John Myers
A few daisies sprinkled on the salad, some lavender draped over the dessert: edible flowers are a feast for the eyes and the palate at the same time. You can find out here which varieties are suitable for consumption and where you can find the pretty delicacies.
Delicious decoration: edible flowers
Spicy peppery, slightly lemony, or delightfully sweet: We’re not talking about spices here, but about flowers. The range of flavors that you can conjure up in your dishes with these delicate delicacies is just as great as the variety of colours. With the following selection of edible flowers you can decorate and refine your dishes, from roasts to blueberry Swiss rolls:
- wild garlic
- basil
- Chrysanthemums
- Dahlias
- Lilac
- Daisies
- Hibiscus
- Elderberry
- Jasmine
- Chamomile
- Nasturtium
- Squash and zucchini
- Cornflowers
- Lavender
- Dandelion
- Marigolds
- Roses
- Chives
- Pansies
- violets
You can do this with edible flowers
The flowers can be used freshly harvested, carefully rinsed, and dabbed dry. In water, they stay fresh for a couple of hours. To make them last longer, you can also pickle edible flowers in vinegar or oil, dry them, candy them or freeze them. A great tip for spicing up summer drinks: freeze the flowers in water in ice cube molds. The flowers can also be used in herb butter; our recipe for butter with dandelion is quick and easy to make. In general, sweet-tasting blossoms such as pansies, roses, elderberries, and violets go well with desserts – they can also be wonderfully cooked in jams and jellies. The hot flowers of the nasturtium are ideal for seasoning and decorating quark and spreads. Like the herb, chive blossoms taste like onions and, like most herbal blossoms, are a seasoning ingredient. You should also try our dandelion salad with beetroot and avocado.
Where can you find edible flowers?
Very obvious in your own garden or in the pots on the balcony and windowsill! But you can also help yourself in the great outdoors and, depending on the season, collect many ingredients, including flowers, for a wild herb salad, for example. But make sure that you are harvesting the right plants and that they are free of harmful substances. You will find what you are looking for far away from roads and well-trodden paths. There are also many edible flowers available in well-stocked supermarkets. The elderberry is an exception: you always have to collect the white flowers for delicacies like our elderberry cake yourself.
