[MarkG]

Hi All,

Wow.

OH just received some seed packets of edible flowers from a friend, as a birthday present. I had no idea you could eat these:

Nasturtium: "with its spicy water-cress taste, its leaves and flowers will add a delightful touch to any salad, while its seeds prefectly season your vinegars".

Sweet William: "with their rich perfume Sweet Williams enhance salty foods, as well as salads. They also flavour butter, sugars, oils and vinegars. Once they are dry, the petals perfume will enhance your water and wine pitchers. They can also be crystallized to decorate any dessert or other delicacy".

Violet: "...high concentration of acetyle salicyclic acid, also known as aspirin!" so good for headaches then.

They'll be going in the allotment then. Has anyone used these in food? Can you recommend any good uses or recepies.

Thanks,

Mark.

[poultrygeist]

I think it's only the last 100 years we've not bothered eating them all.

Used a lot in posh dishes as decoration and otherwise through history...and still I dare say if you pay enough for your food.

A lot of eastern dishes use them too I think.

Must go round the garden seeing what we've got. It'll shock the neighbours.  :shock:

Rob

[gobs]

Just be careful though, as a lot of garden plants are very toxic. :shock:  

[poultrygeist]

Yes indeed. We have the RHS herbs book which is fascinating.

The hardest bit is identifying what the flowers are ! I worked out a few last summer but have forgotten again. Must write them down.

I can see me posting a few photos up this year. Be on standby.

Rob

[chicken soup]

My hubby is on a diet so has been eating lots of mixed salads and it was whilst we were buying seeds we noticed you could eat nasturtiums so we picked up a packet.  Hubby is looking forward to his flowery salads in the summer  

I haven't decided where to plant them yet though maybe a few at the allotment and a few in tubs at home.  Haven't I read somewhere that they spread like mad?

[Aunt Sally]

Day Lilly flowers are supposed to be very tasty !

[compostqueen]

nasturtium seeds are used like capers I think and the flowers are peppery    I think you can eat pansies anorl but better check     What about courgette flowers, oh and elderflowers

On Masterchef one of the celeb chefs, in France I think it was, dished up a flower salad. It looked lovely     It woulda looked better with a slab of 'am in the middle though in my book  

[dereklane]

Dandelion flowers are quite edible too, and prolific over the next month or two (at least, they are around here). My kids like them, but they tend to get a little infested with bugs...

Nasturtium flowers are very tasty, both peppery and sweet at the same time.

cheers,

Derek

[mdueal]

I am growing nasturiums and sweet wiliams this year in with my herbs and am looking forward to funky salads! I had read that about day lillies too and have seen very expensive prepacked mini courgettes in the deli with the flower still attached so that must be true.

[Yorkie]

I'd just watch out for blackfly before you crunch too hastily into your nasturtiums...  :shock:

[Snap Dragon]

I'd just watch out for blackfly before you crunch too hastily into your nasturtiums...  :shock:

I've always found them a blackfly magnet - it put me off growing them years ago  

[gobs]

All those few flowers I tried, well, an acquired taste, that I thought was not worth acquiring. Haven't tried day lilies though, but I understand, it's widely used in cooking in Asia. Nasturtiums I can't go near for the smell.

I'm quite partial to cauliflower though and garlic, etc allium buds are good.

[compostqueen]

nasturtiums are good plot flowers as they divert attention from your food crops. Caterpillars and blackfly are better off on your nasturtiums than on your brassicas and broad beans.  

Nettles on the plot margins are good egg laying sites for cabbage whites so don't pull them all up

nettles are edible too

[dereklane]

Nettles are edible too...

As are dandelion roots, though not that tasty (I was imagining something like parsnip).

However, if you dice the roots finely, roast them (until the chocolately smell comes, and they're nice and hard), you can grind them up and use them as a coffee substitute. The finer the powder and the longer they've been roasted for (without getting too burnt), the stronger the drink.

It's a little bitter on the first mouthful, but after that, a nice drink, particularly with honey.

(Well, I like it, but noone else I've offered it to has been all that happy with it. People are so cagey about trying new things ...)

cheers,

Derek

[poultrygeist]

I think Ray Mears did a wild food series a while back.

With that chap with the beard.

Took them a couple of hours ot collect, another couple to prepare and/or cook by which time you've died of hunger !

But free and interesting all the same.

Rob