Edible Flowers and How to Use Them

Eating flowers in the spring just seems right, doesn’t it? The picture above is of my Victorian sponge birthday cake several years ago. It was one of the most delicious and beautiful cakes I have ever made!

Flowers are all around us during this time of year. From wildflowers to garden flowers to flower bouquets at the market! Historically, the use of edible flowers reaches back to ancient times to ancient Egypt, China, Greece and Rome. They were considered an important and beautiful edible item with special medicinal properties. In fact, the ancient Persians were the first to develop a way to distill the oil out of flowers. 

During the elegant Victorian age, edible flowers became very popular and you could often find them candied or sugared. Often, they were used as a garnish.

Sometimes, at a specialty or high-end grocery store or market, you can buy edible flowers. Or if you know that the flowers have not been sprayed or are near traffic where they could have absorbed car fumes and pollution, they should be safe to eat. Of course, you could always grow your own! Here is a list of common edible flowers to try!

• Violets
• Sunflowers
• Roses
• Dandelions
• Hibiscus 
• Pansy 
• Lavender
• Nasturtium
• Marigold
• Carnation
• Daylily
• Bee Balm
• Cornflowers
• Borage

If you want to try using edible flowers in your own daily life, I suggest trying a few flowers first to see what flavor you like best. Then toss them into salads, use them as garnishs on baked items, infuse them into water, make a flower infused sugar, dry them and make your own tea or just enjoy slowly eating them petal by petal! How fun would it be to eat a whole bouquet?! 🙂