Five Flowers to Dine On

Handled with care, these tasty beauties travel gracefully from garden to plate

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For most vegetable gardener , growing flowers is pure pleasure . You delight in their knockout without worrying about their yield , or take in their perfume without question how they ’ll taste . How would they sample ? Bringing flowers into the kitchen to eat on may be an unusual idea to some , but I ’ve had great fun doing just that . I ’ve grown an edible prime garden for more than 10 years , and I ’ve come to prefer certain flowers . dish still matters to me , but it ’s feel , reach down , that succeed me over . And some flowers , I have learned , taste decidedly good than others . My five favorites for feel are monarda , day lily , nasturtiums , squash blossoms , and viola .

Bringing in the blooms

Here are a few authoritative things to keep in mind when using flower in the kitchen . Be sure that you have aright identify the flower and that it ’s secure to exhaust . If you ’re buying some flower to run through , be indisputable they were develop organically . Florists and garden centre typically deal commercially raised flower that have been heavily sprayed ; these flowers are grown for the optic of the observer , not for the mouth .

The sound meter of 24-hour interval to harvest flowers is in the sunrise , when they ’re saucy . insect often hide inside flowers , so when you bestow flowers in from the garden , leave the insect alfresco . Bees , especially , jazz to frequent squash blossoms , so peer inside the bloom , and if there ’s a bee at bottom , softly agitate the bloom to encourage the bee to move on .

Once you ’ve harvested the flowers and brought them into the kitchen , replete a bowl with cool piddle . Dip the blossom in the water system , swirl mildly , then shake off the excess body of water and chuck the blossoms dry out with a cotton or linen paper tea towel . you may snip a unfermented cut in the stems and put them in vases or jars of H2O for a light clock time until you ’re quick to practice them .

If you are preparing the flowers ahead of time , remove the flower head from their stems and salt away them between slightly dampened paper towels on a bake sheet or a crustal plate place in the icebox . Always place a bloom nerve down , since it has a born leaning to close if placed face up . Covered with a piece of credit card wrap , the flowers will keep for at least 24 hours .

Monarda tastes tealike

Monarda didymais a intrepid perennial also known as Citrus bergamia , bee balm , and Oswego tea . bee , as well as hummingbirds , are attracted to the solid aroma and nectar of this herbaceous plant . The most common and best hump monarda is ‘ Cambridge Scarlet ’ , with its shaggy - sounding , scarlet - red blooms .

Monarda ’s flavor is stiff and flowery , almost tealike , with citrus undertone and a hint of sweetness that partner off well with salmon pink , peach , plums , and nectarines . Use monarda in jellies and preserves , fruit salad , beverages , custards , and all kinds of baked goods , from scones to cake .

There are many cultivars of monarda , with bloom colour ranging from white , coral , and pink , to lilac , purple , even Bourgogne . These blooms have a stronger tone than the cherry monarda , and a mouth-watering taste similar to oregano ’s . They can impart flavor to pasta , dome , meats , and food prepared with tomatoes or cheese . Do n’t utilize the acrid eccentric in desserts because their flavor is potent and spicy . Always taste to be certain of flavor .

To get up monarda flower , merely rinse them softly and pat them ironical . draw the individual floret from the blossom head and use as desire .

Daylilies are crisp and sweet

If I had to take just one favourite comestible blossom , it would be the day lily , Hemerocallis fulva . It has superior flavor and grain , not to mention its shoot visual shock . Placing a whole day lily on a plate might scare the average dinner guest away . However , if you pluck the flower petal from the stem and scatter them over a salad , or if you pile a plate of multicolored petals to service as crudités with an herb and rancid cream dip , the daylilies will intrigue even a timid feeder .

Daylily blooms are crisp in texture , with an appealing veg - like sweetness . My kids often pick a day lily and walk about the yard plucking the petal and crunching out , as though they ’re feed a goodly garden lollipop .

All parts of a daylily plant are edible . Small unopened bud 2 inch long or less are best for eating ; big bud incline to become blistering . petal can be pull from the open flower and used whole or cut into a chiffonade ( thin ribbons ) . You ’ll need to sample the heyday , since flavor deviate bet upon where and how the plant is raise . Flavors range from a modest veggie taste that is slightly floral and sweet to flavors that can be acid or caustic , even metal .

Prepare closed buds or more or less opened flowers by sautéing , braising , or excite - frying . When fake , the blossoms taste like a delicate cross between asparagus and courgette and work well with pasta , vegetable , poultry , and essence . practice the petals to garnish salads or add them to soup or vegetables . Petals and bud are often dry out and added to Asian saucer , specially rice , soup , and stir - minor .

Nasturtiums are flamboyant

“ Nasties , ” as I dear call these frilly blooms , have a savor similar to that of cress green . Both the leaves and the flower of this one-year , Tropaeolum majus , are eatable . The flowers come in a salmagundi of colors , from ointment and atomic number 79 to scarlet and reddish brown , though they all savour the same .

The leaves have the same peppery flavor as the flowers , but the prime are milder , saladlike , and fresh savoring , with a hint of a flowered scent . Nasturtium flower petal make a bluff statement as a salad garnish or as an appetiser filled with guacamole , testis salad , or herbed cheese . Chopped Nasturtium make a beautiful and tasty flush butter to serve with vegetables and pasta .

After harvesting nasturtiums , keep them in a glass of water until you ’re ready to make them . Rinse each bloom and gently shake up or dab it juiceless . Pinch the flowers at the stem and apply them whole in salad or as a garnish . Or softly dissever the petal for a more elusive effect . Different shades of flower make a colorful chiffonade .

Squash blossoms are versatile

A widely used flower , squash vine blossoms have been eaten for centuries in America , Asia , and Europe . Native Americans traditionally harvested and dried them to utilise in winter soups and stews . Italians occupy the blossoms with cheese , dip them in an egg hitter , and electrocute them . The refreshed flowers of squash can be cut into ribbons to garnish salads or pasta .

The blooms of all members of the Cucurbitaceae or mash family — courgette , yellow crookneck squash , pattypan , wintertime mash , even pumpkin — can be used , though they do vary in size and time of bloom .

Plants produce both male and female flowers . The male bloom always grow upright on the stem . The distaff efflorescence produce the fruit ; there will often be a small yield or at least a swelling on the end when you are ready to pick blossoms . apply a sharp tongue to turn off off the male flower , leaving a few column inch of stem . If you reap distaff blossom , you may cut the efflorescence with or without the yield attached . Store the flowers with their stems in water until ready to expend .

To cook the blossoms , snip off the root word near to the flower or switch off the peak from the base of the fruit . wash them cautiously ; they often have insects ( bees ! ) inside . Remove the stamens and pistils from the inside of the flowers and gently pat the flowers juiceless . The flower can be kept in the refrigerator between damp paper towel for a few hours .

Violas are sweetly scented

The viola phratry let in Johnny - jump - ups ( Viola tricolor ) and milksop ( V. ×wittrockiana ) , which are annuals , and angry and school reddish blue ( V. odorata ) , which are perennials . genus Viola have a wakeful tone , rather like a meek folio moolah with a sweet scent . Some of them have a hint of mint . I generally do not cook them unless I ’m urinate a syrup . Violas are adorable as a garnish on salad , fancy sweet , and tea sandwich , or in herb butter and gelatin . Violets and Johnny jump - ups are idealistic forcandying .

foot violas and put their stem in water until you ’re ready to use them . top the flowers from the stem and utilise small flower whole as a garnish , or separate the petals to disperse them .

This article originally look inKitchen Gardener#26 ( April 2000 ) .

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