WEBVTT - The Violet Episode Comes and Goes 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:12.160 Hello, and welcome to Sabor production of iHeartRadio. I'm Anny Rees. 0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:14.560 And I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and today we have an episode 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:16.400 for you about violets. 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:21.680 Yes. I always love our flower episodes, even though they're 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:25.000 a little bit difficult to pin down. 0:00:25.720 --> 0:00:31.560 Always uh huh. And there are so many poetical references 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:34.000 in this one that I stopped myself at a certain 0:00:34.040 --> 0:00:35.680 point and was like, we're going to have to do 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:37.440 a bonus episode about this if we want to do this, 0:00:37.560 --> 0:00:40.040 because there's too many poems about violets. 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:44.760 Yes, And in fact, we were discussing before I had 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:49.040 an unfinished note in the outline hmmm, where I was 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:53.320 like poetry about violets through the time, and I never 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:57.640 finished it, and then because of DeLay's and a bunch 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:01.240 of various things, I forgot that I had it, and 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:05.520 then thought Lauren was going to finish the thought, and 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:07.640 I was very excited about it. 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:11.080 And I had to be the buzzkill who today like 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:16.360 commented on the unfinished phrase like, Hey, my dude, like, 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:17.880 are you going to finish this thought? 0:01:19.560 --> 0:01:25.160 Oh? No, I thought it was your thought, So no, okay, 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:30.280 we're all doing great. We are doing great. We're speaking of, 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:32.959 we are a little behind with this one, but there 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:35.200 was an idea behind. 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:39.320 It, right, So Mother's Day as we are recording this 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:43.399 was this past Sunday, and I was like, hey, let's 0:01:43.480 --> 0:01:48.640 do something nice for Mother's Day, maybe perhaps a flower, 0:01:50.120 --> 0:01:55.480 and we somehow landed on violets. Yeah, yeah, that's pretty 0:01:55.560 --> 0:02:04.600 much it. But yes, Mother's Day, Yeah, yeah, absolutely. 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:09.320 I'm actually meeting with my mom this weekend because the 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:14.480 weather was so bad. Oh yeah, so's it's timely in 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:14.919 that way. 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:17.880 Oh yeah, yeah, I mean, celebrate the mothers in your 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:21.440 life every day. For anyone who has a hard time 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:24.800 on a Mother's Day, I see you. And you know, 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:27.080 violets are still very nice. 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:32.400 Violets are still really nice. So for past episodes you 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:37.680 can see I would say rosewater, dandelion, lavender. 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:39.800 Yeah we did that. I forgot about that. 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:43.959 Uh huh. Yes, I would never forget because I learned 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:48.560 that my lion trick doesn't work in that episode. Lions 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:53.120 are not deterred by lavender. Oh heck, I forgot about 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:55.680 that too. Here we are, thanks for reminding me. I've 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:58.400 got to live. I gotta know what I'm gonna do 0:02:58.440 --> 0:03:01.800 if I face a lion lauren and also marigolds. 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:07.200 Yes, yeah, yes, yes, such, yes, but that brings us 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:15.119 to our question. Sure, violets, what are they? 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:16.600 Well? 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:20.880 Violets are small flowers that are purple to white in color, 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:23.760 sometimes a little bit of both in patterns or gradients, 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:27.560 and have a scent that's sort of soft and sweet 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:31.440 and a little bit woody, like a gentle, powdery sort 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:35.160 of floral. The blossoms can be used whole as a 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:38.200 garnish in salads or desserts, or can be sugared and 0:03:38.240 --> 0:03:40.600 eaten as a candy or used as a garnish for desserts. 