Guide to Edible Flowers: How to Prepare Them

Using flowers for food is not a new thing as the history of humans eating flowers has been traced back thousands of years according to The 7 Little Bears Garden and Seed Exchange writing in the social site Care2. About.com states that the first recorded mention of eating flowers was in 140 B.C. Capers which are flower buds of a Mediterranean evergreen shrub have been used as a condiment for over 2,000 years in Europe. Daylilies and chrysanthemums have been used by the Chinese and Greeks for centuries. The Romans used mallows, roses and violets in their dishes. Anglo-Norman food in the 13th and 14th centuries used edible flowers such as roses, hawthorn blossoms and elder flowers.

The Europeans brought a history of using flowers in their cuisine with them to American but the usage faded out until about 15 years or so when once again chefs in upscale restaurants and home cooks started using a whole range of edible flowers in their food and beverage creations. Magazines such as Country Living and Gourmet have featured edible flower recipes in recent articles.

Out of the dozens of flowers that are eaten I'm going to discuss the ones that I've eaten and are the most popular.

Dandelion flowers are sweetest when picked young, and just before eating. They have a sweet, honey-like flavor.

Sprinkling the petals over rice makes a tasty and colorful dish. My favorite way of fixing them is dip the flowers in batter and deep fry them.

Day Lilies are slightly sweet with a mild vegetable flavor, like sweet lettuce or melon. Sprinkle the large petals in a salad to add an unexpected flavor. Daylily flowers can be stuffed, or added to soups and vegetables dishes. They can be boiled, steamed, added to stir fries or battered and fried. I like them in a salad where they are delicious and a treat for the eyes.

Lavender has a sweet, floral flavor, with hints of lemon and citrus. The little blooms add a mysterious scent and flavor to custards, flans or sorbets. Lavender also goes well in stews and can perk up a wine sauce. I use them in ice cream, puddings and other similar type desserts.

Nasturtiums blossoms come in brilliant sunset colors and have a sweet, spicy flavor similar to watercress. They rank among the most common edible flowers. They can be stuffed or put in salads. Nasturtiums also make a colorful and edible garnish for all kinds of dishes. My favorite is in a salad or just dipping them in salad dressing and eating them raw. I can remember when I was you of going to the garden, picking and eating them.

Rose flavors are somewhat like strawberry and green apples with some hints of fruit, mint or spice. The flavors depend on type, color and soil conditions and are stronger in darker varieties. All roses are edible, and the petals can be eaten on ice cream or similar desserts and are especially good in salads. I've had rose petals every way imaginable including in syrup, jellies, jams and candied.

Squash and pumpkin blossoms are edible and have a mild nutty flavor. The blossoms can be eaten raw in a salad, stuffed or battered and fried. I like them sliced raw over cooked vegetables but my favorite is stuffed with cheese, dipped in beer batter and deep fried.

Violets have a sweet, perfumed flavor and are delicious in salads, ice cream, cakes, etc. The flavor in home made ice cream is incredible. The flowers also make beautiful garnishes for desserts and iced drinks. As with rose petals they can be candied for a wonderful eating experience.

The flowers mentioned above are just a few of the flowers that can be eaten along with the blossoms from most fruit trees and various bushes. Don't be afraid to experiment with them. Just make sure of the species you're about to eat and be certain that it hasn't been sprayed with any chemicals.

Sources:

Barash, Cathy Wilkinson. Edible Flowers from Garden to Palate. Golden: Fulcrum Publishing, 1993.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/EdibleFlowers/EdibleFlowersMain.htm

http://gardening.about.com/od/vegetablepatch/a/EdibleFlowers.htm

http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blflowers.htm