Ever scroll through your Instagram feed and wonder how talented food stylists can whip up dreamy, blue-tinted smoothies, oatmeal and icing naturally? Many use a little-known ingredient called butterfly pea flower powder. Despite its name, this additive isn’t made from butterflies (we firmly believe butterflies should be left alone and in the wild!). It’s instead made from a bright-blue flower commonly known as butterfly pea or blue pea.
The flower is traditionally used in Southeast Asian cuisine, where Malaysian cooks often add a few butterfly pea petals to rice to naturally tint it blue. And get this: Ayurvedic practitioners laud butterfly pea powder for its restorative properties. You can find butterfly pea powder at bluechai.com and other online retailers.
