As you select your seed for summer, consider planting a flower garden for your salads this year.
If you look closely in this salad, you’ll see two of my favorite edible flowers, borage and pinks.
Borage is the beautiful blue flower that is shaped like a star. Borage flowers taste ever so slightly like cucumber or watermelon. The leaves are edible too, but since they are a little furry, they aren’t my favorite. Pinks are in the same family as dianthus and carnations. Just be sure only to eat flowers that you know were produced without pesticides. In other words, please don’t bite into your carnation corsage!
In the foreground of this photograph are the unopened buds of chives. Chives form puffy, porcupiney balls. I pull the individual frilly petals out and sprinkle them in salad for a really mild onion or garlic taste.
Are you serving chicken salad? Consider adding the purple tiny trumpet-shaped flowers of traditional sage. For a splash of color, add the ruby red flowers of pineapple sage.
Other edible flowers include
- nasturtium: one of my favorite, both the flowers are leaves taste like mild horseradish; the leaves look like tiny lilly pads, while the flowers come in brilliant bright colors. Pull the petals out of the tough base.
- calendula: like a small golden daisy, calendula has sunset-gold petals that are lovely in salads and sprinkled on top of pasta.
- violets: violets are sweet additions to salads of baby greens or as edible garnishes on cakes and cupcakes; they can also be crystalized, but I’ve never attempted it.
- pansies: like violets, pansies are sweet, but I prefer them in salads.
- rose petals: sweet like violets and pansies, with similar applications.
Consider planting edible flowers this year. You’ll love how they add vibrant color and new flavors to your meals!
Have you used edible flowers? Which are your favorites? Do you have questions about edible flowers? Ask away!
Copyright 2010 Ozarkhomesteader. Short excerpts with full URL and attribution to Ozarkhomesteader are welcome. Please contact me for permission to use photographs.
Ozark Homesteader 