Favorite recipes to share with others. Tried-and-true, to experimental. Stop here for your next meal idea!
A Guide to Edible Flowers (and a simple and impressive gift-type recipe)

I think I was in high school when my sister told me you could eat nasturtiums. From then on, I was intrigued by the idea of flowers-as-food. But until now, I had no idea how many blooms fell into that category.
This link, from What's Cooking America, provides a fantastically comprehensive list of edible flowers, and includes instructions on how to pick, clean and preserve them. It also offers valuable “don’ts,” like why it’s a bad idea to use blooms from flower shops or picked at the side of the road. (Spoiler: pesticides!)
I was extra chuffed to find a simple recipe for flower-infused syrup at the bottom of the page. I have been buying lavender syrup for my mother-in-law every Christmas, but this year, I’ll save a trip and make it from scratch.
Flower-Infused Syrup
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup water (or rosewater)
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 to 1 cup edible flower petals (whole or crushed)
DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan over medium heat, add the water or rosewater, sugar, and edible flower petals; bring to a boil and let boil for approximately 10 minutes or until thickened into syrup.
Remove from heat.
Strain through cheesecloth into a clean glass jar.
Makes about 2 to 3 cups syrup. Keeps up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
NOTE: Do you know someone who would love this too? You can find culinary-grade lavender in fancier grocery retailers as well as online.




Flowers in a salad are so beautiful, and it seems magical to be able to eat them!
I agree! There's another little recipe at that link that describes how to "candy" them. You paint the blooms with a little egg white and sprinkle fine sugar on and let them dry. I'm determined to try this in spring, when the violets come back.
Candied violets are a classic topping for trifle. <3 Violets are my favourite flower, edible or otherwise.