I used to sell a kit that would enable one to 'candy' edible flowers and leaves. Unfortunately, that kit is no longer available. The principle for the best method of candying/crystallizing edible flowers is:

1. Remove the water from the plant material, but not the essential oil.

2. I now suggest that one has an airtight plastic container and regular cornmeal that can be purchased at a grocery store.

3. Put a layer of the cornmeal in the plastic container, lay on the violet blossoms face down, one by one...not too crowded. Put more cornmeal on the violet blossoms to cover them completely. Make as many layers as the container will hold.

4. Place the container with the cornmeal and violet blossoms on the kitchen table for 48 hrs.

5. After 48 hrs, using a stainer, separate the dried violet blossoms from the cornmeal. Shake the cornmeal off of the violet blossoms.

6. Then with a food-safe brush, apply candying gel to the 'face-up' side of the dried blossoms. Place the blossoms, with the gel face up on a plate which has a layer of sugar. After a few hours, sprinkle sugar (regular white granulated sugar) on the blossoms with the gel. The candied blossoms can be used immediately with food, or allow the blossoms to dry on the plate overnight and then store them in the refrigerator or freezer for future use.

7. The candying gel is a corn syrup based gel that is available in cake stores and craft stores.

8. There are recipes using beaten egg whites and spreading that on the blossoms and then covering them with sugar. The problem is that the sugar will draw the water out of the blossom and it will not look much like the original blossom.

1 egg white

½ cup granulated sugar

Beat the egg white until it is foamy. Put some granulated sugar in a small bowl. Dip the violets in the egg white and then in the sugar. If the violet are small or you find them folding together, hold them with tweezers or use a small soft brush to apply the egg white. You might even find sprinkling with sugar works better than dipping. Be sure both sides (front and back of petals) are well-coated with both the egg white and sugar.

Lay the petals on a rack or sheet of paper to dry. When they are stiff, store in a tightly covered container in a cool, dry place. I didn't make enough to dry and store, just did a few the night before I wanted them for the cake.