Edible Flowers

[mudbug]

Wondering how many of you incorporate these into your cooking/presentaion?

Any favorite uses?

Any favorite varieties of flowers? mm

[Shimmer]

Where I work, we use edible hibiscus as a garnish on some salads and on the daily specials. They are bright purple, and while edible I don't find they have much flavor.

There was also a dessert sauce where we put lavendar, but I don't know if that is more of a flower or something else. It is very strong, though, and has to be used carefully.

Nasturtiums are good too, and I will never forget this pasta I had in Victoria, BC, with bachelor buttons. It was beautiful AND tasted great!

~~Shimmer~~

[kokopuffs]

I used candied flowers, crystallized with sugar, as a presentation garnish for my Spanish Wind Cake. The really weren't edible, however.

[Papa]

Dear Cchiu:

I love edible flowers! They are the best decoration for many dishes.

My most favorite ones are:

Nasturtiums (they are prolific)
Pansies
Violets
Lavender
Lemon rose geranium leaves and flowers as garni
Johnny Jump-ups
Rose petals (rose petal sorbet is one of my favorites)
Calendula petals
Chamomile blossoms

Bon Appetit

[Svadhisthana]

I didn't know b. buttons were edible. I was going to have my kids plant these as their first go at gardening because the package said they grow so well. It's great to know I can also use them in cooking!

[CompassRose]

I love edible flowers too. Only trouble is, when I serve them to many others, they pick them tenderly out because "they're so pretty." Pretty and delicious, dears!

Like Papa, I love roses in all kinds of things (my wedding cake had an edible garnish of drifts of rose petals!). Lavender... I've made lavender ice cream, and I'm also very fond of doing up a sort of pastry tart with lavender-seasoned apples or pears or peaches -- mm.

Any sort of violet-y thing is good, and lovely in spring salad -- wild violets, the johnnies, or pansies. Also great on cakes or chocolates, of course.

Chive blossoms, ripped into their individual florets, are a marvellous savoury garnish.

Nasturtiums likewise -- spicy!

Unopened or half-opened day lily buds are great too. They're a bit more substantial than most flowers, with a sweet green flavour, excellent in salad, or dropped into a light soup in the last few moments.

Oh -- and leave us not forget the elderflower -- fresh, in elderflower fritters or pancakes. Dried, they give a beautiful elusive perfume to a quick simple white cake. I just make sure they're free of stems, and throw a couple of tablespoons right in.

Sweet woodruff blossoms are very pretty, and of course have that wonderful vanilla flavour, but I find that they're best used as a garnish, and strained out of anything they're actually meant to flavour; they have a strangely "hairy" quality.

[cape chef]

And to just add to the list!!

Flowers you might not know are edible,and beautiful,

Amareth flowers
The flower of artichokes are a soft lavender color
The flowers of different types of beans
Chives (like said before)
Dill and even eggplant.
Garlic
Jerusalem artichokes have a lovely yellow flower.
okra and salsify have white and light blue flowers
Suger snaps have a nice white and sometimes purple flower

I love the fern like foliage of asparagus or the tiny flowers on thyme,also like papa said,the scented geranium,weather lemon,rose ect are almost impossible to resist
cc

[Papa]

Dear CC:

Your posting just reminded me that in Greece we use the zuchini flowers in cooking!

[cape chef]

Hi Papa!

I would say in the late 70s we started seeing zucc blossems over here,and seeing them used in culinary preparations.I have stuffed many a zucc blossem..but like anything that is hot and popular you have to pay through the nose for them now. What a shame for something that used to be discarded
cc

[Papa]

Dear CC:

If my memory serves me well, in Greece we used to stuff them but also eat them fried in olive oil.(What else?)

[monpetitchoux]

What can be more romantic than eating flowers? The last time I asked this question, the person answered chocolate. But I'm holding firm to flowers.

The trouble I have is finding non-sprayed flowers for use in cooking. Despite all my combing through local farmers markets, I still haven't found a reliable source for roses. I've even offered to pay the organic farmers money but understandably, they are reluctant to trim their rosebushes for the likes of a fanatical pastry chef (I do feel like Cruella DeVille at the thought of sacrificing someone else's blooms).

Currently, I am solarizing my garden (nothing like starting from scratch) so it will be at least a few years before I can grow enough roses for use in making desserts. I can hardly wait.

I love flower-scented candies (rose jellies, mints), violet tablets. Lavender is great in desserts and savory cooking. Chop a little up and mix in with your shortbread next time. Gardenia in Jasmine tea is so fragrant, I can dance on air. People forget that it's gardenias that make Jasmine tea what it is. It's great for making infusions for syrups to flavor different things. Just try sweetening a bowl of sliced strawberries next time.

The most fun I had with tiny edible flowers was the Easter before last. I filled tiny little choux puffs with lemon curd lightened with whipped cream. Stuck a choux handle on it and placed various little edible flowers (dianthus, johnny jump ups, lavender) to make tiny little flower baskets for an afternoon tea.

Sometimes when I am in the garden and need a break, I pick the little verbena, honey suckle, rosemary or whatever tubular flower I have around to attract hummingbirds and butterflies and gently nibble on the base where the nectar is for a little treat.

In the flea market in San Jose, I've seen bundles and bundles of dried hibiscus flowers (called jamaica, pronounced ha.my.ka) sold. The vendors say that a sweetened drink is made by infusing the blossoms. It looks like cranberry juice.

But my real favorite edible flower is cauliflower. I like it more than broccoli.

[Isa]

I grow pansies to eat them. I candy them and keep them in sugar. They keep beautifully, still have some from last summer. They look beautiful on any dessert.

[Papa]

WOW!!

Thank you Cchiou!

[mudbug]

How are these for inspiration?

Sage Flower Pesto
Fried Squash Blossoms
Filled Pumpkin Flowers
Blue Flower Chive Omelet
Strawberry Mousse in Tulip Cups
Fritto Misto with Zucchini Flowers
Brown Bread Nasturtium
Sandwiches
Blueberry/Lavendar Crisp
Nasturtium Vinaigrette
Stuffed Nasturtiums
Flowery Corn Tortilla
Candied Flower Blossoms
Flowers with Champagne
Salmon Nasturtium Pizza
Bay Scallops 'N Blooms
Candied Angelica Flowers
Borage Flower Vinegar
Hibiscus Lavender Lemonade
Jamaican Hibiscus Drink
Lavender Rose Petal Cheesecake
Rhubarb, Rose, Strawberry Jam
Nasturtium Vinaigrette Salmon
Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms
Zucchini Flower Quesadillas
Sweet Wine Lavender Cookies
Pork & Sage Flower Sauce
Crystallized Violets
Hijiki Rainbow Salad
Floral Tostadas
Rose-Glazed Brie
Rose Omelette
Flower Salad
Dandelion Wine
Violet Jelly
Violet Syrup
Lemon Flower Pancakes
Herb Flower Beer
Eggs Hamilton
Flower Sugar
Smoked Pomfret
Chicken with Lilac
Mallow Peas
Marigold Custard
Corn Marigold Fritters
Nasturtium Dip
Nasturtium Capers
Crystallized Flowers
Rose Pickled Peaches
Sage Flower Crepes
Squash Blossom Frittata
Squash Blossom Salad
Squash Blossom Rice

Source here.

TONS more here!

[Francoise63]

French pastry chefs use crystallized flowers as cake decoration (especially candied violets). But it is also common to eat crystallized flowers as candy. And they are delicious. I think it is really hard to make good crystallized flowers though.