1. Tomato Rose
To create a perfect and visually appealing tomato rose, select firm, ripe tomatoes with a beautiful red color and smooth skin without blemishes or bruises.
Here’s how to do it:
Start from the bottom. Turn the tomato upside down so that the stem side is in the palm of your hand and the bottom side is facing you. Start the knife blade about 1.5 cm from the center. Keep the knife blade right under the tomato skin and make sure not to cut through the strip.
Trim the tomato skin. This is perhaps the trickiest part. While paring, slowly rotate the tomato and keep the base intact, start paring the tomato skin into a single strip, just like how you would pare an apple.
Arrange the rose. Start by placing the base down, create a loop by curling the tomato skin strip. Be careful not to make the loop too tight, loosen it up a bit to give the tomato rose more open and soft appearance.
2. Apple Rose
Thinly slice the apple. Wash the apple and cut it into quarters, then thinly slice each quarter. Place the apple slices in a large bowl, squeeze a lemon into the bowl to prevent the apple from browning.
Bake: Arrange the thin apple slices on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.
Roll the apple: Stack 6-8 apple slices in a row, overlap the ends and start rolling them up as shown. Place the completed flowers on a round baking sheet to shape them. Adjust the petals evenly and transfer them to a decorative plate.
3. Cucumber Daisy
Choose long, dark green cucumbers with few seeds to create decorative cucumber flowers.
Slice the cucumber: After rinsing the cucumber, cut it in half and from each cucumber half, continue cutting thin and long cucumber slices.
Carve the cucumber: Use a small knife to score the thin cucumber slices into equal sections without cutting through them.
Roll the cucumber: Start rolling the scored cucumber slices and secure them with toothpicks. If the flower breaks during the rolling process, it means the cucumber slices are cut too thick. Once finished, you can place them on a plate and garnish them with other vegetables for a more attractive appearance.
4. Beet Daisy
Remove the leaves: Rinse the beetroot and trim off the leaves.
Using a V-shaped knife, gently push the skin from the bottom to the top, creating layers that overlap, creating a zigzag effect.
Soak in water: After trimming the flower petals, soak the beetroot in water for about 5 minutes to allow the petals to bloom beautifully.
5. Papaya Daisy
Step 1: Cut the papaya in half, then choose the part you want to carve into a flower.
Step 2: After peeling, place the half papaya upright, use a sharp knife to carve the papaya into thin, evenly spaced petals.
Step 3: Use a kitchen scissor to remove the core inside, then use a serrated knife to cut the small petals into smaller strands about 1.5 cm wide.
Step 4: Soak the papaya flowers in cold water for about 10 minutes to make the petals more firm. Then use chopsticks to shape the flowers. If you want yellow flowers, you can soak them in turmeric water.
