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In many ways cinderella food of the culinary world. Often they are used only as garnishes and not as a main part of the dish. This guide seeks to redress the balance by putting flowers back at the forefront of certain dishes.
It is sad to say that flowers, at least in terms of their culinary possibilities, are a much neglected part of our modern diets. Indeed, it's fair to say that the consumption of flowers for food has fallen out of favour and many seem to find the idea of consuming flowers distasteful even.
This is a shame, as flowers afford us with unique taste and texture combinations not available elsewhere. It is a shame if, at best, flowers are only used sparingly as garnishes and cake decorations.
All is not lost though. Flowers have been used for many centuries in Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Indian cuisines and they were also part of the menu for ancient Romans. Even Medieval and Elizabethan European recipes have a number of dishes that make use of edible flowers.
Overall it is best to grow your own edible flowers as, this way, you know what they are, know they are safe to eat and know that they are free from pesticides and other toxins (which is why you should not buy flowers from your local florist for consumption). These days, however, there are a number of companies on the web that sell flowers specifically for human consumption.
It's best to pick flowers just before you want to use them and when they are just opened, then wash carefully in cold water. Adding a little salt to the water will help get rid of any insects. Once well washed, carefully pat dry on kitchen paper or allow them dry naturally at room temperature. They can then be stored in the refrigerator in a plastic bag until ready to use but preferably not longer than 3 days.
The image below shows the structure of a typical flower:
In general, it's the petals that are the edible part of the flower. The stamen is the male part of the flower that produces pollen. As some pollens can be allergenic it is best to remove the stamens from any flowers before you consume them (do this with a pair of tweezers). The pistil is the female part of the flower and this can often be bitter and unpleasant in taste. It's best to remove this part of the flower as well. When removing the petals from a flower for consumption do so at the very last minute, just before you need to prepare them. Also, the white or pale 'heel' (base) of the petal can be bitter and should be cut off before using the petals.
For compound flowers such as the marigold pictured here (a compound flower ia flower head that superficially appears to be a single flower; but upon closer inspection reveals a row of outer petals arranged in a radiating shape around the inner disc flowers), sunflowers, daisies, etc, the petals should always be detached from the main flower body. For these types of flower only the petals are edible.
Exceptions to the rules given above are large flowers which are going to be stuffed and smaller flowers such as violas and primroses which can be eaten whole. Typically, as well, the pollen of flowers is avoided at all costs. However, there are, once more, exceptions to this rule and the pollen of the reedmace plant is much sought-after as a flour substitute.
As always, if you are in any doubt as to the recognition of a plant and its flowers then do not consume. The guide here will help you in your identification, but some flowers can be similar across species, making identification difficult. Also, as with any new food, only consume a small amount initially, in case you have an allergic reaction. Use flowers sparingly in your recipes as they can lead to digestive problems in some people.
Never use flowers from the lily (lilium) family, as they are all poisonous, also avoid the flowers of the solanacea family (potatoes, peppers, aubergines, tomatoes etc) as these are also poisonous. You should also avoid the following flowers: azalea, crocus, daffodil, foxglove, oleander, rhododendron, jack-in-the-pulpit, lily of the valley, and wisteria.
For a complete list of all flower-based recipes on this site see the flower recipes page.
To use this guide simply click on the first letter of the flower that you're looking for (above or below). This will take you to a table of all the flowers that begin with that letter where you can chose the flower you want. There are over 50 flowers in his guide so far, including common and rare flowers used in cuisines from around the world, and you can search by common name and scientific name.
You can also use the search box below to find the flower of your choice. You can use the common name or the scientific name or any text you choose:
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