Topic: edible flowers

[Mrs Ava]

Following on from my earlier post and Johns suggestion that maybe we should look at edible flowers, I googled and found the following, rather detailed list.

Alliums (leeks, chives, garlic, garlic chives) - Known as the "Flowering Onions." There are approximately four hundred species that includes the familiar onion, garlic, chives, ramps, and shallots. All members of this genus are edible. Their flavors range from mild onions and leeks right through to strong onion and garlic. All parts of the plants are edible. The flowers tend to have a stronger flavor than the leaves and the young developing seed-heads are even stronger. We eat the leaves and flowers mainly in salads. The leaves can also be cooked as a flavoring with other vegetables in soups, etc.

Chive Blossoms - Use whenever a light oniony flavor and aroma is desired. Separate the florets and enjoy the mild, onion flavor in a variety of dishes.
Garlic Blossoms - The flowers can be white or pink, and the stems are flat instead of round. The flavor has a garlicky zing that brings out the flavor of your favorite food. Milder than the garlic bulb. Wonderful in salads.

Cheesy Chive Blossom Omelet
Chive Blossom Butter
Chive Blossom Vinegar
Fennel and Chive Blossom Souffle
Potato Salad with Chive Blossom Mayonnaise
Baked Blue Flower Chive Omelet

Angelica - Depending on the variety, flower range from pale lavender-blue to deep rose.  It has a flavor similar to licorice. Angelica is valued culinarly from the seeds and stems, which are candied and used in liqueurs, to the young leaves and shoots, which can be added to a green salad. Because of its celery-like flavor, Angelica has a natural affinity with fish. The root lends an interesting juniper-like flavor to breads. Often the leaves are minced and used as a part of a court boullion to season poaching liquid. The leaves have a stronger, clean taste and make a interesting addition to salads. In its native northern Europe, even the mature leaves are used, particularly by the Laplanders, as a natural fish preservative. Many people in the cold Northern regions such as Greenland, Siberia, and Finland consider Angelica a vegetable, and eat the stems raw, sometimes spread with butter. Young leaves can be made into a tea.
Angelica Candy

Anise Hyssop - Both flowers and leaves have a delicate anise or licorice flavor. Some people say the flavor reminds them of root beer. The blossoms make attractive plate garnishes and are often used in Chinese-style dishes
Anise Hyssop Honey Butter
Anise Hyssop Tea Bread

Apple Blossoms - Apple Blossoms have a delicate floral flavor and aroma. They are a nice accompaniment to fruit dishes and can easily be candied to use as a garnish. Eat in moderation; may contain cyanide precursors.

Arugula - Also called garden rocket, roquette, rocket-salad, Oruga, Rocketsalad, rocket-gentle; Raukenkohl (German); rouquelle (French); rucola (Italian). An Italian green usually appreciated raw in salads or on sandwiches. The flowers are small, white with dark centers and can be used in the salad for a light piquant flavor. The flowers taste very similar to the leaves and range in color from white to yellowish with dark purple veins.  Arugula resembles radish leaves in both appearance and taste. Leaves are compound and have a spicy, peppery flavor that starts mild in young leaves and intensifies as they mature.
Arugula Salad
Arugula, Pear and Asiago Cheese Salad
Arugula Salad With Stuffed Salmon Balls
Arugula Salad with Gorgonzola Cheese, Argula Salad with Mushrooms
Walnut, Arugula & Gorgonzola Crostini

[Mrs Ava]

Aquatic Plants - Cattails and Lotuc Leaves
Scalloped Cattails, Cattail Pollen Biscuits, Cattail Pollen Pancakes, Cattail Casserole and Cattail Flour

Banana Blossoms -
Banana Blossom Salad
Banana Blossom Salad with Duck and Ginger (Goi Vit Bap Chuoi)
Banana Flower Salad

Basil - Depending on the type, the flowers are either bright white, pale pink, or a delicate lavender. The flavor of the flower is milder, but similar to the leaves of the same plant. Basil also has different varieties that have different milder flavors like lemon and mint. Sprinkle them over salad or pasta for a concentrated flavor and a spark of color that gives any dish a fresh, festive look.
Linguine with Tomatoes and Basil

Bee Balm - Also called Wild Bergamot, Wild Oswego Tea, Horsemint, Monarda. Wild bee balm tastes like oregano and mint. The taste of bee balm is reminiscent of citrus with soft mingling of lemon and orange. The red flowers have a minty flavor. Any place you use oregano, you can use bee balm blossoms. The leaves and flower petals can also be used in both fruit and regular salads. The leaves taste like the main ingredient in Earl Gray Tea and can be used as a substitute.
Bee Balm Tea
Bee Balm and Raspberry Summer Punch
Monarda Sandwich Spread

