Herb-a-Day: Edible Flowers

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Posted by Erika Pitera on June 29, 2008

Herb-a-Day Edible Flowers Edible flowers have gained a lot of popularity of late, cropping up in specialty food stores and organic markets everywhere. After all, who can resist the lure of some brightly colored, fragrant flowers?

Edible flowers have been a mainstay for five-star restaurants for years, but there's no reason home chefs can't brighten up their recipes with some tasty buds, too.

Flowers can be added to salads, frozen and added to beverages, used in flavored oils, vinegars, sugars, marinades and jellies, crystalized or candied for decoration, and much more.

Flowers should always be used sparingly in recipes because larger quantities can lead to digestive issues. Also, if you're asthmatic or prone to allergies, you should avoid eating flowers. Always be certain that flowers have been grown organically without pesticides or any other contaminants.

Before you start raiding your flower beds, let's go over which flower varieties are safe and edible.

This list is just a brief introduction to what popular flowers you can taste at home:

calendula
carnation
chamomile
dandelion
day lily
fuchsia
gardenia
gladiolus
hibiscus
honeysuckle
impatiens
jasmine
lavender
lilac
marigold
nasturtium
pansy
violet

There are other edible flower species, but you definitely want to avoid crocus, daffodil, foxglove, oleander, rhododendron, lily of the valley and wisteria.