Kwan Shan Cherry
Kwan Shan cherry is the double-flowered Japanese flowering cherry Prunus serrulata cultivar Kanzan, known in Chinese as guanshan ying, and in the ingredient trade the name refers to its blossom rather than to a fruit. The cultivar carries dense pink flowers of twenty to fifty petals on a short pedicel, and that heavy petal count is precisely what makes it the standard raw material for edible cherry blossom preparations, since a single flower yields enough tissue to survive salting and drying intact.
The blossom is traded in three forms. Salt-cured whole flowers, packed in coarse salt after a brine and plum vinegar cure, are the traditional article and are rinsed before use to release a sweet coumarin-like aroma. Dried blossoms and dried petals are used loose or milled for infusion and bakery inclusion. A water or hydroethanolic extract, spray dried onto maltodextrin, is sold as a beige to pale pink free-flowing powder for flavour and colour contribution and for supplement use, where the flower is valued for its anthocyanin, quercetin glycoside and chlorogenic acid content.
The characteristic sakura note is not present in the living flower. It develops during curing, when glycosidically bound precursors in the petal are hydrolysed and coumarin and benzaldehyde are released. Salted blossoms are shelf stable at ambient temperature because of their salt content, while the dried flower and the extract powder are hygroscopic and lose colour on exposure to light and heat.
We source bulk Kwan Shan Cherry from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Jiangxi. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Nutraceutical
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance, salted blossom | Intact pink double flowers packed in coarse salt |
| Appearance, extract powder | Beige to pale pink free-flowing powder |
| Odour and taste | Characteristic sweet coumarin and almond note, saline in the cured form |
| Identification | Conforms to botanical origin Prunus serrulata cultivar Kanzan flower |
| Total polyphenols in extract, as gallic acid | Not less than 5.0 percent |
| Total flavonoids in extract, as rutin | Not less than 2.0 percent |
| Loss on drying, extract powder | Not more than 6.0 percent |
| Sulphated ash, extract powder | Not more than 8.0 percent |
| Salt content, cured blossom | 20 to 30 percent |
| Particle size, milled powder | Passes 80 mesh, not less than 95 percent |
| Total plate count | Not more than 10000 cfu/g |
| Yeast and mould | Not more than 100 cfu/g |
| Escherichia coli | Absent in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Salt-cured blossoms are graded by flower size and by the proportion of intact, unbruised flowers, with the highest grade being uniform half-open buds cured with the stem attached; broken and loose petals are downgraded to a cooking grade used where appearance does not matter. Salt content in the cured product runs high, typically above 20 percent on the packed weight, and is stated on the specification because it controls the rinsing step and the salt contribution to the finished food.
Dried blossom is offered whole, as separated petals, and as a milled powder passing 80 mesh. Extract powder is specified by extraction ratio, commonly stated between 5:1 and 20:1, by carrier content where maltodextrin is used, and by a marker such as total polyphenols or total flavonoids expressed as rutin. There is no pharmacopoeial monograph for the material, so buyer specifications rather than an official standard define the grade.
Applications
- Sakura tea, in which a single salt-cured blossom is rinsed and infused in hot water as a ceremonial drink
- Japanese and Chinese confectionery, where salted blossoms are set into mochi, yokan and steamed cakes as both decoration and flavour
- Bakery and pastry, cherry blossom extract or milled dried petals flavouring breads, madeleines and shortbread during the spring season
- Seasonal beverages, latte bases, syrups and carbonated drinks using the extract for its coumarin and benzaldehyde character
- Dairy and frozen desserts, cherry blossom ice cream and yoghurt where the extract carries both aroma and a pale pink hue
- Blended flower teas, dried blossoms combined with green tea or rose for infusion
- Botanical supplement capsules and drink powders, sold on the flower polyphenol and quercetin glycoside content
- Natural colour and flavour bases for jelly, mousse and agar desserts
- Cosmetic and personal care formulations, the same extract being used in creams and lotions outside the food trade
China Manufacturers of Kwan Shan Cherry
Top Kwan Shan Cherry manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Blossoms of Prunus serrulata have a long documented history of food use in Japan and in parts of China, and salt-cured cherry blossom is traded internationally as a conventional food rather than as an additive. In the United States the material is treated as a food ingredient, and cherry blossom flavour preparations used for their aroma fall within the flavouring provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; a manufacturer relying on that route documents the identity and use level of the preparation rather than citing an additive listing. Coumarin, which forms during curing and is part of the characteristic aroma, may not be added to food in the United States as an isolated substance, so a preparation must derive its coumarin from the flower itself and not from added coumarin.
In the European Union a botanical extract of Prunus serrulata flower without significant history of consumption in the Union before May 1997 would require assessment under the Novel Food Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, and importers generally establish the status of the specific preparation before placing it on the market. The flower has no E number, since it functions as a food and a flavouring source rather than as an additive. Where the preparation is presented as a flavouring, Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 applies, and that regulation sets maximum levels for coumarin in categories of finished food, which is the practical constraint on the use of cured cherry blossom in bakery and confectionery. Codex Alimentarius has no standard specific to cherry blossom preparations.
Manufacturing Process
Flowers are picked by hand at the half-open bud stage over a short window in mid spring, since a fully open flower shatters during handling and an unopened bud develops little aroma. The harvest is sorted, cleaned of leaf and debris, and either cured or dried. In the curing route the flowers are layered with salt and pressed under weight for several days, drawing out cell water; the resulting liquor is drained, the flowers are transferred into ume plum vinegar for a second cure that fixes the pink colour and drives the enzymatic release of coumarin, then they are drained again, lightly air dried and repacked in dry salt.
The extract route takes cleaned fresh or dried blossom and macerates it in water or in aqueous ethanol at moderate temperature. The extract is filtered, the ethanol is recovered under vacuum, and the aqueous concentrate is clarified and concentrated in a falling film evaporator. Maltodextrin or gum arabic is blended in as a carrier and the concentrate is spray dried to a free-flowing powder, which is then sieved and packed under nitrogen in aluminium foil laminate to protect the anthocyanin fraction. Where a dried blossom is the product rather than an extract, the sorted flowers go straight to a low temperature hot air or vacuum dryer and are packed with desiccant.
