Sweet Osmanthus
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| Osmanthus fragrans Lour. |
The Sweet Osmanthus (Latin name: Osmanthus fragrans; also known as Sweet Olive or "Tea 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.
[edit] Culinary uses
In Chinese, the plant is called xī (樨), 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 (桂花酒).[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.