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:44.200 The flavor and color come through well in extracts, which 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:47.640 are used to flavor jellies and candies, baked goods, creamy 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:51.920 desserts of various kinds, liqueurs. The plant's leaves are edible too, 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:55.280 and can be used as fresh or cooked greens. They're 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:57.560 a little bit bitter and vegetable and put off a 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:02.680 little bit of like slippy, thickening mucilage they're cooked. Yeah, 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:06.640 violets are just a treat, just real pretty to look at, 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:09.480 and their leaves are like a real pretty dark green, 0:04:09.920 --> 0:04:13.120 and they're just small and they smell nice. And they 0:04:13.120 --> 0:04:15.080 go well with a lot of other flavors, and they 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:17.960 kind of grow everywhere just on their own, whether you 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:21.320 want them to or not. They're just a little ground treat. 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:27.240 A ground treat, yeah, as opposed to as opposed to 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:31.440 a tree treat, which is different, Okay, botanically. 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:35.520 Okay. 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:41.400 The word violet is used confusingly for hundreds of flowers 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:45.960 in the wide genus Viola, which also includes things that 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:49.839 are not called violets that are also edible, like pansies. However, 0:04:50.240 --> 0:04:54.200 often when you're talking about edible violets, you're talking about 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:59.279 Viola odorata, also called sweet violets or English violets, among 0:04:59.360 --> 0:05:04.360 many other name or similar looking species like Viola sororia 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:08.880 also called common violet, which are typically less scented but 0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:14.560 also quite edible. As far as I am personally aware 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:19.080 due to relatively brief research, don't take my word for it. 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:23.720 Flowers in the Viola genus are generally edible, but if 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:26.839 you're unsure of what you're dealing with, definitely consult a 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:30.840 field guide or local expert before you go foraging. Like 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:33.920 I've read that yellow colored violets can cause stomach upset 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:37.839 when eaten in large amounts. Know what you're growing and harvesting. 0:05:39.040 --> 0:05:42.760 For example, some things that are called violets, like African violets, 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:45.200 are in a different genus and are not okay to eat. 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:48.920 The leaves in particular, can resemble other plants that you 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:51.520 should not eat. Always look stuff up if you are 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:55.400 not sure. As social media personality, the black forager would 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:59.400 say happy snacking, don't die, Yes. 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:03.000 Don't good advice, okay. 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:06.800 Viola odorata grow close to the ground, usually only a 0:06:06.800 --> 0:06:09.680 few inches tall, maybe like four inches or ten centimeters. 0:06:10.320 --> 0:06:12.760 Viola sororia can be about twice as tall as that, 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:15.760 still not big. In both, the leaves are this like 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:18.880 cute heart shape or kind of like a rounded fan shape, 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:22.919 and are a little bit shiny. Underground, the plants grow 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:26.680 rhizomes and true roots off of those, and the plants 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:29.960 can spread in a few different ways via above ground shoots, 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:34.719 or from self fertilized underground near ground flower buds, or 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:39.279 from the seeds that pollinated flowers will produce, assuming you 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:42.880 don't eat the flowers first. The seeds are contained within 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:46.240 the plant's fruit, which is basically this like hard oval 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:49.440 shaped seed pod that will split open into three sections. 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:52.120 Shooting the seeds up and away when they're fully developed. 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:56.440 A little bit stranger things, ask still pretty cool. 