Getting your daily bread can be tricky if you’re out foraging. There are a number of wild plants that can be used as a wild foraged flour substitute, which will help stretch your food stores in times of need. They’ll also add flavor, nutrition and just plain fun.
Clover blossoms can be ground into a flour substitute that can substitute for up to 1/4 of the total flour in a recipe. While it’s not really “flour” in the proper sense, the ground blossoms add flavor and nutrition to plain white flour.
How to Make Clover Blossom Flour
Start by harvesting red or white clover blossoms.
As you harvest, there will inevitably be leaves, stems and other green material. While you can keep this in the flour, it’ll have a stronger taste than the blossoms alone.
Lay the blossoms out to dry. If they’re in the sun, it’ll only take a few hours and you can go right to work.
The sun isn’t the best place to dry herbs in general because it can cause them to lose nutrients. Try to be patient and lay them out on a screen in a well-ventilated place out of direct sunlight.
Since the leaves have a much stronger taste, I separated the blossoms from the green material before processing the blossoms into flour.
The leaves smell like hay, because well, that’s pretty much what they are.
Separated Clover Flowers
I started with 4 cups of blossoms and stems but with upper leaves and stems removed I had lost half the volume. I now have 2 cups of blossoms to process into flour.
At this point, a small blade coffee grinder is the best method. You’ll have to work in batches but each batch will go quickly. Alternately, a food processor also works. All the blossoms can go in at once, but it’ll take about 5 minutes on high to pulverize the clover blossoms into flour.
Grinding Clover Flour in a food processor
Or if you’re feeling old school, try using a mortar and pestle.
It’ll take a while, but you’re doing this for fun, right? Grab a glass of lemonade and a spot in the shade and get to work.
Four cups of blossoms and stems became 2 cups of blossoms. Then after processing, the 2 cups of blossoms became about 1/2 a cup of clover flower flour. Needless to say, they take up a lot of space in a basket, so make sure you harvest about 8 times the volume of finished flour you want.
Once you have red clover flour, using it is a bit trickier. It’s not exactly “flour” and it won’t hold together in baked goods.
It gives baked goods a mildly sweet, green flavor like spring peas. It also adds a spongy texture, which works well in biscuits and softer baked goods.
The same flour can be made with either red or white clover. Here are a few recipes using clover flour:
If you’re not up for making flour, the whole blossoms can be used in baking. Or, you can tear them apart and use the petals. That might result in a better texture.
Here are a few recipes for baking with whole clover flowers:
Patti
Can I use my grain mill to grind the clover flour?
Ashley Adamant
You could give it a try, but I doubt it’d work well. The clover blossoms are dried flower blossoms, which are very soft and are very different than the hard grains that go through a grain mill. We have a grain mill too, but I haven’t tried it. If it does work, let me know, now I’m curious.
Linda
How do you store the resulting clover flour? Freeze it?
Ashley Adamant
We’ve mostly just used it fresh, but I imagine freezing would work well.
Julie
Hi Ashley,
Today is the first I’ve been on your website, and this information about using clover blossoms for flour is the first piece I have read here, but I really like it!
My daughter, son in law and I are Learning now, working to become homesteaders; learning skills now.
Our family Currently lives on about an acre of land, with about 1/3 of that being forage able. However, we have three dogs. Is there a way to clean clover and other foraged plants to make them safe to eat, in case one of the dogs Have peed on them?
We not only have a lot of clover here, but we also have a good amount of plantain that I would like to try.
Thank you!
Julie Casil
Admin
Rinse them really, really well and you’ll be fine! Just make sure your yard isn’t being sprayed with any pesticides.
Chrissie
Hi can I grind red clover then use it to add to cleansing grains, masks, scrubs foot soaks facial steam teas?
Administrator
I don’t see why not. It’s definitely worth trying. I did some quick research and found several articles showing that it is beneficial for the skin.
Nontombi Agnes Gomana
Thank you guys for opening us up I am also looking for plants that are eatable its difficult to eat now food is very expensive. Another thing g because of no money its difficult even to buy enough to eat.God have mercy and I have a full house. I really appreciate these advices.