Incredible Edible Flowers

Incredible, edible flowers

By Chef Channon

June 06, 2010, 10:00AM

Your food can be as beautiful to look at as it is tasty to eat, just by adding colorful blossoms of edible flowers. Not only can edible flowers add a treat for your eyes and palate, they are virtually calorie-free and often high in vitamin C and antioxidants. Some are even purported to have health benefits ranging from treating high blood pressure to skin conditions such as acne and eczema.

Garden herbs, such as basil, thyme, oregano, borage, marjoram and mint, and blooming fruit trees and bushes, such as cherry, elderberry and raspberry, all have blossoms that can be eaten or used to flavor foods.
Photo by Sam ZomerWhite violets are terrific for candying and as a garnish on desserts.
For thousands of years, people have harvested flowers for their flavor and medicinal benefits. (Dandelions, for example, are one of the “bitter herbs” mentioned in the Old Testament.) In some cases, you may have been eating flowers without realizing it. The spice saffron, for example, comes from dried stigmas of the crocus flower, while capers, which have been eaten in Europe for more than 2,000 years, are actually flower buds.

Flowers are chosen to complement sweet dishes with their astringent floral notes, or to add both visual and flavor interest to savory dishes.

Choose the flowers in season and serve them in salads, as a garnish, in syrups or dried and added to cookies, cakes or biscuits. Or add blossoms to a jar of sugar and allow the perfume to permeate for several weeks. Then use the sugar to dust delicate shortbreads or flavor your favorite drink.

You can also freeze blooms in ice cubes and use them to add a bit of style to your cocktails or iced tea this summer. (To learn how to candy your own flowers, see today’s related article with instructions and video. For other ideas on how to prepare edible flowers, see related recipes.)

Flowers also can be used in jams, jellies and teas – hibiscus and chamomile are particularly wonderful. A strong hibiscus infusion also can be used to make cocktails and punch.

A few examples of locally available edible flowers include violets, pansies, nasturtiums, calendula, roses, tulips, hibiscus, carnation, squash blossoms and day lilies.

But many flowers are toxic to humans and should never be used near food. Commonly grown Michigan examples are azaleas, belladonna, clematis, calla lilies, foxglove, larkspur, lily-of-the-valley, nightshade and rhododendrons. (For an extensive list of non-edible blooms go to: Cornell University Poisonous Plants Information Database
www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/index.html.
You can easily grow your own edible flowers, enjoying the beauty they add to your garden as well as table. Check your local garden stores for varieties, or to find edible flowers in your neck of the woods go to www.localharvest.org and search the database. Farmers markets should also be getting these in stock, since many local farms now grow these gorgeous gustatory treats.

Tips for enjoying your beautiful harvest:

• Many flowers are NOT edible. Consult a good horticulture book before ingesting. (Never use non-edible flowers for garnish – people assume that if it’s there, it’s there to be eaten.)

• Remove the stamen and pistil before eating.

• Choose flowers you know have not been treated with pesticides (try to find organically grown).

• Check the flavor before using. Be sure to trim the bitter white calyx from rose and tulip petals

• Choose recently bloomed but not wilted flowers.

• Pick and rinse just before using, or store stemmed flowers in water. Short flowers can be stored in a damp paper towel or in a plastic bag. Keep refrigerated.

• Respect the medicinal qualities of flowers and do not eat a large quantity if pregnant or nursing.

Channon Mondoux is a personal chef, food historian, author and culinary teacher who lives in Portage with her husband and three sons. www.rencuisine.com.