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:58.479 Yeah, that sounds pretty cool. 0:07:00.720 --> 0:07:04.200 Oh and speaking of those seeds, So this isn't strictly 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:07.480 food related, but I learned a new thing today. Okay, 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:12.560 some seeds, these seeds included, have like a little fleshy 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:16.080 structure attached to the outside that will contain some fats 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:21.320 and some proteins, and ants love them. Ants will take 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:24.640 seeds with this feature. It's called an alaisome. I think 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:26.560 I'm saying that right. They'll take it. They'll take these 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:28.720 seeds back to their nest and give them to their 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:33.440 developing larvae. The larvae eat the elaisome, but leave the 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:36.600 seed intact, which the worker ants will then take out 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:39.240 of their nest to their waste disposal area, which is 0:07:39.280 --> 0:07:41.800 a thing that ant colonies have, and they'll leave it there. 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:46.240 And ant waste sites are rich in nutrients, so the 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:50.400 seeds will germinate and grow into a new plant. This 0:07:50.560 --> 0:07:54.160 is a whole type of symbiotic relationship known as burmacoccary 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:59.840 that apparently has evolved independently in all kinds of different 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:05.080 flowering plants. I love this. I love this nature is 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:13.280 so weird. Mrma Coachery if you're wondering, essentially means circular 0:08:13.400 --> 0:08:15.080 ant dance in Greek. 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:20.880 Okay, I like that. I like both the words mcrockery 0:08:21.840 --> 0:08:29.160 and the image of ants dancing in a circle. Yeah. Yeah, man. 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:36.000 Anyway, having all of these contingent plans for reproduction is 0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:39.839 why violets can be really pesky in a grass lawn 0:08:39.960 --> 0:08:45.000 if you're trying to keep it perfect. On a related note, 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:47.679 I can't tell you what to do, and I understand 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:50.840 that perfect grass lawns are like really pretty, but consider 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:53.720 killing your lawn and replacing it with native plants. 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:59.440 Yeah, that's of my dad. He called it a naturally 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:03.560 ard Yeah. I put that in quotes because he said 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:05.680 it with such a specifics. 0:09:07.520 --> 0:09:10.400 But you're not doubting. You're not doubting the naturalness or 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:14.480 the yardness. You're saying it was specifically a natural yar. 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:17.720 Yes, it was like, yeah, what he called it? 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:27.840 Yeah, okay, And anyway, anyway, those flowers on violets will 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:31.280 bloom in the early spring. They have five petals arranged 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:34.439 into a group of three, forming a sort of cup 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:37.360 for nectar on the bottom, and then another group of two. 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:40.880 On the top, they'll often have a bit of white 0:09:40.960 --> 0:09:43.079 towards the center of the petals and a little spot 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:45.760 of yellow, but otherwise the petals can range in any 0:09:45.800 --> 0:09:50.400 shade of purple to white to pink. And yeah, they 0:09:50.440 --> 0:09:55.320 have this like delicate, powdery sweet sort of scent and flavor, 0:09:56.120 --> 0:10:00.440 which is extra interesting because it messes with your nervous 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:03.360 system just a little so that it appears to come 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:03.720 and go. 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:05.959 Okay. 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:09.360 This is because one of the scent compounds in violets 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:14.800 is something called ionine, which a smells a floral powdery 0:10:15.160 --> 0:10:20.520 and b temporarily blocks you from smelling anything once you've 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:26.400 smelled a certain amount of it. This is also so cool. 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:31.400 I learned two things today, all right, So okay, let's 0:10:31.440 --> 0:10:33.720 back up a second. The way that you smell things 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:38.160 is that let's say that a pizza just came out 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:41.280 of the oven, and the hot bread and sauce and 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:44.520 cheese are all putting off scent compounds into the air. 