How to Use Edible Flowers!

How to Use Edible Flowers! Edible flowers are a lovely way to brighten up your spring and summer dishes. Learn all about sourcing and using edible flowers in salads and more.

edible flowers are the perfect colorful garnish!

Once you realize how many common flowers are actually edible, you’ll have great fun using them to add a splash of unique color to your meals.

recipes using edible flowers

• How to Make Pansy Topped Shortbread Cookies
• Pansy Salad
• Lilac Sugar Shortbread
• Wild violet lemonade
• How To Make Lavender and Rose Simple Syrups
• Spring Salad with Edible Flowers

there are well over 50 common flowers that are edible!

It turns out that there are a lot more edible flowers than the few you probably already know about, (see the list at the end of the post.) I’ve occasionally seen nasturtiums in salads, and violets and rose petals on cupcakes, but did you know that you can also eat geraniums, impatiens, fuchsias, and peonies? I had no idea. But it really shouldn’t come as such a surprise, I mean, why should the edible parts of plants be limited to just the leaves, berries, seeds and fruits?

how to find edible flowers

You can use clean flowers right from your own garden, just make sure they haven’t been sprayed with pesticides or chemicals. If you have to you can gently wash your blossoms, and then dry them on a paper towel. Pick them as close to when you want to use them as possible, or store them on top of a damp paper towel in a plastic or glass container in the refrigerator.

You can also find packages of edible flowers in better grocery stores, usually during the spring and summer. Look for them with the packaged herbs.

which edible flowers are best to use for garnishing food

I like to use small flowers like pansies, and violets. These dianthus are a small member of the carnation family. All carnations are edible, but these are really common, come in tons of colors and stripes, and are a perfect small size for garnishing food. You can also use the petals of larger flowers, like marigolds.

do edible flowers actually taste good?

I know what you’re thinking, and I agree, I have no interest in chowing down on a big bowl of hollyhocks, but think of the more subtle possibilities…scatter a few crimson geraniums across your next salad, top a bowl of carrot soup with a bright yellow nasturtium, or decorate a cheese plate with violets or pansies. You, or someone you know, probably has a lot of these flowers right in their backyard, and if you don’t have a yard you can plant a container with a variety of edible flowers and clip them as needed all season long. I was shocked that even now, in mid summer, there are lots of in season edible blossoms.

try scattering a few blossoms on your next salad

I made a simple salad, and what goes into it is up to you. I started with a base of watercress, and then layered on some pea shoots, fresh raw peas, tiny cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, a few sprigs of dill, and then my blossoms. If you are going to decorate a salad with flowers, toss the salad with the dressing before you scatter on the flowers so they will stay fresh looking. You can use the whole flowers or just the loose petals. Marigold petals are great for scattering.

I used deep red, shocking pink, and variegated purple geraniums, golden nasturtiums, bright yellow and russet marigolds, coral impatiens, and white dianthus. For my dressing I whisked together sesame oil, rice vinegar, and a grating of fresh ginger.

I’m not going to claim that edible flowers are the most wildly delicious things in the world, but they’re pleasant. Some have a citrusy taste, others are mildly spicy. But for me the biggest reason to use them is that they are so colorful and pretty, and they add an element of excitement to food.

* Here’s a partial list of common edible flowers:

Apple blossoms	Bachelor button	Bee balm	Borage
Calendula	Carnations	Chamomile	Chive flowers
Chrysanthemums	Clover	Dandelion	Day Lily
Dianthus	Fuchsia	Hibiscus	Hollyhock
Honeysuckle	Impatiens	Jasmine	Johnny Jump-Ups
Lavender	Lemon verbena	Lilac	Marigold
Mint	Nasturtium	Pansy	Peach blossoms
Pear blossoms	Peony	Roses	Sage
Shasta Daisies	Squash blossoms	Sunflowers	Violets

More information: National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service

Check out Part Two of How to Eat Flowers! HERE

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