You probably do not think of flowers as being a tasty tea time treat and for the most part they aren’t. However, you may be surprised that its ok to eat some flowers if only in small amounts. It’s not a good idea to just start picking flowers and chowing down. For one thing they wont taste very nice and for a second (and this is a very important one) they might cause you serious harm. To save you from any life-threatening encounters here is a little list of the ones you can eat without needing attention from the A&E department. Even then it might be a good idea to try a few at a restaurant that serve them first to see if you like them and then pick a few recipes that you like.
So here is a list. Let’s start with one that you should know.
- The Rose. Yummy but let’s not start by going out and plucking a few heads of the Rose bush we are referring to rose hips. They are good for you because they have a lot of Vitamin C. The main thing that you can get from the Rose is Rose water, this is the crushed petals of the rose and its used to flavour all sorts of cakes, ice cream plus a tea. It’s also a popular flavour for Turkish delight. It’s actually very strong and must be used sparingly otherwise it is very overpowering.
- The Lavender plant. While you would expect to see it being used to fill up formal gardens its distinctive purple flower head flowing in the wind. Like the Rose above it is a very strong flavour that can overpower absolutely everything and end up just tasting of toilet cleaner. It works best in an ice cream or sorbet.
- Now the first thing that you are going to think of is the drink that you add to Burdock. It makes a very liquorice tasting drink but that’s just one use. Dandelion wine is a nice alternative at the dinner table and you can even wash and dry the leaves where they can be added to a sandwich. No, I’ve no idea why either.
- Daises can also be put in a sandwich as well, but they can also go in a soup or salad too. Makes a change from just turning them into jewellery.
- Lets also see about putting that into a salad. It quite an unusual addition due to its blueness. If you don’t fancy adding that to the salad, which at this point should also have Daises and dandelion leaves in it.
- White and Yellow Chrysanthemum. We’ve certainly saved the best for last. Yes, you can make a nice drink from it like a tea or add it to rice wine to give it flavour but it the real winner is that when you add it to a certain meat stew it gives the dish a certain kick. What type of meat? That’s easy its snake!