Edible Flowers - Which Blossoms are Ok to Eat

[webmaster]

Hi,
Need some help. I saw in another thread someone mentioned eating squash flowers. I've been to restaurants and have had flowers in my salad but can't remember which. I've also seen packs of edible flowers for sale over at Berkeley Bowl in Berkeley but I don't know what they are.

In any case, what flowers are edible and what is your experience with edible flowers?

Is it a visual enhancement or do they actually add flavor to a meal?

[doccat5]

Young squash blossoms, nasturtiums, Chrysanthemums, Day Lily petals, Pansies, rose petals among others, not counting numberous herbs etc. Some of these can be candied as well. Yummy stuff!

[NewjerseyTea]

Nasturtiums are my favorite for taste in a salad. They add a spicy taste. Borage flowers are more visual for me, especially when you add their small blue flowers with the red or orange of nasturtiums. I've also added chive blossoms.

I've never tried chrysanthemum or daylilly petals. What do they taste like doccat?

[doccat5]

The Chrysanthemums remind of the taste of roasted almonds and the squash is very sweet tasting.

[collegechic]

I realize I didn't begin this topic, but how do you candy a flower? I'd think the heat from the liquid sugar or what not would completely destroy the aesthetic value?

[Charlie MV]

birthday cakes.

[doccat5]

Here's a recipe for making candied flowers:

Nothing says spring has arrived quite like flower blossoms -- and what many people don't realize is that not only are they lovely to look at, they can taste good too. With a few fresh flowers, you can create a tasty treat. Use nasturtium, roses, pansies, lilac blossoms, violets, or any other edible flower for this recipe. Be warned, though -- this is a bit time consuming, so plan accordingly.
INGREDIENTS:

* Flower petals or blossoms, rinsed and dried
* Water
* 1 egg white, beaten
* Sugar

PREPARATION:

Combine a few drops of water with the egg white in a small bowl, and whisk them together. Hold the flower petal gently between two fingers and dip into the water mixture. Shake off excess water, and then sprinkle sugar on the petal. If your petals seem to soggy, use a paintbrush to brush the water mixture onto the petals instead.

As you complete each petal, place it on a sheet of wax paper to dry. Drying time is anywhere from 12 hours to two days, depending on the humidity level in your home. If your flower petals aren't drying fast enough for you, place them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 150 degrees for a few hours.

Store your flower petals in an airtight container until it's time to use them. Use to decorate cakes and cookies, add to salads, or just eat as a snack.

[Jess]

Nasturtiums are definitely the tastiest. You can eat the seeds heads as well.
You can also eat the common lawn daisy though it doesn't taste of much. Chive flowers taste of onion, sweet violet taste sweet, borage flowers taste of cucumber and marigolds are a little spicy.
Rose petals are edible and slightly sweet. Look beautiful layered with matching coloured fruit. Some have a hint of spice to them.
Most vegetable flowers are edible but not all.
Eat your weeds too. Dandelion flowers are sweet if young, clover is also sweet. Queen Annes lace, the original carrot. Tastes like carrot! Just be sure you have the right plant as some very poisonous plants look very similar.
Peony flowers are edible although I have never eaten them as I prefer to look at them.
Last but not least, apple blossom but not too many as, like the pips, they contain cyanide.
Check this site for some mouth watering recipes.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mostof_edibleflowers.shtml

EDIT...forgot to say I have just finished making my second batch of Elder flower juice and the next picking will be made into fritters.

[webmaster]

Wow, thanks!
doccat5, squash blossoms was what I was served in a restaurant a few months back. Fun to see flowers on a dish, brightens it up and it's novel, too.

[doccat5]

Agreed, and they are soooooooooo yummy! Really catches the eye and teases your palate.

[applestar]

Ooh! Ooh! Jess! How do you make Elderflower Juice? My kids love the one they sell at IKEA, and my Elderflowers are just starting to open.

[Jess]

Ooh! Ooh! Jess! How do you make Elderflower Juice? My kids love the one they sell at IKEA, and my Elderflowers are just starting to open.

I will only share as long as you keep it a secret!
Passed on to me from my MIL...
Approx. 25 flowerheads.
1lb sugar
4 oranges roughly chopped skin and all.
1 lemon roughly chopped skin and all.
1oz citric acid.
3pts boiled cooled water.
Do not wash the flowerheads or pick after rain. You want as much pollen as possible to get the best flavour. I pick out any obvious insects but any left go into the pot!
Put all ingredients in a bowl together. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, cover with a teatowel or similar and leave to steep for 48 hours.
Get your hands in the bowl and ring out the bits of lemon and orange, strain through a jelly bag or muslin and bottle. Dilute to taste.
That is the recipe as I was given it but experiment with fruit quantities and no. of flowerheads for your own tastes. I use 3 oranges and 2 lemons as I like it slightly more tangy.
Enjoy.

[applestar]

Thanks! Can't wait to try this

[applestar]

I just got some prickly pear cactus for my new desert rock garden (You can see my sad yucca plants in the back -- I just moved them from under the crabapple where it's heavily shaded by the neighbor's White Pine hedge.) My mom had moved the overflow cacti from her driveway to the flower garden where they TOOK OFF! My dad filled an old shower curtain and wanted me to take more -- even as I was driving away, he was saying "After planting these, if you want to arrange the cactus here and there and need more, you can have as much as you want, you know." The flowers were in full bloom and in my mom's garden, honey bees were all over them, looking like they were bathing in the pollen.
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image1097.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image1099.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image1101.jpg[/img]
Tried the flower petals (and some of the napales -- pads) in my salad today. Word of advice -- DON'T eat the stigma -- blecch! Very bitter.

[Jess]

Wow! I needed my sunglasses to look at those pictures lol!
I have never grown or eaten any part of a prickly pear. I did think it was only the 'pear' you ate not the flowers. What do they taste like?
Must have made a really pretty salad. Those flowers are so bright.

[cheshirekat]

I have several yucca in my front yard and can't wait until they bloom. I hope they grow a little more this year when the nights are warmer. I think this is the fourth year since I planted them. Maybe three.

[opabinia51]

As far as native (to North America) plants are concerned here is a list:


Stone Crop
Camas (common and giant)
Wild Caraway
Cow Parsnip
Sorrel
Violets
Chicory
Orach
Lambs quarters
Cress
Dandelion
Rosehips
Clover
Mint
Chamomile
chocolate Lily

[Garden Spider]

Lavender flowers are edible--add a few wands to your lemonade or iced tea. Make Herbes de Provence out of them, too.

Any culinary herb flower can be eaten, as far as I know--add basil leaves and flowers to a salad. Same with sage and thyme and burnet.

I love nasturtiums in a salad! I'd be a little leery of eating chrysanthemums because of pyrethrin in them . . . or is that a different chrysanthemum?