Edible flowers nowadays, it is more common to see edible flower petals used in salads, teas, and as garnish for desserts and other culinary dishes

… edible flowers inspire creative uses spicy, peppery, herbaceous in pasta dough, homemade ice cream, pickle flower buds for ersatz capers, for use in lemonade and cocktails.

Storage of edible flowers
Storing edible flowers after they have been harvested is important to maintain their fresh flavour. Place the edible flowers on moist paper towels and refrigerate in an airtight container. Temperatures of between -2 to 10 degress Celsius. Some will last up to 10-14 days this way. You can use ice cold water to revitalize limp flowers.

Eating flowers safely
Eat flowers you know to be consumable, from a recognised supplier of edible flowers, use reference books on edible flowers and plants.

Eat flowers that you know to be safe for consumption. Flowers from the florist or nursery have invariably been treated with pesticides or other chemicals and not suitable for culinary dishes and drinks.
Eat only the petals, and remove pistils and stamens before eating. If you suffer from allergies, introduce edible flowers in small quantities to ensure there isn’t a reaction.
The use of edible flowers in the kitchen goes back thousands of years to the Chinese, Greek and Romans, in fact most cultures use flowers in their traditional cooking .
Dishes such as squash flowers, rose petals in Italian, Indian and middle eastern dishes. Edible flowers in your food is a great way to add colour, flavours spicy, herbacious, or floral and fragrant a great variety of edible flowers.

1. Allium All blossoms from the allium family (leeks, chives, garlic, garlic chives) are edible and flavorful! Flavors run the gamut from delicate leek to robust garlic. Every part of these plants is edible.

2. Angelica Depending on the variety, flowers range from pale lavender-blue to deep rose and have a licorice-like flavor.

3. Anise hyssop Both flowers and leaves have a subtle anise or licorice flavor.

4. Arugula Blossoms are small with dark centers and with a peppery flavor much like the leaves. They range in color from white to yellow with dark purple streaks.

5. Bachelor’s button Grassy in flavor, the petals are edible. Avoid the bitter calyx.

6. Basil Blossoms come in a variety of colors, from white to pink to lavender; flavor is similar to the leaves, but milder.

7. Bee balm The red flowers have a minty flavor.

8. Borage Blossoms are a lovely blue hue and taste like cucumber!

9. Calendula / marigold A great flower for eating, calendula blossoms are peppery, tangy, and spicy — and their vibrant golden color adds dash to any dish.

10. Carnations / dianthus Petals are sweet, once trimmed away from the base. The blossoms taste like their sweet, perfumed aroma.

11. Chamomile Small and daisy-like, the flowers have a sweet flavor and are often used in tea. Ragweed sufferers may be allergic to chamomile.

12. Chervil Delicate blossoms and flavor, which is anise-tinged.

13. Chicory Mildly bitter earthiness of chicory is evident in the petals and buds, which can be pickled.

14. Chrysanthemum A little bitter, mums come in a rainbow of colors and a range of flavors range from peppery to pungent. Use only the petals.

15. Cilantro Like the leaves, people either love the blossoms or hate them. The flowers share the grassy flavor of the herb. Use them fresh as they lose their charm when heated.

16. Citrus (orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, kumquat) Citrus blossoms are sweet and highly scented. Use frugally or they will over-perfume a dish.

17. Clover Flowers are sweet with a hint of licorice.

18. Dandelion Read more about dandelions here: Backyard Forage for Dandelions.

19. Dill Yellow dill flowers taste much like the herb’s leaves.

20. English daisy These aren’t the best-tasting petals — they are somewhat bitter — but they look great!

21. Fennel Yellow fennel flowers are eye candy with a subtle licorice flavor, much like the herb itself.

22. Fuchsia Tangy fuchsia flowers make a beautiful garnish.

23. Gladiolus Who knew? Although gladioli are bland, they can be stuffed, or their petals removed for an interesting salad garnish.

24. Hibiscus Famously used in hibiscus tea, the vibrant cranberry flavor is tart and can be used sparingly.

25. Hollyhock Bland and vegetal in flavor, hollyhock blossoms make a showy, edible garnish.

26. Impatiens Flowers don’t have much flavor — best as a pretty garnish or for candying.

27. Jasmine These super-fragrant blooms are used in tea; you can also use them in sweet dishes, but sparingly.

28. Johnny Jump-Up Adorable and delicious, the flowers have a subtle mint flavor great for salads, pastas, fruit dishes and drinks.

29. Lavender Sweet, spicy, and perfumed, the flowers are a great addition to both savory and sweet dishes.

30. Lemon verbena The diminutive off-white blossoms are redolent of lemon — and great for teas and desserts.

31. Lilac The blooms are pungent, but the floral citrusy aroma translates to its flavor as well.

32. Mint The flowers are — surprise! — minty. Their intensity varies among varieties.

33. Nasturtium One of the most popular edible flowers, nasturtium blossoms are brilliantly colored with a sweet, floral flavor bursting with a spicy pepper finish. When the flowers go to seed, the seed pod is a marvel of sweet and spicy. You can stuff flowers, add leaves to salads, pickle buds like capers, and garnish to your heart’s content.

