Edible Flowers Make Any Meal Special!

Liven Up Your Meals with Edible Flowers

Normally, flowers are used as a centrepiece on the table while dining.

But increasingly, they’re being used as ingredients in the meal.

They add color and flavor to salads and desserts, and an extra sparkle to cocktails.

Here are some suggestions for using edible flowers – and some safety tips at the end.

Liven up a glass of champagne or sparkling wine with Hibiscus.  Simply place a full flower into the bottom of a glass, and pour sparkling wine or champagne on top – watch the bubbles blossom!  Hibiscus has a slightly acidic taste that can make a big impact.

Where I live the hibiscus bushes flower all year round – if you live in a colder climate you might need to grow them in a hot house.  You can also buy hibiscus flowers in syrup from grocery stores or Amazon.

Tiny Calendula or marigolds have a wonderful flavour that ranges from spicy to bitter, peppery to tangy. This “Poor Man’s Saffron” has a sharp taste that complements soups, pasta or rice dishes, herb butters, and salads.

Nasturtiums and pansies are great added to salads and placed on top of quiches.

Other quick ideas:

• Roll chive blossoms into handmade pasta dough
• Pickle nasturtium buds to make instant capers
• Thyme flowers make a lovely garnish

Flower Safety

Tips to follow before cooking with flowers:

• Not all flowers are edible. Only eat flowers you know for sure are safe and good to eat.
• Confirm that pesticides and chemicals were not used on the plant that you plan to eat.
• Don’t harvest wild flowers on the side of the road – they’ll have absorbed vehicle pollution.
• Be sure to only eat edible flowers and the edible parts of those flowers – in general, eat only the petals, not the pistils and stamens inside.
• Use flowers sparingly in your recipes – less is more.
• To keep flowers fresh, place them on moist paper towels and refrigerate in an airtight container. Some will last up to 10 days this way.
• Ice water can revitalize limp flowers.

There are over 100 edible flowers; this is just a tiny selection to get you started.  Once you start introducing edible flowers into your meals, you’ll find you want to use more – it’s fun!

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Editor’s Note – this article has been updated with fresh information.