Borage - Has lovely cornflower blue star-shaped flowers. Blossoms have a cool, cucumber taste. Wonderful in punches, lemonade, gin and tonics, sorbets, chilled soups, cheese tortas, and dips.
Borage Flower Syrup
Borage Jelly

Broccoli Florets - The top portion of broccoli is actually flower buds. Given time each will burst into a bright yellow flower, which is why they are called florets. Small yellow flowers have a mild spiciness (mild broccoli flavor), and are delicious in salads or in a stir-fry or steamer.

Burnet - The taste usually is likened to that of cucumbers, and burnet can be used interchangeably with borage.
Herbs and Flowers Salad

Calendula - Also called Marigolds. A wonderful edible flower. Flavors range from spicy to bitter, tangy to peppery. Their sharp taste resembles saffron (also known as Poor Man’s Saffron). Has pretty petals in golden-orange hues. Sprinkle them on soups, pasta or rice dishes, herb butters, and salads. Petals add a yellow tint to soups, spreads, and scrambled eggs.
Lynn’s Calendula Chicken Salad,   Calendula Petal Rice

Carnations - Steep in wine, candy, or use as cake decoration. To use the surprisingly sweet petals in desserts, cut them away from the bitter white base of the flower. Dianthus are the miniature member of the carnation family with light clove-like or nutmeg scent. Petals add color to salads or aspics. Carnation petals are one of secret ingredients that has been used to make Chartreuse, a French liqueur, since the 17th century.
Carnation Vinegar

Chamomile - The flowers are small and daisy-like and have a sweet, apple-like flavor.
Chamomile Chicken Soup

Chevil - Chervil flowers are delicate white flowers with an anise flavor. Chervil's flavor is lost very easily, either by drying the herb, or too much heat. That is why it should be added at the end of cooking or sprinkled on in its fresh, raw state

Chicory - Earthy flavor, eat either the petals or the buds. Chicory has a pleasant, mild-bitter taste that has been compared to endive.

Chrysanthemums - Tangy, slightly bitter, ranging in colors from red, white, yellow and orange. They range in taste from faint peppery to mild cauliflower. They sould be blanched first and then scatter the petals on a salad. The leaves can also be used to flavor vinegar. Always remove the bitter flower base and use petals only. Young leaves and stems of the Crown Daisy, also known as Chop Suey Greens or Shingiku in Japan, are widely used in oriental stir-fries and as salad seasoning.
Fried Chrysanthemum Fish Balls

Cilantro/Cilantro - Like the leaves and seeds, the flowers have a strong herbal flavor. Use leaves and flowers raw as the flavor fades quickly when cooked. Sprinkle to taste on salads, bean dishes, and cold vegetable dishes.

Citrus blossoms (orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, kumquat) - Use highly scented waxy petals sparingly. Distilled orange flower water is characteristic of Middle Eastern pastries and beverages. Citrus flavor and lemony.

Clover - Sweet, anise-like, licorice.

Cornflower - Also called Bachelor’s button. They have a slightly sweet to spicy, clove-like flavor. Bloom is a natural food dye. More commonly used as garnish.

Dandelions - Member of Daisy family. Flowers are sweetest when picked young, and just before eating. They have a sweet, honey-like flavor. Mature flowers are bitter. Good raw or steamed. Also made into wine. Young leaves taste good steamed, or tossed in salads. When serving a rice dish use dandelion petals like confetti over the rice.
Dandelion Pesto
Dandelion Quiche
Dandelion Salad

[Mrs Ava]

Daylilies - Slightly sweet with a mild vegetable flavor, like sweet lettuce or melon. Their flavor is a combination of asparagus and zucchini. Some people think that different colored blossoms have different flavors. To use the surprisingly sweet petals in desserts, cut them away from the bitter white base of the flower. Also great to stuff like squash blossoms. Flowers look beautiful on composed salad platters or crowning a frosted cake. Sprinkle the large petals in a spring salad. In the spring, gather shoots two or three inches tall and use as a substitute for asparagus. NOTE:  Many Lilies contain alkaloids and are NOT edible. Day Lillies may act as a laxative.
A Salad of Flowers and Herbs, Daylilies Fritters with Strawberries, Daylilies Stuffed with Oriental Crab Salad

Dill - Tangy; like leaves but stronger. Use yellow dill flowers as you would the herb itself - to season hot or cold soups, seafood, dressings or dips. Seeds used in pickling and baking.

