Five delicious edible flowers that will make your foods pop with color just in time for Summer picnics and weekend parties.
The beauty of edible flowers is that they are so versatile. Earlier we shared some lilac inspired recipes for you to try this season along with commonly foraged plants from around the world. Edible flowers had a very unique dimension to everyday foods from their color, flavor and even texture. You might have seen them used as cake decorations, but did you know that they make fantastic additions to salads or drinks and even ice cream? There are so many ways you can make your foods better and adding some colorful and edible flowers is just one of them.
Here is a look at five amazingly colorful edible flowers you can add to your dinner table.
Sourcing your edible flowers
Wherever you get them from, it’s best to use flowers from organic plants. Don’t use supermarket flowers as they have almost certainly been sprayed with a concoction of pesticides. If you are foraging for these flowers make sure to check if they have been sprayed with pesticides as well. When in doubt, it is best to avoid foraging plants and flowers. Growing these flowers is an easy and safe workaround.
#1 Nasturtiums
This peppery flavoured flower comes in many different colours, from pale yellow to crimson red. You can also add nasturtium leaves to your salad as they too are edible and have a similar peppery taste.
#2 Pansy
Pansy flowers come in every color under the sun. They have a mild taste, a little like lettuce, and make for lovely additions to any salad. Pansies can be eaten whole so if you prefer to serve whole flowers in the salad, pansies are a perfect choice.
#3 Chives
Chives often grow wild and produce pretty, purple flowers that will give your salad an onion flavor. You might want to break the flower up into confetti-like petals because eating a whole flower might be too much of an onion flavor.
#4 Courgette
Zucchini flowers or courgettes will not only add a brilliant yellow color to your salad, but their size and structure will turn any salad into a central showpiece. They taste a little sweet. You could even make individual salad dishes up inside courgette flowers: their large size means they are often used for stuffing, usually with cream cheese.
#5 Dahlias
Dahlias are another flower that comes in a variety of colors, perfect if you want to give your salad a particular color theme. They can even be added to iced teas, lemonades and other foods. The flavor also varies depending on growing conditions.
How to keep your edible flowers fresh
Of course, in an ideal world, you’d pick the flowers fresh from your own garden just before adding them to your salad. However, that’s not always possible. Most flowers will keep for a couple of days in the fridge. Place them in an airtight container. Do try to use them quickly though to avoid excessive wilting.
How to prepare edible flowers
You’ll want to clean the flowers before eating them. This step is advised even if you got them from your own garden and didn’t use any pesticides. Sometimes little bugs can be hidden in between the flower petals so it’s important to wash and dry the flowers by gently dipping them in a bowl of cold water, then shaking them to remove most of the water.
For many edible flowers, it is only the petals that are eaten. It’s best to remove the stamens, pistil and heel (the central part at the base of the petals, where the petals come together). If you prefer to keep the flower intact for visual purposes, you could just advise your guests to only eat the petals.
Get creative in the kitchen! These 5 edible flowers can be added to your salad, and each offers different flavours and colours. You can guarantee they’ll transform any food, salad or drink.
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