34. Oregano The flowers are a pretty, subtle version of the leaf.

35. Pansy The petals are somewhat nondescript, but if you eat the whole flower you get more taste.

36. Radish Varying in color, radish flowers have a distinctive, peppery bite.

37. Rose Remove the white, bitter base and the remaining petals have a strongly perfumed flavor perfect for floating in drinks or scattering across desserts, and for a variety of jams. All roses are edible, with flavor more pronounced in darker varieties.

38. Rosemary Flowers taste like a milder version of the herb; nice used as a garnish on dishes that incorporate rosemary.

39. Sage Blossoms have a subtle flavor similar to the leaves.

40. Squash and pumpkin Blossoms from both are wonderful vehicles for stuffing, each having a slight squash flavor. Remove stamens before using.

41. Sunflower Petals can be eaten, and the bud can be steamed like an artichoke.

42. Violets Another famous edible flower, violets are floral, sweet and beautiful as garnishes. Use the flowers in salads and to garnish desserts and drinks.
From lemon-flavoured daisies to peppery pink dianthus, edible flowers are more than just decoration

In the 16th and 17th century, we’d all have been eating flowers,” says Brown, whose book Edible Flowers, contains gardening tips and flower recipes. “It was very common to put them in salads, or preserve them in sugar or vinegar.” But the practice fell out of fashion, and now few people think of adding flowers to meals. “They really can transform a dish,” says Brown. “Even those that don’t taste of much look so beautiful, giving a flash of colour to a salad or a pasta dish. It adds another dimension.”

As the long winter starts finally breaking into spring, it isn’t too early to start using edible flowers such as primroses and violets, which are out now. Rosemary should also be flowering. “Rosemary flowers are as tasty as the leaves, but there’s a little bit of sweetness there too,” says Brown. Marigolds, which are an easy flower to grow, start flowering in May. “I love a baked potato with butter, scattered with marigold petals. The flower has a little bit of heat, but it has a very gentle, subtle flavour – I love it mainly for the colour.

“All roses are edible, but the useful ones are the scented ones, because it’s the scent that translates into taste.” Brown makes rose petal cakes – standard Victoria sponges, with fresh rose petals mixed into the butter icing that is sandwiched in the middle, topped with rosewater icing. “It just transforms a fairly standard cake into something fragrant and unusual.”

You don’t have to grow the flowers yourself, however. First Leaf, in Pembrokeshire, sells punnets of flowers by mail order during the season, which usually starts in June. “We cater for everyone, from people wanting a few flowers to decorate cupcakes, to top restaurants,” says Derek Lewis, who runs the operation and who has seen the market for edible flowers, ahem, bloom. “Now people are seeking out more unusual ones. It used to be all marigolds, borage and nasturtiums, but you can get a wide range.” These include broad bean flowers, which are a beautiful pink or purple and look a little like orchids, but taste faintly of the beans. And tiny, pretty pink dianthus which have a peppery flavour. “Cornflowers are also popular – not only in the traditional blue but in dark maroon, red and pink,” says Lewis. “Those are used primarily for colour rather than taste – as far as I can tell, they don’t taste of much.”

Simon Rogan, chef at and proprietor of L’Enclume, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Cartmel, Cumbria, uses flowers such as dog roses and wild garlic foraged from around the village, and has started growing a wide range – pansies, begonias, calendula and violets – at his organic farm. “We are surrounded by flowers in the summer, and I feel that gathering them and using them forges our identity with our surroundings,” he says.

Rogan brews hawthorn blossom champagne, and makes elderflower cakes, which he serves with violet ice-cream. And he has made an ox-eye daisy puree, which is served with new potatoes, and a daisy soup. “The daisies taste quite lemony, quite acidic.” He uses nasturtiums in salads with carrot and bacon – “use the leaves too, because these have a lovely peppery taste” – and chops them finely, then mixes them into butter for bread.

Just as with herbs, some flowers can be overpowering if you use too much. “If I’m doing a chicken casserole, I’ll put only three sprigs of lavender flowers in,” says Brown. And she wouldn’t use flowers from the florist, “because they have probably been sprayed with all sorts of things”. You shouldn’t go round the garden munching on everything either, as some flowers, such as foxgloves and lobelia, are poisonous (care should also be taken if you suffer from hay fever, asthma or allergies – either avoid eating flowers, or introduce them slowly and in small amounts). Fresh flowers are best eaten as soon as you can, so pick them from the pot or garden when you need them, although you can keep a bunch in a vase of water.

“As soon as the season starts, it explodes and goes wild,” says Laurie Gear, chef proprietor of Artichoke, a restaurant in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, which uses a wide range of blooms, including rose petals pickled in vinegar, “which makes a light, floral dressing” and gorse flowers “that taste almost banana-y”. “Just that subtle depth of flavour can really enhance a dish,” he says. “Sometimes you just want that extra little kick of garlic from garlic flowers – that way, you get two hits of the plant on one plate.”