Elderberry - The blossoms are a creamy color and have a sweet scent and sweet taste. When harvesting elderberry flowers, do not wash them as that removes much of the fragrance and flavor. Instead check them carefully for insects. The fruit is used to make wine. CAUTION: All other parts of this plant are poisonous! Do not even eat the stems of the flowers!
Elderberry Blossom Wine
Elderberry Blossom Syrup

English Daisy - The flowers have a mildly bitter taste and are most commonly used for their looks than their flavor. The petals are used as a garnish and in salads.

Fennel - Lovely, star-burst yellow flowers have a mile anise flavor. Use with desserts or cold soups, or as a garnish with entrees.
Fennel and Watercress Soup
Shaved Fennel with Blood Oranges, Pomegranate, and Pecorino

Fuchsia - Blooms have no distinct flavor. Explosive colors and graceful shape make it ideal as garnish.

Gardenia - Intensely fragrant light cream-colored blossom used for decorative purposes. In the Far East, dried gardenia blossoms impart fragrance to jasmine tea.

Garden Sorrel - Sorrel flowers are tart, lemon tasting. So use like a lemon: on pizza, a salad topping, in sauces, over cucumber salads.

Geranium -
Rose Geranium Muffins

Gladiolas - Flowers (anthers removed) have a nondescript flavor (taste vaquely like lettuce) but make lovely receptacles for sweet or savory spreads or mousses. Toss individual petals in salads.

Hibiscus - Cranberry-like flavor with citrus overtones. Use slightly acidic petals sparingly in salads or as garnish.

Hollyhock - Very bland tasting flavor.

Honeysuckle - Sweet honey flavor. Berries are highly poisonous - Do not eat them!
Honeysuckle Strawberry Sorbet
Honeysuckle Wines

Hyacinth - The bulb of this plant is edible and was a particular favorite of the Nez Perce Indians. It was eaten either raw or cooked and has a sweet, nutlike flavor.

Impatiens -

Jasmine - The flowers are intensely fragrant and are traditionally used for scenting tea.

Johnny-Jump-Ups - Lovely yellow, white and purple blooms have a mild wintergreen flavor and can be used in salads, to decorate cakes, or served with soft cheese. They are also a great addition to drinks, soups, desserts or salads.
Johnny Jump-Up Flowers as Edible Garnishes

Lavender  - Sweet, floral flavor, with lemon and citrus notes. Flowers look beautiful and taste good too in a glass of champagne, with chocolate cake, or as a garnish for sorbets or ice creams. Lavender lends itself to savory dishes also, from hearty stews to wine-reduced sauces. Diminutive blooms add a mysterious scent to custards, flans or sorbets. NOTE: Do not consume lavender oil unless you absolutely know that it has not be sprayed and is culinary safe.
Cottage Cheese-Herb Bread
Crostini with White Truffle & Olive Paste
Grilled Pork Chops with Lavender Flowers
Lavender Creme Brulee
Lavender Custard, Lavender Infusion, and Lavender Jelly
Lavender Focaccia
Lavender Hazelnut Bread
Lavender Jelly
Lavender Sorbet
Lavender Tea Cookies
Peppered Lavender Beef

Lemon Verbena - Tiny cream-colored citrus-scented blossoms. Leaves and flowers steeped as an herb tea, and used to flavor custards and flans.

Lilac - The flavor of lilacs varies from plant to plant. Very perfumy, slightly bitter. Has a distinct lemony taste with floral, pungent overtones. Great in salads.
Lilac Jelly

Linden - Small flowers, white to yellow was are delightfully fragrant and have a honeylike flavor.

Marjoram - Flowers are a milder version of plant's leaf. Use as you would the herb.

Mint - The flavor of the flowers is minty, with different overtones depending on the variety. Mint flowers and leaves are great in Middle Eastern dishes.

Mustard - Young leaves can be steamed, used as a herb, eaten raw, or cooked like spinach. NOTE: Some people are highly allergic to mustard. Start with a small amount.