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:49.760 As you breathe in air, some of those scent molecules 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:53.240 will enter your airways and bind to nerve endings called 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:58.120 olfactory receptors and activate those receptors, thus sending a message 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:00.720 to your brain that you're smelling the cheese or the 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:06.120 bread or the sauce, and okay, when a compound activates 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:10.520 a nerve receptor, that compound is called an agonist. But 0:11:11.559 --> 0:11:15.560 some molecules can also bind to olfactory nerve receptors and 0:11:15.600 --> 0:11:19.880 not send a signal, and furthermore block other molecules from 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:24.400 attaching and potentially signaling, and these compounds are called antagonists. 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:31.000 An Ionine can act as both. So so you smell 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:33.440 it for a little bit, and then it inhibits your 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:35.920 ability to smell for a little bit, and then after 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:38.520 a few breaths or minutes or whatever, it stops blocking 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:39.720 those receptors. 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:40.240 And you can smell it. 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:45.199 Anew. I did not know that compounds could be both. 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:47.960 I didn't know that this is This is awesome. 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:53.840 It is very cool. And when I read it, the 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:57.440 first thing I thought was have there been murder mysteries 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:03.400 where this was used? I'm just curious. That is very neat, 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:06.640 it's really difficul it's really cool. 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:11.120 I mean potentially, yeah, it was that there was a 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:13.960 certain period of time when violets were used as a 0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:18.959 funerary flower, partially because of this capacity to block your 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:23.600 olfactory sense, because if you're hanging out around a dead body, 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:25.400 you might not want to smell it for a minute. There, 0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:25.680 you know. 0:12:27.840 --> 0:12:34.120 Yes, and so many times with these flower episodes, I 0:12:34.280 --> 0:12:36.960 just want to talk about the old language of flowers. 0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:40.520 But we have to remind ourselves we're a food show. 0:12:42.320 --> 0:12:45.320 But I do know part of the reason violets essentially 0:12:45.440 --> 0:12:49.160 got for a while got put in into the same 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:53.280 pin of like melancholy, it was because of this. It 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:58.520 was like when you forget something and then it comes back. Yeah, 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:01.719 forget it and then it wow. 0:13:04.440 --> 0:13:09.480 Okay, So speaking of yeah, ostensibly a food show, all right, 0:13:10.160 --> 0:13:13.440 you can candy the flowers. You can dip them in 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:17.080 something sticky like egg white or aquafaba, and then dip 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:21.640 them in sugar like granulated sugar and then let them dry. Also, 0:13:21.720 --> 0:13:24.160 in addition to being a nice flavor, the extract is 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:26.320 really pretty. It's like you can get a really good, 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:29.720 deep violet color off of it. And it turns out 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:33.760 that the pigment that makes violets violet is pH reactive, 0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:37.840 meaning that it changes colors based on how acidic or basic. 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:41.280 That the solution that it's in itself is so in 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:45.440 a neutral PhD water or alcohol or sugar syrup situation, 0:13:45.840 --> 0:13:49.080 it's going to be like like green to blue, and 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:51.439 then if you add an acid like lemon juice, it'll 0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:55.760 turn like purple to pink, similar with litmus paper. Yeah, 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:57.320 and this means that you can have a lot of 0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:02.319 fun with cocktails and other like decorative kitchen projects. M 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:09.120 also of violet liqueurs. You could make your own at home, 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:12.120 but there are several that are made commercially, often called 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:15.680 by the French term crem devillt. It's not creamy here. 