Eating from the Garden

Edible Flowers Taste and Use

Here is a quick guide to the tastes and uses of the more popular edible flowers:

1.   Borage- has blue flowers and a faintly cucumber taste. Borage leaves can be cooked like spinach or added to salads. Float the flowers in cold beverages or freeze in ice cubes. One of the few ways to add a natural blue accent to food.

2.      Carnation- a favorite Victorian dish was carnation syrup. Measure out one pound of carnation petals. Add to boiling water and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Let soak in the simmering water for 8 hours. Strain the liquid and add to 2 pounds of sugar. Boil and allow to reduce to a syrup. Serve over ice cream, sorbet and cakes or use to sweeten tea.

3.      Chive Blossoms- have a strong onion flavor. Serve whole as a garnish for poultry, seafood or salad. Or wash very well and over with white vinegar. Seal in airtight containers and allow to steep for 5 days. Strain and save to use for salad dressings and sauces. The chive vinegar will have a pinkish tint.

4.      Lavender- perfumy and aromatic, add some chopped fresh or dried lavender to sugar cookie or pound cake recipes. Also used, fresh, to scent lamb and venison dishes. Use as an edible centerpiece

5.      Dandelion- slightly bitter and grassy. Chop and add sparingly to salads. Brew a tea with one ounce of dandelion flower to one pint of boiling water. Use to flavor vegetables or pasta or serve as a hot beverage (with honey or carnation syrup to cover some of the bitterness).

6.      Nasturtium- tastes like watercress, mild, with a peppery or spicy aftertaste. Bright orange or yellow. Use nasturtiums, shredded, in salads or salad dressings or added to creamy sauces for a “snap.”

7.      Rose- can range from very sweet to bitter, depending on the variety. Rose water gives a Moroccan or Indian flavor to foods. Rose syrup can be added to desserts or strong vegetables. Rose petals can be candied and use for garnish on cakes and cookies. Prepare rose vinegar by heating white vinegar with cleaned rose petals. Strain and store to allow flavors to develop.

8.      Squash blossoms- sauté squash blossoms in olive oil with savory vegetables or stuff them with bread crumbs or rice and steam or fry them whole.

9.      Geranium- colors can range from snow white to deepest crimson. Bitter, like radishes. Use in stir frys or to flavor creamy soups or sauces.

10.  Violets and Pansies- very colorful, very mild. Use whole to decorate cakes, custards, ice creams and elegant desserts. Can be candied and used to garnish desserts and chocolates.

Edible Do's and Edible Don'ts

Eminently Eatable

Mix and Match

Eating from the Garden        

Dr. Nancy Berkoff is a registered dietitian, food technologist and certified chef.  Her awards include some of the following: Chef of the year, Los Angeles, Nutrition Educator of the Year (US Navy), Consumer Food Journalist of the Year (Institute of Food Technologists), and Food Writer of the Year (American Culinary Federation).  Dr. Berkoff is one of the few women in the United States to have been nominated to membership in the American Academy of Chefs.