Petals for Your Palate
What's Up Magazine [06.2003]
By Paula L. Novash
Waiter, what's that bright-orange blossom doing in my salad? Don't worry, it's a nasturtium, an edible flower that can add a peppery zing to summer dishes.
It's trueóspring and summer blooms may provide a feast for the senses, but selected ones can also enhance the feast on your plate. Sprinkled in with fresh greens, tossed with pasta, or preserved in candies and fruit jellies, flowers contribute interesting tastes and add to the presentation of many foods.
Using flowers in cooking is not new. Daylilies were an ancient Oriental delicacy. Early Romans used violets to add spice, and the Victorians were especially fond of sweet flowers like roses and lilacs in their preserves and fragrant waters. Reviving an ancient trend, modern chefs use edible flowers to garnish and lend snap and flavor to dishes.
"Flowers are a good choice for making a festive display," says Karen Wilder, owner (with husband Jim) of the Wild Orchid Café and Company's Coming Catering, based in Eastport. "People eat with their eyes, too." Not only do the Wilders specialize in using edible blooms, they even named their business and signature crËme brulee in honor of the vanilla orchid (vanilla planifolia). The orchid bears a scentless celadon-colored flower which germinates into vanilla pods, from which the vanilla bean is extracted.
At the Wild Orchid, a spring mix of pansies, calendulas and nasturtiums (among other blooms) is sprinkled in with baby salad greens and also used in the presentation of cheese, fruit and dessert displays. The mix, ordered from an organic food supplier, tastes hearty like bitter greens and also provides an edible accent.
"We also use whole herb flowers, like alliums (garlic and onion families) and rosemary in meat dishes," Wilder continues. "Even if the flower is used more as a garnish, we try to use tastes that compliment what we're serving."
Victor Ledezma, General Manager of Café Bretton in Severna Park, also likes blossoms on his plates. "Some people think it's kind of weird to eat flowers, but they're delicious if you know how to use them." The café uses dianthus, viola and nasturtium in salads and desserts.
How do you know if a flower is safe to eat? Some blooms can be irritating to the digestive system and some are highly toxic, so it's important to research a particular plant before consumption. Here are a few general guidelines: Eat only organically grown flowers, or those treated with organic pesticides. Use fresh-picked blossoms; flowers are highly perishable. Inspect for insect damage and disease, and discard imperfect specimens. Clean flowers thoroughly in warm water; crisp in ice water if necessary. Don't eat natives picked on the roadsideóthey may retain toxins from exhaust fumes.
Want to grow edibles to spice up your own cooking? Bobby Ray, who cultivates the extensive herb and flower garden at Café Bretton, recommends companion planting. Companion plants repel insects and pests, allowing the plants next to them to flourish without harmful pesticides. "Deadhead marigolds and sprinkle in the soil around edibles," Ray suggests. "Nasturtiums and strawberries grow well together, and alliums help out almost anything."
Finally, don't assume that every garnish is edible, Karen Wilder warns. The roses she dips in a sugar-water solution to decorate cakes are highly popular and safe to eat. But the Wild Orchid also dips flowers in an egg-white mixture and rolls them in sugar, and because raw egg can harbor salmonella bacteria, consuming these flowers isn't recommended. "If you're not sure about something on the plate, just ask."
Petals for Your Palate
Here's a guide to the most common edible flowers:
- Alliums (leeks, onions, chives, garlic): "Flowering onions" range from mild to strong; flavor is most concentrated in flowers and seed heads. Use in salads, pastas, soups, with meats.
- Apple Blossom: Delicate fruit flavor. Use in fruit dishes, or can be candied.
- Basil: Flavor is milder than basil leaves, and some varieties are lemony or minty. Use in salads and pastas.
- Calendula (pot marigold): Bitter flavor, adds bright color and nutritional value. Use in soups, pastas, rice, salads, herb butters.
- Chrysanthemum: Tangy, faintly peppery. Use petals only, not flower base. Great for stir-fries, salads, salad dressings.
- Cilantro: Strong flavor, fades quickly when cooked. Try in bean dishes, salsas, vegetables.
- Dandelion: Sweet, honey-like flavor. Steam with greens, add to rice, or make dandelion wine.
- Daylily: Mild, sweetish, a combination of squash and melon flavors. Often made into batter-dipped fritters. Use in salads and on cakes.
- Dianthus (carnation varieties): Sweet. Steep in wine, candy, or use on cakes for decoration.
- Dill: Use in soups, seafood, dressings or dips.
- Johnny-Jump-Up (viola): Wintergreen flavor. Best in salads, with cheeses, or used as cake decorations.
- Lavender: Sweetly floral. Good with chocolate cake, sorbets and ice cream, custard, and steeped in wine.
- Nasturtium: Spicy, peppery, like watercress. For salads, cheese platters, sandwiches.
- Pansy: Grassy green flavor. Add to fruit salad, green salad, or serve with fruits.
- Roses: Sweet, with minty, spicy, or fruity undertones. Enhance syrups, jellies, sweet butters and spreads.
- Scented Geranium: Citrusy, spicy, sweet depending on variety. Add to desserts and drinks, or freeze in ice cubes for punches.