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:20.200 Crem indicates an extraction. I believe I didn't double check that, 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:22.120 but I feel good about it, which means I'm probably 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:27.320 wrong fact checking for another date. At any rate. Creme 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:30.560 de villa is an element of the classic cocktail that aviation, 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:35.000 which is gin lemon juice, marachino licur and violet liqueur. 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:37.600 So good. 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:39.400 That is one of my That is just one of 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:43.480 my favorite all time cocktails, just so nice. If you 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:47.560 do start experimenting with the bottle of violet liqueur, use 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:51.440 it sparingly at first. The floralness can pack more of 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:57.160 a punch than you think. Yeah, yes, yeah, I've not 0:14:57.280 --> 0:15:01.240 personally worked with the greens though, I did go outside 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:04.040 and like eat a few leaves while I was writing 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:14.760 this outline, are just violet violet leaves annie specificity. I 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:16.960 checked to make sure that the seed pods were the 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:20.320 type of seed pods that violets have, as the flowers 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:23.640 are not in bloom right now, so again safe foraging. 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:26.800 They were just gonna. They were a little bit bitter 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:29.600 and vegetable. I don't know, but yeah, I understand that 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:31.800 they're best when they're young and tender in the spring, 0:15:31.920 --> 0:15:33.640 but are fine when they're cooked. When they're a little 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:36.360 bit older and tougher. People recommend cooking them in general. 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:41.320 Apparently sound folks are sensitive to them when they're raw. Okay, 0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:47.040 further test, Oh yeah, yeah, are needed? Yes, Well what 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:51.320 about the nutrition? You know, plants in general are good 0:15:51.320 --> 0:15:54.400 for you. You know, they've got fiber and micronutrients, stuff 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:57.640 like that. Different types of violets have been used in 0:15:57.720 --> 0:16:02.160 traditional medicines in various culture around the world, often for 0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:06.200 cough related ailments, and research about that is happening. But 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:10.600 you know, say ra motto before you bodies are complicated. 0:16:10.800 --> 0:16:15.520 More research is necessary before ingesting a medicinal amount of anything. 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:18.840 You should consult a healthcare provider who is not us. 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:27.320 Definitely not nobors. Well, we do have some numbers for you, 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:29.680 we do, all right. 0:16:29.800 --> 0:16:33.640 Viola is one of the widest genera of flowering plants, 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:37.880 containing some four hundred to seven hundred species, depending on 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:42.000 who you ask. These range from the herbal types that 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:45.520 we've been talking about, to like small shrub types in 0:16:45.560 --> 0:16:50.320 the Hawaiian Islands to succulent types in the Andes. Fascinating, 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:54.440 but like, yeah, like the list of places that violets 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:56.720 are native to is way longer than the list of 0:16:56.720 --> 0:17:01.000 places that they're not. Somehow, like Western af Africa, eastern 0:17:01.040 --> 0:17:05.960 South America, and western Australia didn't get any other than that. 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:08.560 I like, like they've been introduced to most of the Caribbean. 0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:14.760 They're just really widespread, And even within those hundreds of species, 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:16.959 there can be a lot of different varieties that are 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:22.960 bred for center color or whatever. Speaking a little bit 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:26.800 more broadly, the global market for packaged edible flowers is 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:29.720 expected to hit three hundred and eighty million dollars a 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:33.359 year by twenty twenty six. Vola species I keep going 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:35.720 back and forth between viola and viola. I think I'm 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:37.800 sorry I'm not going to stop because I can't remember 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:40.399 which one it is and those ab things it is 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:42.400 on off one zero. I have no idea. It could 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:44.160 be anyon so. 