Nasturtiums - Come in varieties ranging from trailing to upright and in brilliant sunset colors with peppery flavors. Nasturtiums rank among most common edible flowers. Blossoms have a sweet, spicy flavor similar to watercress. Stuff whole flowers with savory mousse. Leaves add peppery tang to salads. Pickled seed pods are less expensive substitute for capers. Use entire flowers to garnish platters, salads, cheese tortas, open-faced sandwiches, and savory appetizers.
Nasturtium Mayonnaise
Nasturtium Sandwiches
Nasturtium Soup
Nasturtium Vinegar
Pasta with Nasturtiums and Snow Peas
Stuffed Nasturtiums

[Mrs Ava]

Okra - Also known as Ochro, Okoro, Quimgombo, Quingumbo, Ladies Fingers and Gumbo. It has hibiscus-like flowers and seed pods that, when picked tender, produce a delicious vegetable dish when stewed or fried. When cooked it resembles asparagus yet it may be left raw and served in a cold salad. The ripe seeds have been used as a substitute for coffee; the seed can be dried and powdered for storage and future use.

Orchids -

Oregano - Milder version of plant's leaf. Use as you would the herb.

Pansy - Pansies have a slightly sweet green or grassy flavor. If you eat only the petals, the flavor is extremely mild, but if you eat the whole flower, there is a winter, green overtone. Use them as garnishes, in fruit salads, green salad, desserts or in soups.

Pea Blossoms - NOTE: Flowering ornamental sweet peas are poisonous. Edible garden peas bloom mostly in white, but may have other pale coloring. The blossoms are slightly sweet and crunchy and they taste like peas. The shoots and vine tendrils are edible, with a delicate, pea-like flavor. Here again, remember that harvesting blooms will diminish your pea harvest, so you may want to plant extra.

Peach blossoms

Pear blossoms

Petunia - Petunia flowers have a mild flowery taste and can be used as a garnish.

Pineapple Guava - The flavor is sweet and tropical, somewhat like a freshly picked ripe papaya or exotic melon still warm from the sun.

Primrose - Colorful with a sweet, but bland taste.
Curried Evening Primrose

Queen Anne's Lace - Flavor is lightly carrot like. Great in salads.

Radish Flowers - Depending on the variety, flowers may be pink, white or yellow, and will have a distinctive, spicy bite (has a radish flavor). Best used in salads.

Rosemary - Milder version of leaf. Fresh or dried herb and blossoms enhance flavor of Mediterranean dishes. Use with meats, seafoods, sorbets or dressings .
Lemon Rosemary Chicken
Rosemary Herb Butter

Roses - Flavors depend on type, color, and soil conditions. Flavor reminiscent of strawberries and green apples. Sweet, with subtle undertones ranging from fruit to mint to spice. All roses are edible, with the flavor being more pronounced in the darker varieties. In miniature varieties can garnish ice cream and desserts, or larger petals can be sprinkled on desserts or salads. Freeze them in ice cubes and float them in punches also. Petals used in syrups, jellies, perfumed butters and sweet spreads.
Fruit Salad with Rose Petals
Indiana Raspberries with Rose Cream
Rose Beads
Rose Hip Soup
Rose Hip Wine
Rose Petal Drop Scones
Rose Petal Jam
Rose Petal Sorbet and Crystallized Rose Petals
Rose Quail

Safflower - Its dried flowers, Mexican saffron, are used as a food colorant in place of the more aromatic and expensive Spanish saffron.

Sage, Sage Photo - The flowers are violet-blue, pink or white up to 1 3/8 inches long, small, tubelike, clustered together in whorls along the stem tops.  Flowers have a subtler sage taste than the leaves and can be used in salads and as a garnish. Flowers are a delicious companion to many foods including beans, corn dishes, sauteed or stuffed mushrooms, or pesto sauce.
Roast Pork with Sage Flower Sauce
Sage Flower Pesto

Savory - The flavor of the flowers is somewhat hot and peppery.

Scarlet Runner Beans - Bean pods toughen as they age, so make use of young pods as well as flowers. Please note: Sweet Pea flowers are not edible.
Wildflower McMuffin with Scarlet Runner Beans

Scented Geraniums - The flower flavor generally corresponds to the variety. For example, a lemon-scented geranium would have lemon-scented flowers. They come in fragrances from citrus and spice to fruits and flowers, and usually in colors of pinks and pastels. Sprinkle them over desserts and in refreshing drinks or freeze in ice cubes. NOTE: Citronelle variety may not be edible.
Barbie's Rose Geranium Sour Cherry Ice Cream
Rose Geranium Jelly, Rose Angel Cake
Rose Geranium Muffins

Snap Dragon - Delicate garden variety can be bland to bitter. Flavors depend on type, color, and soil conditions.

