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    Home » Recipes

    Cooking with Edible Flowers

    July 3, 2022 by Patti Estep 2 Comments

    Edible flower collage, violets, lilacs, nasturtium, sweet woodruff, lavender and dandelions.
    Edible flower ice cubes, cupcakes, vinegar and candied flowers.

    Learn tips and techniques for entertaining and cooking with edible flowers, including what to look for and how to display beautiful flowers at your next gathering.

    Edible flowers in sugar, on cupcake, in ice cubes and sugar coated.

    Using edible flowers when entertaining adds color and interest to your presentation, and I think it also adds an extra "something" that you don’t see every day. The taste of most flowers is very mild, but their beauty makes everything extra special.

    This post contains some affiliate links (that means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, there’s no additional cost to you, but I will earn a very small commission. ) i.e. as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

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    Some Edible Flowers

    Entertaining with edible flowers
    Pansy
    Violet
    Violet
    Sweet Woodruff
    Sweet Woodruff
    Scented Geranium
    Scented Geranium
    Nasturium
    Nasturtium
    Rose
    Gallery of edible flowers, pansy, violet, sweet woodruff, scented geranium, nasturtium, rose, lavender and lilac.
    Lavender
    Lilac flowers
    Lilac

    More Edible Flowers

    • Just about all herb flowers such as chamomile, fennel, basil flowers or chive blossoms are edible and have a mild similar flavor to the leaves.
    • Violas aka johnny-jump-ups, borage, calendula, and hibiscus
    • Flowers from fruit and vegetables such as squash blossoms, zucchini flowers, apple, or orange blossoms.
    • Daylilies

    Safety Notes

    • Don’t use flowers with pesticides or other chemicals.
    • Use flowers you’ve grown, or ask at the nursery if they spray their flowers.
    • Be careful with those who are sensitive to pollen or who have asthma, as the flowers may cause an allergic reaction.
    • Not all flowers are edible. Check a reference guide to help you correctly identify your flowers and to make sure they are safe. Sometimes you should only eat the petals, as other parts are bitter or even toxic. Check out this handy list from the University of Minnesota's Extension Unit.

     

    Cooking with Edible Flowers

    Cupcakes topped with pansies, lilac blossoms and snapdragon flower.

    Edible Flower Ideas

    The easiest way to add edible flowers to the menu is with desserts. Decorating the top of a cake or even plain cupcakes makes an ordinary dish extraordinary. They also make a dish of vanilla ice cream a real treat.

    Salad greens with viola flowers.

    Or simply toss some in with your salad greens.

    Edible flower ice cubes.

    Freeze them in ice cubes for a fancy cocktail, or make an ice ring for a punch bowl.

    pansies with egg whites and superfine sugar.

    Make candied flowers by brushing egg whites over each petal, then dusting with super-fine sugar.

    Small jar of lilac jelly

    Making jams and jellies like this pretty lilac jelly.

    Vinegar with herbs and red nasturtium flowers making the color pink.

    Floral vinegar made with white wine and flowers like lavender or red nasturtium blossoms will turn a beautiful shade of pink.

    Jar of lavender sugar and fresh picked lavender.

    Make floral scented sugar with rose petals or lavender.

    If you don’t have enough of your own, you can always purchase them online or at places like Whole Foods stores.

    They say that many of us eat with our eyes, so what better way to offer a feast for the eyes, than using edible flowers.

     

    Patti signature

    More Edible Flower Ideas

    • Edible Flower Cookies
    • Wild Violet Syrup
    • Squash Blossom Pasta
    Collage of edible flower ideas including candied flowers, flower sugar, salad, and vinegar.

    More Recipes

    • Rainbow Slaw - A Healthy Feast for the Eyes
    • Hot Corn Dip with Cream Cheese
    • Cooking with Parsley - Growing, Harvesting and Recipes
    • Sweet Potato Carrot Ginger Soup

    About Patti Estep

    Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Carole @ Garden Up Green

      May 15, 2017 at 7:20 am

      I would have never thought of freezing flowers into ice cubes, neat idea. I tried Nasturtiums once and the spice flavor knocked my socks off. So when I got married fresh flowers on the cake were a must but I didn't use edible flowers. I went with Stargazer lilies and beargrass. I wired and floral taped them them together like a corsage and then placed between the open tiers of the cake. Anyways point is fresh flowers incorporated with food is the best. Add to the presentation... Great ideas here!

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        May 15, 2017 at 7:50 am

        Hi Carole,

        You wedding cake sounds beautiful and it's a great reminder to add flowers (even if they are not edible) to your food so thanks for sharing that great idea too.
        Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
        Patti

        Reply

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