Food24
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Air fryer recipes
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Fish and Tips
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Load shedding lifesavers
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Eat for good
    • Drinks
      • Non-alcoholic drinks
      • Wine
      • Beer
      • Cocktails
      • Coffee
    • Win
No Result
View All Result
Food24
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Air fryer recipes
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Fish and Tips
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Load shedding lifesavers
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Eat for good
    • Drinks
      • Non-alcoholic drinks
      • Wine
      • Beer
      • Cocktails
      • Coffee
    • Win
No Result
View All Result
Food24
No Result
View All Result

Edible flowers for beginners: What to pick and how to use them in cooking

Food24
Andrea Fedder by Andrea Fedder
September 9, 2019
in Food News
0
Edible flowers for beginners: What to pick and how to use them in cooking
0
SHARES
796
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsapp

If you’re feeling excited about getting into the spring of things (lame pun intended) but are still waiting for winter to bugger off, why not dabble in flowers in your food?

First off, why would you want to eat flowers?

Why wouldn’t you? But also:

-Much like herbs, some flowers (note: not all flowers are edible – let’s just get that out the way) offer rich medicinal properties. Chamomile flowers in tea, for example, have a wonderful calming effect on the nervous system and promote sleep. 

-Flowers are delightful and can infuse an ordinary-looking salad into a feast for the eyes and soul.

Edible flowers for beginners

If you’re taken with the idea, the following flowers are not only edible but also beyond easy to grow.Lavender There are several different varietals to choose from based on the conditions you’re growing them in and can be used in tea, cordials, biscuits and the like. They offer a delicate, perfumed flavour (you may recognise it from some Earl Grey tea) and go really well with white chocolate or vanilla desserts. They also complement chicken and roasted carrots nicely (just pop a few sprigs into the roasting tray).

edible flowers

Nasturtiums 

These may have only been seen as a weed or abundant river bed overgrowth before, but these peppery flowers that are wildly easy to grow add glorious colour to any salad.

Borage 

These are the tiny blue, star-shaped flowers that grow on the borage herb bush. They’re fairly mild, sweet and similar to cucumber. Use them in cordials or gin and tonics.

Pansies 

I think of these as the Alice in Wonderland flowers. They have a light, minty, almost grassy taste profile, so they’re a natural addition to fruit salads and cocktails. (I’m starting to think – what can’t you put in a G&T?) They also make for a tasty topper on cream cheese party platters.

Coriander blooms 

Most people only eat the leaves, but this entire plant is edible – so, if you’re growing them at home, don’t waste the delicate, white flowers. They’re an aromatic gem with subtler coriander flavour atop crackers with mascarpone and cured trout.

Cooking with edible flowers like a pro

Squash blossoms

These are the orange ruffley flowers that grow on a zucchini vine. They have a similar but milder taste to the veg but adapt to whatever you’re cooking it with. They can be enjoyed raw, stuffed with ricotta and deep fried, in summer pastas, or – if you’re keen to try something more high-level – why not attempt the squash blossom quesadilla?

Calendula or marigold 

This one is a delight because it also makes for a great companion plant in your veggie patch to keep the bugs away. The long thin golden petals of the marigold flower, when fried in some olive oil, are known as ‘poor man’s saffron’, with a very similar subtle spice taste. It’s good for drizzling over pasta or to dress up devilled eggs.

Hibiscus 

This flower became rather trendy recently for its health properties. The edible part most commonly used isn’t actually the flower itself but the soft tissue below the flower. It offers a sweet, tangy and almost cranberry-like taste that can really level up your teas, syrups, tonics and cocktails.

Sage blooms 

Little, purple and lovely, these aromatic gems are quite earthy and savoury-tasting. They’re fabulous in gourmet popsicles or used in stews and soups.

Tips for eating edible flowers

• Always opt for pesticide-free flora, because, you know, toxic chemicals are bad for you and the bees.·

• Even if you see a bush of your favourite edible blooms growing along the roadside, steer clear. Those poor flowers inhale fumes.

• When buying from a nursery, make sure you know what you’re looking for. Sometimes they can be incorrectly labeled, so be cautious if you’re a gardening newbie.

• If you can, grow your own, it’s organic and plastic-free, to boot.The world of edible flowers is vast and beautiful – this list covers only the tip of the iceberg. But hopefully spring will be long, leaving you with plenty of time to experiment.

Tags: Cooking TipsFlowersGuides


Related Posts

Load shedding: The Food24 team shares cooking tips and advice to lighten your load
Cooking Guides and Tips

Load shedding: The Food24 team shares cooking tips and advice to lighten your load

January 27, 2023
win-a-mionetto-experience
Competition

Born in Italy, shared in Cape Town

January 27, 2023
sea-harvest-food24
Featured

Win BIG with Sea Harvest, as Friends in Your Freezer is back for 2023

January 27, 2023
Next Post
3 Recipes from Jan Braai’s new cookbook – and one is a dessert

3 Recipes from Jan Braai’s new cookbook - and one is a dessert

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Food24 Team Loves

How to easily peel boiled eggs: We tested 7 hacks and there’s only one way that really works every time

How to easily peel boiled eggs: We tested 7 hacks and there’s only one way that really works every time

January 2, 2023
roast-pork-leg

6 tips for making the crispiest pork crackling

December 21, 2022
Light and healthy recipes that simply scream ‘summer’

Light and healthy recipes that simply scream ‘summer’

November 19, 2022
air-fryer-dos-and-donts

9 Do’s and don’ts when air-frying at home

October 24, 2022
deconstructed-peppermint-crisp-pudding

How to make deconstructed Peppermint Crisp pudding

October 4, 2022

Recent favourites

  • curry-pork-jaffels

    7 budget-busting recipes that can also be made load-shedding friendly

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Cracking open the myths about canned food – and why they’re great for load-shedding meals

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Leg of lamb – a Sunday lunch luxury and beyond

    4 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • How to easily peel boiled eggs: We tested 7 hacks and there’s only one way that really works every time

    11 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 12 wallet-friendly ways to save with lamb mince this year

    2 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get weekly access to our best recipes, tips and tricks

Sign Up
Footer

Quick links

  • Home
  • News
  • Videos
  • Win

Collections

  • New Recipes
  • Festive
  • Baking
  • Dessert Recipes
  • Braai Recipes
  • Lunchbox
  • South African Recipes
  • Pasta Recipes

Other links

  • Advertise with Food24
  • Editorial Policy
  • How to Pitch
  • Contact us

Not in the mood to cook?

Visit eatout.co.za to find the perfect restaurant near you.

eatout.co.za

© 2020 Food24.com. All rights reserved.

  • About us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • New Media
IAB
No Result
View All Result
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Air fryer recipes
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Fish and Tips
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Load shedding lifesavers
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Eat for good
    • Drinks
      • Non-alcoholic drinks
      • Wine
      • Beer
      • Cocktails
      • Coffee
    • Win

© 2019 Food24.com. All rights reserved.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Fill the forms below to register

Subscribe to Newsletter

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Close
Food24
Recipe Disclaimer

All recipe content is the responsibility of the party from whom such content originated. You agree that you use the content on Food24 at your own risk. Please read our editorial policy.
Close
Food24
Get the latest recipes delivered to your inbox weekly
Promotional Newsletter

Be the first to receive information about competitions and special offers from Food24 and it's partners.

You have successfully been subscribed!
Something went wrong. Please try again.
Make sure you have completed all required fields.
I don't want to see this again