Here’s a sampling of spring’s floral bounty: • Basil: blend with Neufchatel for an herb spread • Borage: freeze in ice cubes for tea • Calendula: mix the bright petals with butter • Daylilies: stir-fry buds, or stuff flowers (only daylilies, not ornamental lilies) • Garlic chives: press into pasta dough • Lavender: create a simple syrup to stir into lemonade • Mint: blend into custard • Pansies: paint with milk and dip in sugar • Redbud blossoms: garnish a salad • Roses: fold into ice cream • Sage: steep in vinegar • Violets: sprinkle over a stir-fry You can purchase edible flowers at the farmers’ market stands of KG Acres (KGAcresFarmAndFeatherwerks.com) of Lebanon and Hobbit Gardens (HobbitGardens@tds.net) of Fillmore, and Sunny Creek Farm (search for the farm on Facebook) in Belleville sells foraged wild flowers upon request. Or, pick from your own (chemical-free) yard. It’s best to avoid eating flowers purchased from commercial greenhouses, as they could be treated with chemicals. —Shawndra Miller

Sip of the Past

Ever wonder what your grandpa’s—or great-grandpa’s—favorite beer tasted like?

Upland Brewing Co. is giving us an idea by reviving Champagne Velvet, a beloved, easy-drinking Indiana beer that had heydays before and after Prohibition. The Bloomington-based brewery, with tasting rooms in Indianapolis and Carmel (opening this spring), will debut Champagne Velvet in April with six-packs and kegs.

Originally brewed by Terre Haute Brewing Co. from the early 1900s through the 1950s, Champagne Velvet was a local craft beer before that even mattered to drinkers. Eventually, it was sold across the country.

Upland was still tinkering with its formula at press time, but Upland President Doug Dayhoff describes it as a full-bodied pilsner-style lager that’s light in color. Corn, a main ingredient, will give it a distinctive flavor, he says.

“We’re trying to be as authentic as we can,” Dayhoff says of the recipe. Upland’s take on Champagne Velvet began with incomplete brewer’s notes found in an old logbook. The team researched the corn, barley and hops used at the time, then found today’s equivalents.

Champagne Velvet is a way for Upland to mark its 15th anniversary this year, Dayhoff says, but it’s also a nod to Indiana breweries of the past.

“It’s fun to remind people that this whole local beer movement is not just a new thing—it’s also a very old thing,” Dayhoff says.

Details: UplandBeer.com —Erica Sagon

Say ‘Fromage’

Connersville Couple Making a Mark With Cheeses

Sixty miles east of Indianapolis, Connersville-based Jacobs & Brichford Farmstead Cheese is a newcomer to the Indiana cheesemaking community.

Its European-style cheeses are among the growing local options at retailers like Goose the Market and Vine & Table, and select restaurants in Indy, Cincinnati and Louisville. Jacobs & Brichford also has a small store in Connersville.

Since 1981, husband-and-wife owners Leslie Jacobs and Matthew Brichford have lived and worked on a Whitewater River Valley farm that dates back to the 1800s. Although they only started producing cheeses last May, the planning and development stages of the operation go back much further.

“We had been researching cheesemaking for over 10 years with my husband taking several cheese courses, and we took a farmstead cheese tour of the Normandy and Savoie region in France,” says Jacobs. “We’ve worked extensively with a cheese consultant for the past three years.”

The results are three distinctive cheeses. The Alpine-style Everton ($30/pound) offers creamy texture and savory-sweet tones, like a sharper Gruyere; the Arabella ($25.50/pound) is salty and mildly lactic, calling to mind a tangy Taleggio; and the semi-soft Briana ($30/pound) with a washed rind is fresh and sweet, a perfect pairing for fruit and nuts.

“We believe we are doing something different with flavors, yet capitalizing on the high-protein, high-butterfat raw milk from our Jersey-Tarentaise-Normande cross cows,” Jacobs says.

Details: 2957 South S.R. 1, Connersville; 765-692-0056; JandBCheese.com

—Amy Lynch

Flavors That Really Pop

You could say the idea popped into his head. After hearing from customers who love to use olive oils to pop popcorn, Artisano’s owner David Burcham has started selling unpopped popcorn kernels from Indiana farms and new organic oils to flavor the snack.

Artisano’s, the oils and spices specialty store, will offer new cold-pressed organic oils with popcorn in mind, including truffle oil, lime oil, orange oil, coconut oil and peanut oil. The kernels and oils are sold separately.

To make the popcorn, the oil is heated in a deep pan on the stove, then the kernels are added. Of course, the oils also can be used anywhere else in the kitchen.

Burcham says the popcorn kernels are non-GMO, and he plans to strengthen the local angle soon.

“Our goal is to have corn grown for us, taken to the farmers’ market and shelled from the cob on site,” he says. “A lot of people eat popcorn every day. This is a way to change things up.”

Details: 1101-B E. 86th St., Indianapolis; 317-251-4100; ArtisanosOils.com

—Sylvia Burlock