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:53.080 You're a robot, yes, not when a vampire got it. 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:59.080 They're probably pretty close anyway. Anyway, species in this genus 0:17:59.119 --> 0:18:04.000 are considered a profitable segment of that fresh packaged market, 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:14.879 though not as profitable as marigolds, those tricksy marigolds. The 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:18.800 market for violet extract is worth over two hundred million 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:22.840 dollars a year. The natural extract is now outpacing the 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:26.199 market for the synthetic extract, which is impressive because for 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:29.720 a long time synthetic was kind of the thing it's 0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:33.639 It's apparently one of the earlier types of synthetic florals 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:39.920 because of ironine being relatively easily discovered, but I couldn't 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:41.679 find an exact date on that, so I'm not going 0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:43.679 to mention it in the history section. But here we 0:18:43.720 --> 0:18:49.000 are more. Violet extract goes into cosmetics and like personal 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:51.520 care products than the food and beverage industry, but not 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:58.440 by a whole lot. And there are some violet festivals 0:18:58.480 --> 0:19:03.960 in France, there's one in Provence, in this village near 0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:07.560 the Mediterranean coast, in between like can and Monaco. As 0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:10.040 of twenty twenty five, it was in its seventy eighth year. 0:19:11.280 --> 0:19:15.240 There's a parade of floats made with real and paper flowers, 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:18.520 and music and dancing and all kinds of food and 0:19:18.600 --> 0:19:23.840 drinks and products for sale made with violence. Oh, listeners, 0:19:24.160 --> 0:19:28.040 if you've been, Oh, I found photos. It looks gorgeous. 0:19:29.000 --> 0:19:33.439 You must let us know. Yes, yes, yes, yes, please yes, 0:19:34.400 --> 0:19:39.600 because honestly, a lot of are ostensibly a feud show. 0:19:39.720 --> 0:19:44.199 A lot of our history doesn't necessarily involve food, but plenty, 0:19:44.640 --> 0:19:50.440 we've got nuggets of it there. Yeah, yes, So we 0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:53.200 will get into that after a quick break from award 0:19:53.200 --> 0:20:05.560 from our sponsors, and we're back. Thank you sponsor, Yes, 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:11.879 thank you. Okay. So different types of violets originated in 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:13.720 different places around. 0:20:13.320 --> 0:20:19.040 The world, mostly in temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere. 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:21.800 But again there's a lot of violets. For the two 0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:25.439 that we've been mostly talking about today. V Odorata is 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:29.480 from areas around the Mediterranean and V. Sororia is North American. 0:20:31.960 --> 0:20:36.760 Yeah, yep. Violets do have a long history of being 0:20:36.840 --> 0:20:39.679 prized in certain cultures. For a variety of things. The 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:43.520 ancient Greeks used violets to flavor wines or honey, and 0:20:43.600 --> 0:20:46.800 violets are mentioned in the first century CE cookbook Out 0:20:46.800 --> 0:20:50.399 of Ancient Rome. The Epicus talked about that a lot before. 0:20:52.000 --> 0:20:55.720 The indigenous peoples in North America used all parts of 0:20:55.720 --> 0:20:58.600 the violet culinarily and medicinally. 0:20:59.359 --> 0:21:03.399 I read that and some a Jibwe traditions. During like 0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:07.800 fluffy springtime snows, they would harvest violets and then steep 0:21:07.800 --> 0:21:10.960 them overnight in birch bark containers, and then the next 0:21:11.040 --> 0:21:16.359 day use the cooled colorful tea or extract to top 0:21:16.960 --> 0:21:19.520 fresh snow with as a treat. 0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:23.159 Well, that sounds nice, right, and like you said, it 0:21:23.240 --> 0:21:27.760 is very pretty. It can be very striking, so yeah, 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:32.199 oh yeah, kind of speaking of. During the Medieval and 0:21:32.240 --> 0:21:35.800 Renaissance periods in Europe's violets were sometimes used in art 0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:40.520 to depict purity and innocence. The flowers themselves were dried 0:21:40.720 --> 0:21:43.520 in preparation of winter to use in the cold months. 