Edible Flowers Tips

* Second Flower Eating Rule!

Be CERTAIN those flowers that you have already identified
as edible have been grown without toxic pesticides.
This is important! Never eat flowers from a florist's
shop. When you buy ornamental plants such as calendula,
let them grow for at least a month in your own, pesticide-free
garden before eating their flowers. Many plants are
treated at the nurseries with a growth retardant.
It will dissipate in your own garden.

Picking Borage Flowers

The blue flowers are held to the stalks in calyxes, so
to harvest them, lightly grasp the black point in the
middle of the flower and very gently coax it out of
its holder.

Calendula Flowers

Calendula is also known as marigold. The flowers are
bright yellow or orange, and resemble daisies. They
get to be about 2 inches wide, and have many petals.

Daylily Buds and Petals

The best tasting daylily is the early blooming yellow
variety called lemon lily. Buds and petals of most
daylilies have a rather sweet, lettuce flavor, but
the lemon lily has a citrus twist.

Borage Flowers as an Edible Garnish

Borage flowers have a very mild cucumber flavor, and
they are so tiny, and so light, that the flavor is
quite mild. The best use I've found for the beautiful
little flowers are as an edible garnish, and they are
perfect for that. Try floating some on a bowl of
asparagus soup, dropping a few on a seafood salad or
as an edible garnish to just about any dish that will
benefit from this mild, refreshing flavor.

Borage Leaves In Salads

Only the youngest leaves of the borage plant should
be used in salads, in small quantities. They're very
tasty and add a cucumber flavor.

Safe for consumption?

Use only untreated flowers for all your dietary needs. Flowers from a shop or grown too close to the road are not safe. The best bet is to grow them yourself.

Borage Blooms

When borage is fully grown, it has green/grey leaves
covered with fuzzies, but at the top of the stalks
are beautiful blue five pointed flowers that have a very sharp black
point sticking straight up in the middle of the flower.

Weeds for Food---Dandelions

Dandelion greens have been considered for centuries
to be a "spring tonic" green. Picked in the early
spring, before it can flower, the leaves are not
bitter, and quite delicious when steamed.

Dandelion greens are loaded with calcium, iron, and
Vitamin A.

Edible vs. Flavorful

Understand that just because a flower may be edible,
it may not be something you'd like on your salad.
African marigolds are edible but you wouldn't want
them on a salad! The same goes for fuschia blossoms,
lovely, but awful. Use small quantities of any blossoms
you end up using. A few petals of chive blossoms is
great, but the entire flower would be grimace-inducing
to try to eat at once! A sliver of a red tulip petal is
delicious (tastes like a raw pea) and just lovely on a salad
plate, but an entire flower? Yuck! Unless you want
to taste an overwhelming pea flavor. Usually smaller is better.

"Golden Needles"

Dried daylily buds are sold in Asian Markets as
"Golden Needles". Soak them in hot water
for 15 minutes or so, and use them in your Asian dishes
such as moo shu pork or sour soups.

Weeds for Food---Purslane

Purslane, that lowly, succulent plant with the
tiny yellow flowers that you pull from your flower
beds is edible. Add it in small amounts to your
salad, or steam it as any green. It can be pickled,
and even fried with eggs.

A Few Edible Flowers

A few edible flowers other than herbal blossoms are:
calendula, nasturtiums, dianthus (clove pinks),
pansies, violas, violets, old fashioned roses, and
borage. Also tasty are some varieties of tulips,
tuberose begonias, kale, pea, and mustard blossoms.

A Bit About Edible Blossoms

With the exception of French tarragon, all herbs bloom.
Keep in mind that the flowers will usually taste very
similar to the stalks and leaves you may already
have tasted in dishes, teas, and oils. The flowers
will usually have a sweeter flavor, however.

Some blossoms are less flavorful than the leaves,
such as oregano, sage, and thyme. Others are
stronger flavored, such as chives and lavender.

Using Calendula Blossoms

I have mainly used calendula blossoms as a coloring
additive to dishes. It's great added to an herb butter
for a bit of color. Drop a few of them onto your salads
or in top of a nice deep red soup, such as borscht,
for a beautiful display when serving. Remember to eat
your flowers!

* Number One Flower Eating Rule!

Before you eat ANY flower, please read this tip!

You must KNOW what you're eating. This seems basic,
but it's amazing how many people will eat anything.
You simply MUST know what you're eating. Identify
the flower you plan to eat. NEVER guess if it's
edible or not. KNOW if it's edible. Many flowers
are toxic, some are fatal if eaten!