Topic: Edible flowers

[Mrs Ava]

How delicious are Rocket flowers.  On the allotment today I had a tasty snack munching them as I worked, and then this evening I had them scattered over my salad and they were so yummy!

So my question is, apart from nasturtiums, what other flowers are edible and taste nice, not like perfume or cats wee!?!?!

[gavin]

My favourites (besides nasturtiums) - Calendula (not much taste, but they look gorgeous sprinkled through a rice salad!), and thyme/marjoram flowers - sprinkled on some sliced tomatoes.

I'm sure there's more though.  All best - Gavin

[john_miller]

I have grown edible flowers to sell EJ and to be honest most were tasteless, rather than having the characteristics you so eloquently define. Fuchsias (with 60 cultivars I could make a very elegant presentation though!), (mini)roses, mums, calandula, pansies, stocks (bland, even though they are Cruciferae), marigolds mostly, depending upon the season. I would add garlic and chives to Gavin's list of ones with some taste to them.

[Jesse]

Don't forget the good old courgette flower. I found a few courgette plants produced far too many courgettes for the family to eat so pick off some flowers for cooking. Remove the stamen as this can be bitter.

[Palustris]

Believe it or not, hemerocallis flower petals are considered edible, a bit tasteless to me though.

[Mrs Ava]

What about sage flowers?  Mine is in full bloom at the mo.  It is suprising how many edible flowers there are, but then I think it is only worth eating them if they taste nice.  :P

[gavin]

And roses!  Haven't a clue how to do this, but in Egypt we used to be able to buy rose-petal jam - I'm off now to see what I can find out about making it ----------- back soon, I hope!  :)

All best - Gavin

[john_miller]

Couple more (the chef I supplied moved on years ago, so this is dragging up distant memories). Evening primrose (Oenothera- which is in the Fuchsia family, which surprised me when I found that out) and pinks/Dianthus.
To add to Eric's comments, this same chef told me that the flowers of Hemerocallis are easier to stuff than courgette flowers (the petals are more rigid). The young growth of Hemerocallis can also be harvested as an early spring green. I will leave that to others to test, as it doesn't appeal to me!

[Mrs Ava]

I know that you can eat the berrys from a fuschia, didn't realise you could eat the flowers.  And I know Fortnums and Masons sell rose petal jam, but that highly perfumed taste and smell doesn't appeal to me.  I am curious about things like lettuce flowers.  Some of my lettuce have bolted so I wondered if their flowers are as tasty as they rocket flowers, which I am eating like sweets!  Don't know if I will nibble the flowers on my pinks, I rather like the look of them growing, altho, thinking about it, I might try a floral salad later in the week as I have some calendula just begining to open.

[aquilegia]

violas. I've never tried - but they sure would look pretty in salads.

I agree - rocket flowers are delicious. I like it when mine bolts!

[Tenuse]

My rocket has flowers on, which bit can you eat - just the petals, or the whole flower head?

Ten x

[Mrs Ava]

I pick and eat the whole flower, bugs and all!  ;D  Now someone is going to tell me that you should only eat the petals and not the green bit, but I don't care!  ;D

[john_miller]

I have vague memories of reading somewhere that lettuce flowers are not edible or, at the least, contain a toxin that could cause stomach irritation in an adult. Given how bitter lettuce becomes when it is even slightly overmature I wouldn't want to eat the flowers anyway!