A Guide to Edible Flowers (and a simple and impressive gift-type recipe)

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.

Edible flower chart found at Sugar and Charm