Butterfly Blue

I finally made very blue gin. We have just come back from the Philippines (specifically Siargao Island) where butterfly peas twined their way through shrubs everywhere. We had one growing in our courtyard and flowering profusely. I picked a handful of blooms, soaked them in a glass of gin and voila! The brightest blue concoction you have ever laid eyes on. I would say the flowers made the gin slightly ‘grassier’ in flavour, but considering it was local gin and tasted somewhat like metho I can’t be sure… definitely didn’t taste bad and I’ll be trying again.

The double flowered butterfly pea in Siargao, Philippines

Butterfly pea or Clitorea ternata is named after the Island of Ternate in Indonesia and the, uh, ‘womanly shape’ of the flower. As I mentioned before, the flowers can be soaked to impart a bright blue colour, and are used throughout Asian cuisine to colour food and drinks, particularly herbal teas but also cocktails, and even rice. Coloured drinks are made more fun when an acidic liquid (e.g. lemon juice) is added. A reaction occurs that turns the blue to a purple/pink colour!

The plant is a delicate vine, with light green oval shaped leaves, and of course, the beautiful flowers. The flowers I picked in the Philippines were a beautiful double bloom, but I have the single version, and the white version (although less fun for cocktails) growing at home. In my garden plants die back over winter but reshoot in the warmer months. They also readily set seed (like pea pods) that are easy to grow although require a good soaking in hot water overnight to help germination.

Blue gin! Flowers still in it, but you can see the colour in the bottom left.

The more common single flower I grow in my garden (complete with a couple of nibbles!)