Gardening With Gutner: Flowers, You Can Eat Them Too!
CAMBRIDGE (CBS) - Flowers are not just grown for their color and fragrance anymore! Yes, you can now grow various plants and flowers for your dinner plate too. After falling out of favor for many years, cooking and garnishing with flowers is back in vogue once again. Flower cookery has been traced back to Roman times, and to the Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Indian cultures. Edible flowers were especially popular in the Victorian era during Queen Victoria's reign.
Today, many restaurant chefs and innovative home cooks garnish their entrees with flower blossoms for a touch of elegance. The secret to success when using edible flowers is to keep the dish simple, do not add too many other flavors that will overpower the delicate taste of the flower. Today this nearly-lost art is enjoying a revival.
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Below are some of the most popular types of plants that are grown for decorating, those used for garnishes and those for making teas.
Begonia - (Tuberous begonias and Waxed begonias)
Tuberous Begonias (Begonia X tuberosa) - The leaves, flowers, and stems are edible. Begonia blossoms have a citrus-sour taste. The petals are used in salads and as a garnish. Stems also can be used in place of rhubarb. The flowers and stems contain oxalic acid and should not be consumed by individuals suffering from gout, kidney stones or rheumatism.
Wax Begonias (Begonia cucullata) - The fleshy leaves and flowers are edible raw or cooked. They can have a slight bitter aftertaste and if they spend a lot of their life growing in water, a hint of swamp in their flavor.
Carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus - aka Dianthus) - Carnations can be steeped in wine and candy, or used as cake decoration. To use the surprisingly sweet petals in desserts, cut them away from the bitter white base of the flower. Dianthuses are the miniature member of the carnation family with light clove-like or nutmeg scent. Petals add color to salads or aspics. Carnation petals are among the secret ingredients that have been used to make Chartreuse, a French liqueur, since the 17th century.
Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum coronarium) - Tangy, slightly bitter, ranging in colors from red, white, yellow and orange. They range in taste from faint peppery to mild cauliflower. They should be blanched first and then the petals should be scattered on a salad. The leaves can also be used to flavor vinegar. Always remove the bitter flower base and use petals only. Young leaves and stems of the Crown Daisy, also known as Chop Suey Greens or Shingiku in Japan, are widely used in oriental stir-fries and as salad seasoning.
Marigold (Tagetes tenuifolia - aka T. signata) - The marigold can be used as a substitute for saffron and is also great in salads as they have a citrus flavor.
Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) - Come in varieties ranging from trailing to upright and in brilliant sunset colors with peppery flavors. Nasturtiums rank among most common edible flowers. Blossoms have a sweet, spicy flavor similar to watercress. You can stuff whole flowers with savory mousse. Leaves add peppery tang to salads. Pickled seed pods are less expensive substitute for capers. Use entire flowers to garnish platters, salads, cheese tortas, open-faced sandwiches and savory appetizers.
Pansy (Viola X wittrockiana) - Pansies have a slightly sweet green or grassy flavor. If you eat only the petals, the flavor is extremely mild, but if you eat the whole flower, there is a winter green overtone. Use them as garnishes, in fruit salads, green salad, desserts or in soups.
Roses (Rosa rugosa or R. gallica officinalis) - Flavors depend on type, color and soil conditions. Flavor is reminiscent of strawberries and green apples, sweet, with subtle undertones ranging from fruit to mint to spice. All roses are edible, with the flavor being more pronounced in the darker varieties. The miniature varieties can garnish ice cream and desserts. Larger petals can be sprinkled on desserts or salads. Freeze them in ice cubes and float them in punches also. Petals are used in syrups, jellies, perfumed butters and sweet spreads. NOTE: Be sure to remove the bitter white portion of the petals.
Tulip Petals (Tulipa) - Flavor varies from tulip to tulip, but generally the petals taste like sweet lettuce, fresh baby peas, or a cucumber-like texture and flavor. NOTE: Some people have had strong allergic reactions to them. If touching them causes a rash, numbness etc. Don't eat them! Don't eat the bulbs ever. If you have any doubts, don't eat the flower.
Violets (Viola species) - Sweet, perfumed flavor. Related flowers, Johnny jump-ups or violas, and pansies now come in colorful purples and yellows to apricot and pastel hues. I like to eat the tender leaves and flowers in salads. I also use the flowers to beautifully embellish desserts and iced drinks. Freeze them in punches to delight children and adults alike. All of these flowers make pretty adornments for frosted cakes, sorbets, or any other desserts, and they may be crystallized as well. Heart-shaped leaves are edible, and tasty when cooked like spinach.