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:46.959 The leaves were also eaten. On top of that, the 0:21:47.000 --> 0:21:51.480 petals were sometimes used for decorations on things like cakes, 0:21:51.800 --> 0:21:56.240 which again I can just see how visually that would 0:21:56.240 --> 0:22:02.400 be a nice, nice little thing. In seventeenth century Culpeper's 0:22:02.480 --> 0:22:06.840 herbal included an entry on violets. It described many medicinal 0:22:06.960 --> 0:22:11.439 uses for the plant, but also culinary applications, particularly with 0:22:11.560 --> 0:22:16.840 violet syrup and in liqueurs. And this is just a 0:22:16.880 --> 0:22:18.880 brief aside. I think this is where I got caught 0:22:18.960 --> 0:22:21.840 up in the whole poetry thing and never finished my 0:22:22.160 --> 0:22:27.480 complete thought. But here we go, and stick with me. 0:22:28.640 --> 0:22:32.800 In celebration of Elizabeth, the first poet, Edmund Spencer wrote 0:22:32.880 --> 0:22:36.000 The Fairy Queen in fifteen ninety and here's a sample 0:22:36.040 --> 0:22:40.520 from that. She'd bathe with roses red and violet's blue, 0:22:40.960 --> 0:22:44.200 and all the sweetest flowers that in the forest grew. 0:22:45.400 --> 0:22:50.240 And if that sounds familiar, it's really stuck around. About 0:22:50.280 --> 0:22:55.359 two centuries later, poet Joseph Johnson wrote the Roses read 0:22:55.480 --> 0:22:59.040 the Violet's blue, the honey sweet, and so are you. 0:23:00.760 --> 0:23:05.520 In eighteen sixty two, Victor Hugo included this in his 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:11.080 play Leis Miserbla. Violets are blue, Roses are red, Violets 0:23:11.080 --> 0:23:14.280 are blue. I Love My Loves, which I actually haven't 0:23:14.320 --> 0:23:19.639 seen that play, but I was reading it about it 0:23:19.760 --> 0:23:23.520 for this research, and I'm to understand that we've largely 0:23:23.600 --> 0:23:27.159 misinterpreted as a society. 0:23:29.640 --> 0:23:34.600 I've not so I'm personally not familiar with Lima's rob 0:23:35.640 --> 0:23:40.480 I with neither the musical nor the book. Nothing about 0:23:40.520 --> 0:23:44.199 it is familiar to me. But I looked this one up. 0:23:44.200 --> 0:23:47.600 It's part of a song sung by Fantine. That's all 0:23:47.640 --> 0:23:49.720 I got for you. I would have to look further 0:23:49.760 --> 0:23:51.720 into it, which I did not do in preparation for 0:23:51.760 --> 0:23:55.080 this episode. Well, I know people are fans, so please 0:23:55.080 --> 0:23:58.040 write in, Oh, I know people are fans. 0:23:58.440 --> 0:24:01.000 Oh yes. According to what I read, though, it was 0:24:01.080 --> 0:24:08.760 kind of like it wasn't the It doesn't have the 0:24:08.880 --> 0:24:11.359 vibe we say when we say like roses are red, 0:24:11.440 --> 0:24:13.520 violets are blue. It was much more kind of like 0:24:14.920 --> 0:24:16.760 things are how they are, and that's just it. 0:24:17.920 --> 0:24:22.960 But well, if you can imagine from a piece of 0:24:23.000 --> 0:24:27.399 media titled miserab things are going poorly. 0:24:30.000 --> 0:24:35.200 Well, all right, listeners were counting on you. We could 0:24:35.240 --> 0:24:38.560 have looked it up, and we were. We skewed it 0:24:38.760 --> 0:24:43.600 because we're a food show. But here's another note that's 0:24:43.640 --> 0:24:48.840 not food related. Interestingly, thousands of years ago, poets sappho 0:24:48.960 --> 0:24:51.800 of lesbos out of ancient Greek who is a lesbian 0:24:52.000 --> 0:24:55.680 icon of history, wrote you put on many wreaths of 0:24:55.800 --> 0:24:59.160 violets and roses together by my side, and round your 0:24:59.200 --> 0:25:03.440 tender neck put many woven garlands made from flowers. 0:25:05.080 --> 0:25:09.640 So yeah, being being written about in a romantic poetic 0:25:09.680 --> 0:25:15.960 way for millennia. Violets did also figure into an ancient 0:25:16.040 --> 0:25:20.560 Greek myth about io When she was a human and 0:25:20.600 --> 0:25:26.560 when Zeus fell for her because he was irrepressibly a 0:25:26.600 --> 0:25:31.960 philander philanderer, she got turned into a cow and violets 0:25:31.960 --> 0:25:36.400 were created for her to eat. The It's the myths 0:25:36.440 --> 0:25:40.080 are unclear on who turned her into the cow, who 0:25:40.119 --> 0:25:42.080 turned her into the cow, and who gave her the violets, 0:25:42.080 --> 0:25:43.520 but that's the gist of the concept. 0:25:46.080 --> 0:25:50.240 So many of these myths revolve around, well, we turned 0:25:50.240 --> 0:25:56.520 her into x y Z animal. That's just it. Okay, Yep, 0:25:57.200 --> 0:26:01.800 just happens sometimes. Yep, it does, it does. Going back 0:26:01.840 --> 0:26:03.919 to a point I made earlier, at least since the 0:26:03.960 --> 0:26:07.679 sixteen hundreds, we see this recurring theme of the violent 0:26:07.800 --> 0:26:12.080 scent being described as melancholy or sad, as well as 0:26:12.080 --> 0:26:15.399 in terms of music. Some speculate this is because of 0:26:15.480 --> 0:26:19.719 the violet's unique fragrance properties that cause humans to experience 0:26:19.760 --> 0:26:23.920 it and burst like something fading away only to return 0:26:23.960 --> 0:26:26.800 again later. I think that's so cool. 0:26:27.119 --> 0:26:28.919 That's so interesting, it really is. 0:26:31.400 --> 0:26:34.800 I love that it got incorporated into art, even though 0:26:34.840 --> 0:26:37.080 people might not have necessarily understood. 0:26:37.400 --> 0:26:41.040 Yeah, but they were like, this is a weird thing. Yeah, 0:26:41.800 --> 0:26:43.800 let's be metaphorical about that. Cool. 0:26:44.600 --> 0:26:50.840 Yes, which brings us to Shakespeare. Shakespeare was a big 0:26:50.880 --> 0:26:55.520 fan of violets. Shakespeare's early sixteen hundred play Twelfth Night 0:26:55.920 --> 0:27:00.320 references them quote, oh it came so over my ear, 0:27:00.480 --> 0:27:03.600 like the sweet sound that breathes upon a bank of violets, 0:27:03.680 --> 0:27:07.399 stealing and giving odor. Enough, no more, tis not so 0:27:07.560 --> 0:27:12.680 sweet as it was before, which is the thing, like, yeah, 0:27:13.080 --> 0:27:14.359 stealing and giving odor. 0:27:15.240 --> 0:27:20.320