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Flowers have been present in medicine, art, religion and cooking for thousands of years. Floral emblems have been used as decoration and architectural embellishments and there is no doubt that in the past, flowers were used as part of everyday life in the kitchen. The Romans used lavender, fennel and roses, and in the 16th century, when gardening in Europe became very fashionable, there are very detailed records about growing, using and conserving flowers in the home. It is only during the past couple of generations that we in the West have come to regard flowers as purely ornamental.

We regularly eat flowers, without even realising; think of broccoli, cauliflower and artichoke. The spice Saffron is the stamen from the crocus flower and capers are unopened flower buds.

The safest flowers to eat are those that you have grown yourself; flowers from a florist, or collected from a roadside, may have had pesticides sprayed on them. If you are unsure what a flower is, don’t eat it, there are many common garden flowers that are toxic to eat.

Flowers should be gathered on a warm, dry morning before the heat of the day has depleted the essential oils. Remove any green parts surrounding the flower, including the calyx (this is where the flower attaches to the stem), as this often has a bitter taste.

Edible flowers can be preserved for future use by drying, freezing or steeping in oil or vinegar, they can be used to flavour drinks, jellies, soups, and syrups and make attractive, delicious additions to salads and main dishes. Candied flowers can be used as edible decoration by coating them in egg white and sugar to preserve them; violas are a traditional garnish for cakes.

Pea and bean blossoms and tendrils are also edible; they are sweet and crunchy and have a mild pea flavour. Picking the flowers will diminish the crop though, so you may want to plant extra. Flowering ornamental sweet peas are poisonous; do not eat these.

Squash and pumpkin blossoms make excellent receptacles for stuffing with minced meat or vegetables, and then dip in batter and deep fry. Use the male flowers (those without a zucchini or pumpkin forming behind it) so that you do not lessen your harvest.

Floral oils are easy to make, and are a great way of preserving flowers, so you can enjoy the flavours out of season. Simply infuse olive oil with your chosen flowers, such as lavender, basil, fennel, dill or thyme. Fill a jar or bottle with your chosen flowers, top up with oil to completely immerse the flowers. Leave to infuse for a month, shaking occasionally. Strain to remove the flowers and re-bottle.

Flower teas are commonly known as ‘Tisanes’ and make a refreshing drink enjoyed hot or cold. A wide range of flowers are suitable for tisanes, including thyme, chamomile, lavender, peppermint and lemon verbena. They have medicinal qualities, which can aid digestion, act as an antiseptic or anti-inflammatory. Even lawn daisies and violas can be made into teas; both have long been used to help with all manner or respiratory tract infections. Just add a few flowers to a cup of boiling water and allow to infuse for 5 minutes. With lemon verbena and peppermint, add some leaves too.

Lemon verbena can be used to make a syrup, which is a delicious flavouring for cream, or mascarpone, which can be used to fill a tart case. Chop 25 leaves; add 100g sugar and the juice of a lemon. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 30 minutes, then strain and whisk into cream.

Flowers can be used as edible decorations. Ice cubes with single flowers such as blue borage frozen within them make a beautiful addition to summer drinks. Half fill an ice cube tray with water, drop single flowers or petals into each cell and freeze. Top up the tray with water and return to freezer.

Flowers make very attractive additions to salads, adding excitement with colours, textures and tastes. Most popular are nasturtiums with their bright vibrant colours and hot peppery flavour, but there are lots more flowers in the garden to liven up a salad. Blue borage flowers taste of cucumber, yellow fennel flowers have an aniseed flavour and day lily flowers taste just like snow peas. Day lilies act as a mild laxative, so don’t eat too many!

Flavoured vinegars are a useful addition to the store cupboard as they can add exciting new flavours to salad dressings. To make Nasturtium vinegar, fill a 570ml capacity wide necked jar with Nasturtium flowers, a few spicy Nasturtium seed pods (which can also be pickled as a caper alternative), 2 chopped shallots, 8-10 peppercorns and 1/2 tsp salt. Pour over 500ml of cold white wine vinegar and leave for 30 days in a sunny spot, give the jar a shake occasionally. Strain the vinegar and discard the flowers. Decant into sterilised bottles with a couple of freshly picked Nasturtiums.

Floral butters are an easy way to use flowers in the kitchen. Dill, chive and sage butters are versatile additions to any dish, especially vegetables, probably most well known is the pairing of mint butter with potatoes. To make floral butter, add approximately 2 tbsp of flowers or petals to 50g of softened butter and mix to combine. Roll into a sausage shape, wrap in glad wrap and refrigerate until firm. This can be frozen for up to 3 months. Cut into slices to serve as needed.

So, next time you go for a wander around your garden, you may look at your plants differently, and with some clever planting, you really can eat your way around the garden.

Article contributed by Julie Willis, Heronswood Gardner

Article published in
www.diggers.com.au