Squash Blossoms - Squash and pumpkin blossoms are edible and taste mildly of raw squash. Prepare the blossoms by washing and trimming the stems and remove the stamens.
Lemongrass Crusted Salmon with Thai Curry and Mango and Avocado Relish
Warm Summer Squash Blossom Salad

Sunflower - The flower is best eaten in the bud stage when it tastes similar to artichokes. Once the flower opens, the petals may be used like chrysanthemums, the flavor is distinctly bittersweet. The unopened flower buds can also be steamed like artichokes.

Sweet Woodruff - The flower flavor is sweet and grassy with a hint of nutty, vanilla flavor.

Thyme - Milder version of leaf. Use sprigs as garnish or remove flowers and sprinkle over soups, etc. (anywhere the herb might be used.)

Tuberous Begonia - NOTE: Only Hybrids are edible. The petals of the tuberous begonias are edible. Their bright colors and sour, fruity taste bring flavor and beauty to any summer salad. Begonia blossoms have a delicious citrusy sour taste and a juicy crunch. The petals are used as a garnish and in salads. Stems, also, can be used in place of rhubarb.   The flowers and stems contain oxalic acid and should not be consumed by individuals suffering from gout, kidneystones, or rheumatism.
Strawberry Begonia Salad

Tulip Petals - Flavor varies from tulip to tulip, but generally the petals taste like sweet lettuce,  fresh baby peas, or a cucumber-like texture and flavor. NOTE:   Some people have had strong allergic reactions to them. If touching them causes a rash, numbness etc. Don't eat them! Don't eat the bulbs ever.
Tulip Tuna
Tulip Wine
Warm Tulip and White Asparagus Salad

Violets - Sweet, perfumed flavor. Related flowers, Johnny jump-ups or violas, and pansies now come in colorful purples and yellows to apricot and pastel hues. I like to eat the tender leaves and flowers in salads. I also use the flowers to beautifully embellish desserts and iced drinks. Freeze them in punches to delight children and adults alike. All of these flowers make pretty adornments for frosted cakes, sorbets, or any other desserts, and they may be crystallized as well. heart-shaped leaves are edible, and tasty when cooked like spinach.
Crystallized Violets
Triple Violet Salad
Violet-Lavender Sorbet
Wild Spring Flower Salad

Yucca Petals - The white Yucca flower is crunchy with a mildly sweet taste (a hint of artichoke). in the spring, they can be used in salads and as a garnish.

[john_miller]

Thanks EJ, that is the most complete list I have ever come across. If I ever get a market for edible flowers I will reference this list. A few comments though, they have missed Brompton stock, Matthiola incana, which makes very attractive additions to a plate (indeed many other attractive crucifers, Virginia stock as an example, can be used).  Only hybrid begonias? Oops, I used to harvest flowers of angel wings!  I thought I had read elsewhere  petunias were edible but couldn't remember where so was never able to confirm it- being Solanaceae I wasn't going to risk mis-recollecting!

[gavin]

Wow!  :-)

Nice one, EJ!  All best, Gavin

[Mrs Ava]

Sometimes when you google, you can be very lucky and turn up little gems! Don't think I fancy tulip petals on my salad....they seem to fleshy to me.  And I was suprised to read that apart from the berries and flowers, all other parts of the elderberry are poisonous!  When I made my elderflower cordial, I used complete flower heads, stems and all, would that not have introduced some of the toxin into the cordial??  Never heard of Johnny Jump ups, but they sound so cute! and I found a piccy, so violets?

[john_miller]

Yes, EJ. Violas are commonly called Johnny Jump Ups over here. It might be because they "jump-up" so quickly after the winter, when so little else does.

[hesperis2000]

WOW
i think perhaps EJ you should be doing gardners world- perhaps' allotmenters world'

[thistle]

Great list EJ and thank you for taking the trouble to collate and post it.  I use flower petals mixed in with salad leaves and now you've given me even more choice. 

[Charlotte Sometimes]

Wicked thread, very interesting and informative.   8)

[eileen]

Thanks for that EJ now I know which flowers I can crystalise to decorate cakes with!! Also which ones I can put in a salad for my fruitarian son.  :D

Off to print them out now.

[simon404]

When the hawthorn shoots start showing (soon) you can eat them.

[Val]

 ;D Thanks for that EJ you have been busy. Its really interesting, especially if you've kids and want to wow them with something different , for a party or something. or even a picnic in the garden.Brilliant.