How To Make Strawberry Roses

I think I have a thing for edible roses.  Last Valentine's day I learned how to make chocolate covered strawberries that look like roses and this year I learned how to make a rose out of Hershey's kisses.  I pinned this idea for strawberry roses on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try.  Unfortunately, it's one of those pins that's a dead end when you click through, but luckily there was enough information in the image to give me a basic idea of what to do.  And after making a few of these strawberry roses, I can give you a few pointers and tips that worked for me.

First, I washed the strawberries, but I left the leaves on.  These will be the leaves for the roses. 

I used a good, sharp knife for slicing.

I started slicing the biggest strawberries first.  I actually liked the way the smaller strawberries looked when they were finished, but the bigger strawberries had more surface area and were easier to practice on.

The trick to making the petals is to slice down far enough to create some separation between the pieces of sliced strawberry, but not so far down that the strawberry falls apart.

I found out that it's best not to make the slices symmetrical, because the rose will end up looking boxy and square.  Start slicing on the outside of the strawberry, then turn slightly and slice again working your way into the center of the strawberry.  Just keep slicing and turning, slicing and turning.

In the original pin, it looks like the skewer was inserted into the strawberry first, then sliced.  I tried that, but it didn't work for me.  I cut the strawberry first, then added the skewer because I liked being able to hold the strawberry on a work surface like the kitchen counter or a  cutting board while cutting and not having the skewer get in the way.

I hope you'll give these strawberry roses a try.  They look complicated and a little intimidating, but they're not.  It might take two or three strawberries to practice and learn how to do it, but don't worry, the mess ups taste just as good as the pretty ones!

These strawberries are certainly a healthier option, but if you still want something made with chocolate, check out these chocolate covered strawberry roses.  In fact, I'm thinking the two versions of these strawberry roses would be really pretty together.

Today's strawberry roses were inspired by this pin.