how to make edible flowers?

[pianistimo]

ok.  you pick the flower (but which flower do you pick?)  some flowers might be poisonous.  which flowers are edible.  pansies and what? 

then what do you do?  put them in a bowl of sugar and let them sit there for a while?

ps i just found out that clover is edible.  i know, it's a leaf.  ok. edible leaves AND flowers.

[thalbergmad]

then what do you do? 

Eat it.

If you are alive 2 hours later, it must be OK.

Thal

[pianistimo]

are there any red flags to edible flower picking?  i read that 'the flowers of vegetables and herbs are generally safe to eat.  in japan the crysanthemum is much used.  in europe - nasturtiums, marigolds, and violets. most roses are edible but avoid any that have been sprayed by chemical pesticides.'

i think adding flowers to food is a nice way to dress it up.

[thalbergmad]

most roses are edible but avoid any that have been sprayed by chemical pesticides.'

The next time i fancy eating a bunch of roses, i will remember that.

Thanks

Thal

[pianistimo]

that is why edible landscaping is so important.  you grow your own and then you know for sure that nobody sprayed the flowers, excepting the neighbors cat, of course.

here's how to make them stiff:  1/4 T. gum arabic in 1 T water or rosewater.  brush over petals then sprinkle with caster sugar and leave to dry on non-stick baking parchment.

[rach n bach]

Here are the top ten ones to use:

Calendula (Calendula officinalis) -- In the cool Northwest, calendulas bloom through the year. Use the petals (fresh or dried) to add a gentle bite to soups and salads. Well-chopped, the petals add color and flavor to rice dishes (much like saffron).

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) -- Honey-scented chive blossoms have a decidedly oniony flavor that adds snap to soups, sandwich spreads and salads. Break up the clustered blossoms and scatter individual florets over pasta for garnish.

Daylily (Hemerocallis species) -- Common in Chinese cookery, fresh daylily blossoms or dried buds can be used year-round. Buds are eaten just before they open, when in full color, and taste rather like green beans. Open, they taste mildly sweet; fill pink daylily flowers with melon balls or use yellow daylilies for elegant, individual pesto potato salads.

Mint (Mentha species) -- Add fuzzy blue mint flowers to lemonade or fruit salad and use them to garnish chocolate ice cream treats. They also work well in curries, rice dishes, and green salads or with steamed vegetables. The leaves of many kinds of mint are decorative and tasty too.

Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) -- Lovely in salads, nasturtiums also can be used to garnish salmon or chicken dishes. Slightly astringent and peppery, nasturtium flowers work best in savory dishes. Layer slabs of tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and garnish with golden nasturtiums.

Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana) -- Velvety pansies are for thoughts, so use them to tell dear ones that you think about them often. The petals have a soft, minty flavor that lends itself to sweet or savory dishes. Use them to trim tortes, to garnish herbed tuna, or tossed into a quick curry.

Rose (Rosa species) -- Sweet and fragrant rose petals are an elegant garnish for game hens or fish. Rosa officinalis, the apothecary rose, is one of the nicest, but almost any fragrant rose will taste sweet. Sumptuous in summery salads, rose petals also can grace desserts.

Sage (Salvia officinalis) -- Try sliding some culinary sage flowers under the skin of turkey or chicken, along with a few sprigs of rosemary. The flowers have a warm, herby flavor with a hint of heat. Toss orange slices and fennel with sage flowers and slivered sage leaves.

Signet or Threadleaf Marigold (Tagetes signata or T. tenuifolia) -- Spicy, lemon-scented signet marigolds are tastier than most of their kin. The flavor is somewhat like tarragon. Try the petals in carrot and orange salad, mash some into deviled eggs, or sprinkle petals over potato soup.

Squash Blossom (Cucurbita species) -- Toss these pretty flowers into stews, fry them in fritters, or stuff them with herbed goat cheese. The flower flavor is gently green. New tips of young shoots often taste slightly salty and crunchy, so use those, too.

Flowers to decorate a dessert -- Apple blossom, clover, Johnny Jump-Ups, mint flowers, pansies, rosebuds and petals, violets.

Flowers you can eat whole -- Clover, honeysuckle, Johnny-Jump-Up, runner bean, violet

Books on this topic -- They are few, and many are not well-researched. I can wholeheartedly recommend "Edible Flowers From Garden to Palate" by Cathy Wilkinson Barash


Ones not to pick:
https://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blflowersnot.htm

And how to make them:
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/106034

RnB

[pianistimo]

wow.  thanks RnB - i'm planning to use your list when i go to the gardening store here for plants this spring. 

[pianowelsh]

why bother I just eat normal ones!   I began as a young child eating dasies in the garden...I still do although ore by ignorance when I drink chinese tea - i eat the garnish!!!  oophs

[pianistimo]

this is so funny!  perhaps there are more edible things out there than we realize!

[rach n bach]

Just make sure that it passes the "leaves of three" test... saw a kid ignore my warnigns, ah well, guess it serves him right. 

RnB

[pianowelsh]

leaves of three??? please explain?!?!?!? it may already be too late      

[rach n bach]

"Leaves of three, let it be"

If you're ever out hiking or biking, and you happen to see any leaves, make sure that the aren't in groups of three like this:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:NSRW_Poison-Oak.png

These plants are known as Posion Oak, Sumac, or Poision Ivy.  All give you a rash that iches like mad, and can last for weeks, and if you ingest them, it could reapear for quite some time at any given place on your body...

RnB

[pianowelsh]

ooooh! thanks for that...i'll be carefull what i munch in future!

[pianistimo]

whew!  i almost started going out and trying out 'leaves of three' thinking that it was a free pass on munching.  you didn't explain in that first thread what it meant.  sure am glad sometimes i don't go with first instincts. 

wait- clover has leaves of three.  that's exempt?!  i guess.

[cygnusdei]

Marigold-munching is featured prominently in the movie Monsoon Wedding.

[pianistimo]

monsoon wedding.  that sounds interesting.  might watch it.  for the marigold munching, if nothing else.  just watching 'the simple life' with paris and nicole waxing the back of some guy after telling him it wouldn't hurt.  they went right to his legs after his back.

[thalbergmad]

monsoon wedding.  that sounds interesting.  might watch it.  for the marigold munching, if nothing else.  just watching 'the simple life' with paris and nicole waxing the back of some guy after telling him it wouldn't hurt.  they went right to his legs after his back.

Where else would they go?

Thal

[pianistimo]

free waxing thal.  just for you.  excepting this is going to be furniture glue.  it's all i have at the moment. 

[rc]

What I've learned:  the leaves around here don't taste very good, mostly bitter, they dry out the mouth.

Now I'm kind of curious what flavours are in the neighbours garden.  I'll bring a gnome or two to be my fall guys.  When they wake up and most of the flowers have been eaten, they'll see the gnomes with pedals around their mouths and think "damn, the gnomes got us!".  Nobody will suspect a thing.