Many of the flowers lining store shelves for Valentine's Day have been gifted at romantic dinners. But what happens to the flowers that went unsold?
A new study from the University of Georgia explores how flowers can be repurposed as food ingredients, offering a more sustainable way to use blooms that might otherwise be discarded.
"Rose flowers are still going to be rose flowers on Valentine's Day. But we are looking at what happens the day after Valentine's Day to those flowers," said Anand Mohan, associate professor in UGA's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. "We don't have to throw away all the flowers that we use for decorative purposes."
Ultrasound technology has long been used for food processing. It helps improve quality and extend the shelf life of foods such as proteins sourced from plants and other food ingredients. Not only could these technologies be used for processing edible flowers, but also for extracting vitamins, proteins and other bioactive compounds that can affect our bodies.
Read more at Where the Food Comes From