Edible Flowers and Their Applications

You may think flowers are just the trademark fanfare of spring and summer, but they are also so very much more; a colorful and often therapeutic food group we hardly consider.

Flowers can be best considered the fancy cousins of herbs because they're quite literally just that. Throughout history they have been used to brew healing teas, cold or hot, salads or even elegant candies.

As you most likely know, not all flowers are edible and some are even rather poisonous. So don't think it okay to suddenly start munching on random flowers. But here are a few whose usefulness and safety have been proven with the passing of time.

Hibiscus

The hibiscus flower is actually a large group of some 200 species but they do yield some of the largest, showiest, and most useful flowers around. Different varieties of Hibiscus are used for different things. You are probably familiar with the hibiscus that is an ever present ingredient in Celestial Seasonings fruit teas. It gives them that nice red color and the slightly tangy yet flavorful glow in your mouth. Another variety of Hibiscus called Roselle is used around the world to make one of my favorite summer time beverages; Sorrel. Its a popular drink in Jamaica where the calyces of the Roselle plant are steep to make a tea which is then sweetened with honey or sugar and ginger is added. When icy cold, there is nothing more refreshing.

Elderflower

In some countries, the tiny cream-colored flowers of the elderflower plant are used to make a refreshing, non-alcoholic, summertime drink or a sweet cordial called Elderflower Cordial.

The flower clusters called cormbys are crisp and honey scented; however, elderflowers should never be eaten raw because they contain a mildly poisonous substance. This is neutralized in the steeping process that is used to extract the sweet flavor from the flowers, so if prepared properly, it is safe as a drink. The flowers are steeped in a light syrup before lemon juice is added for preservative. Then the fragrant concentrate is diluted with gin, water or even soda. The drink is thought to have medicinal properties.

Violets/Violettas

Violas are those pretty little purple flowers that most people are familiar with because of how common they are, but you probably don't know that they can be used to make candies, salads and contains a chemical that has been reported to have a wide range of biological activities. These include anti-HIV, insecticidal, anti-tumour and , anti-microbial properties, and the ability to induce uterine contractions. One variety of violetta called the 'Rebecca' has a distinct vanilla flavor with a hint of wintergreen that makes a fancy salad addition. C rystallized violet usually uses the Viola odorata variety in the making of an elegant candy. The flowers are preserved by a coating of egg white and crystallized sugar. In France these candies are called violettes de Toulouse and they're often used as a beautiful garnish for desserts. Violas are also high in Vitamin C.

So next time you bury you nose in a fragrant bouquet you may also want consider what those flowers taste like or what sort of health benefits they posses.

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