Flower Power: Fancy Free Food

September 12, 2020September 13, 2020 Cash Hippy 0 Comments

Up-level your cooking and food presentation with flower power.

These fancy free foods are probably growing in your garden, or even as a weed!

This visual guide will help you recognise what’s edible and what’s not.

Edible Flower Safety

As with any foraged food, if you’re not 100% sure about identifying a plant as edible, then don’t eat it.

Other things to be mindful about are the potential for flowers to have been in contact with herbicides such as Roundup, particularly on roadsides, and from any pollutants that may already be in the soil.

It’s a good idea when trying any new food to only consume a small amount in case you are part of a minority who develop an allergy to a particular food item. For example, the milk thistle contains a natural latex.

Common Garden Flowers

Nasturtium

Edible nasturtium flowers — The flowers and peppery tasting leaves are edible

Snap Dragon Flowers

Edible snap dragon flowers — Found on the fanciest of meals

Rose Petals

Edible rose flower petals — On cakes, fresh or dried, candied or sugared

Carnation Petals

Edible carnation flower petals — Enjoy the sweet tasting petals by cutting off the bitter white base of the petal

Calendula Petals

Edible calendula petals — Sprinkle the petals on a salad for added pizzazz

Marigold Petals

Edible marigold flower petals — Add the petals to a stir fry, salad or quiche

Pansy, Viola, Johnny Jump Up & Native Violets

Edible pansy flowers — Pansy

Edible viola flowers — Viola

Edible Johnny Jump Up flowers — Old fashioned Johnny Jump Up

Edible violet flowers — Native violet (grows like a weed)

Vegetable Flowers

Pumpkin

Edible pumpkin flowers — Stuff and deep fried them, you can also eat the leaves like spinach

Zucchini & Squash

Edible zucchini flowers — Stuff raw flowers with a soft cheese and olive tapenade

Broccoli & Cauliflower Flowers

Edible broccoli flowers — I adore snacking on broccoli flowers!

Radish

Edible radish flowers — Even the flowers taste like radishes

Peas (Not Ornamental)

Edible pea flowers — I’m actually surprised we end up with podded peas as my kids love eating the flowers!

Beans

Edible bean flowers — Much like pea flowers – yum!

Herb Flowers

Sage

Edible sage flowers — Flavour ice cream, oil, pesto, cream cheese or tea

Basil

Edible basil flowers — One of the most delicious smells on Earth

Rosemary

Edible rosemary flowers — Add flowers to a salad, or as a cake garnish

Thyme

Edible thyme flowers — Strip the lemon flavoured flowers with the leaves off the stalk, and use how you’d usually use thyme

Mint

Edible mint flowers — Try mint flowers in an iced tea

Oregano

Edible oregano flowers — Use in vegetable dishes or as a pizza topping

Dill

Edible dill flowers — Sprinkle over a meal

Chives

Edible chive flowers — Use with any food enhanced by a delicate onion flavour

Garlic

Edible garlic flowers — Eat the flowers when still young and delicate

Lavender

Edible lavendar flowers — Add to salads, soup, pasta, stew, tea, cakes, biscuits, slices and dessert

Weed Flowers

Clover

Edible clover flowers — Has a mild pea flavour

Dandelion

Edible dandelion flower — Add these sweet flavoured flowers to a salad

Mallow

Edible mallow flowers — Apparently, an aphrodisiac …

What’s your favourite edible flower? Please scroll down to leave a comment.

Cash Hippy

I'm an everyday person on a journey to save money and care for the environment at the same.

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