Edible Flowers
by Courtney Denney, UC Master Gardener

There's nothing more satisfying than eating something you grew in your own garden. So why not try eating some of the flowers you carefully nurture and tend? Many flowers in your garden are edible, even delicious, and they can add a dash of panache to dishes. Just a few are dandelions, violets and violas, rosemary flowers, daylilies, and nasturtiums.

Dandelions may be a pest in your lawn, but they can be a delight in a salad. Both the leaves and the yellow flowers are edible. Next time you notice their pesky heads peeking up at you from your lawn, don't spray them with poisons--instead, dig them up, rinse them off, and toss the leaves and yellow flower heads in a salad with a variety of different greens for an interesting taste and pretty presentation.

Violets and violas are easily crystallized and then look beautiful adorning a cake. Simply brush whisked egg white on the flowers, sprinkle with superfine granulated sugar, shake off excess sugar, and let dry. Voila!

Another way to accent edibles with flowers is to freeze them for pretty ice cubes or for a punch bowl. Just place flowers in an ice cube tray or punch bowl ring, add water or juice, and freeze. Imagine a beautiful glass of lemonade with purple flowers peeking through! They can also be tossed in a salad to make dull greens colorful and enticing.

The flowers from rosemary plants are petite, pretty purple things that are the perfect size for dressing up pates or spreads on crackers or even little petit fours. Other herbs' flowers can work as well. Spikes of white basil flowers should be pinched off to encourage growth of the more-desired leafy herb, but the individual florets can be used to dress up cracker spreads as well.

Nasturtiums are my favorite edible plants. The leaves are characteristically rounded, and the flowers are gorgeous fiery flashes of color--yellow, orange, or red. They have a nice peppery taste, and can be tossed in salads or pasta. For a wonderful teatime treat, try nasturtium butter served on crostini, crackers, or biscuits. Master Gardener Kathy Butler shared her recipe with me. Take 1 cube of unsalted butter, 1 finely minced shallot, 1 tsp of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Cream these ingredients together, and add about 20 torn nasturtium petals. You can shape the butter in a mold and add leaves and extra flowers for a beautiful presentation. The butter also goes great with fish and vegetables. The possibilities are endless!

Still other edible flowers include: gladiolas, hollyhocks, Johnny-jump-ups, calendula, marigolds, runner bean blossoms, and pansies.

Remember these few caveats: Never eat any plants out of your garden that have been sprayed with insecticides or other pesticides. Also, before you eat any flower, be entirely sure you have correctly identified it. Tell children they should never ever eat anything out of the garden without first checking with an adult. Remember many plants contain natural toxins that can elicit a poisonous reaction in humans and pets.

There are cookbooks and Web sites offering a wide assortment of recipes. For example, nasturtium flowers in pasta, lavender flowers in ice cream, zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta, crab and asparagus spread served on tulip leaves. You name it and somebody has created it. I've even heard of battered and fried daylilies and zucchini flowers.

Next time you're in your garden, snip a few edible flowers and take them into your kitchen. Express your creativity on tried-and-true recipes and make the flowers that you love to grow, flowers you love to dine on. If you have picky or unadventurous eaters in your home, you can use all of these flowers for garnish, to brighten up a plate or table without worry. Enjoy the fruits (and flowers) of your labor!

August 21, 2003