Flowers You Can Eat: The Perfect Spring Touch
Do you love gazing upon a beautiful bouquet? If yes, you are not alone. The purpose of a flower is to be beautiful. They have to attract pollinators so that they can produce seeds and eventually become fruits. They not only beautify your space but can also add delicious flavors to your dish. Most people forget about including edible flowers in their dishes. And they end up missing a lot. After reading this article, there is a good chance you will find yourself looking for flowers you can eat to use in your recipes!
Advantages of Consuming Edible Flowers
Apart from adding freshness and color to your dishes, flowers you can eat have lots of amazing health benefits that will improve your health when you consume them regularly. Here are a few benefits that you’ll enjoy when you add edible flowers to your recipes:
- Reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels
- Rich in minerals and praised for their anti-inflammatory effects
- Ideal for people who suffer from stress and anxiety as they relieve and promote relaxation.
How Do Edible Flowers Taste?
There are lots of flowers that you can eat. Similar to herbs, there are unique and colorful flowers that you need to explore. Some flowers have bitter, tart, and spicy flavors that you can add to savory dishes and salads. This includes chive, nasturtiums, and Echinacea to name a few. Others like rose, dandelion, and lavender have a sweetness that adds extra taste to your dishes. The best way to enjoy these edible flowers is by tasting them.
Growing Flowers You Can Eat
Edible flowers are grown just like herbs and herbaceous plants. You can delegate writing tasks to Assignment Masters to find time to purchase seeds and plant them in your garden or you can purchase the flower from a garden center. To grow seeds, you need to start with a seed-starting mix. Remember to label all sprouts since they’ll look the same at first glance. The top layer of your soil should always be moist. However, don’t overwater it to prevent damage or washing out of the seedlings.
Once they germinate, snip out the rest except the strongest seedling in every pot to prevent overcrowding. Avoid pulling as this can disrupt the roots. If your seeds don’t sprout, don’t give up. Sometimes, all that you need is light. Place the pot near your windows or try creating greenhouse conditions.
When the plants have grown big, always harvest your flowers at their peak to get the most out of them Harvesting before they start wilting is key. Use the right tools to harvest such as clean sharp scissors. Also, cut them early in the morning or late in the evening. Consume flowers on the harvesting day or keep them refrigerated until you are ready to eat them.
Where to Buy Edible Flowers
If you don’t have the space or time to grow edible flowers, there are some places where you can source them. The first place to check is the market. You can chat with farmers or sellers to get more information about the flowers and how they were grown. You can also find them in the herbs section of your local grocery store. Thanks to technological advancement, you can use the internet to search for your favorite edible flowers and order them online.
The Best Flowers to Eat
There are lots of edible flowers that you can consume. However, before including them in your dish, be sure to keep these points in mind:
- Consume flowers that you are sure that they are edible. Different flowers can look similar. If you aren’t sure, always ask to avoid putting your health at risk.
- Consume organic flowers only. Most plants purchased from retailers have been sprayed with pesticides.
- Before adding edible flowers to your dish, wash them thoroughly
- You’ll only need to consume the petals of a flower
- If you aren’t sure whether the flower in question is edible, ask Ninjaessays to research it for you or avoid it.
Here are the 8 top edible flowers to try:
Orchids
Beautiful and edible? Yes please! Orchids are not only adored for their striking beauty, in addition, many cultures also use them for their medicinal values and edible quality. And in ancient Greece they believed eating an orchid bulb would book sexual vigor and fertility. Top off your cocktail with an edible orchid for instant exotic and beneficial touch.
Nasturtiums
This is a popular edible flower that grows well in containers. They are available in upright or trailing varieties. Their color ranges from brilliant sunset to reminiscent. You should plant them in warm soil in the spring. Since they require darkness to sprout, you should consider keeping them indoors after planting. While Nasturtiums are quite hardy, they cannot survive in very low temperatures. Every part of nasturtium is edible. The leaves have a spicy and peppery flavor. The flowers are mild and sweet. And you can include them in salads.
Roses
Roses are beautiful flowers with a sweet flavor. And you can consume every part of the rose. The leaves can be included in tea. Dry the rosebuds before using them in dishes. You can also add rose petals to salads, and desserts, or infuse them with honey. The flavor’s intensity will depend on the color, type, and soil conditions. The flavor will be more pronounced if the petals are dark. Every type of rose is edible.
However, you should remove the white section of the petals before consuming them. Harvest the flowers when they are fully red or orange. And cut them to remove the seeds. If you purchase roses in a container, ensure that you go for a resistant variety since they are prone to diseases. Plant your rose in spring or before the frost in well-drained soil.
Calendula
The flavor of this edible flower ranges from spicy to tangy. Their color varies greatly in a wide range of oranges and yellows. The petals have a saffron-like flavor. Plant calendula in the spring in a place where there’s partial full sun. You can sow your seeds in autumn. This plant grows well in cool weather.
Lavender
If you’ve been researching extensively on edible flowers, it’s hard to miss lavender. The flower has soothing properties and can be used for a wide range of beauty products. While Lavender isn’t impossible to grow from seed, it’s quite difficult. Most people purchase it from the garden center or grow it from cuttings. Lavender loves hot, dry summers and cool winters. It grows quickly in well-drained soil and requires lots of sun. Further, lavender flowers have a unique floral taste. And they can be used in sweet dishes sparingly.
Chive
Every allium flower is edible. While their flavor is mild, they have a delicious onion essence. The purple flowers should be harvested together with foliage. And are great added to salads. The best time to grow Chives is in early or late spring. They grow well in cool seasons and remain dormant during the hot seasons. Chives should be placed in moist and well-drained soils in full or partial sun.
Echinacea
Echinacea is popularly known as coneflower and they are a medicinal herb. They have powerful healing properties that make this plant the ideal remedy for colds at home. This is one of the easiest plants to grow since its drought resistant. Plus, it can grow in poor soil. It thrives in bright light but can also tolerate shade. You should plant Echinacea in early spring. While most people consume the seed head and roots, the petals are edible and they can add color to your dishes with the benefit of healing properties. They are usually mixed with sweeteners and herbs to enhance the flavor.
Dandelion
The Dandelion is one of the most delicious and nutritious greens that you can consume. However, the dandelion should be controlled in all its stages of growth. The weed is edible and delicious when picked young. You should avoid mature flowers as they are usually bitter. They are best in the spring.
Wrapping Up
As you have seen, there are lots of edible flowers that you can add to your dishes. You should always ensure that you consume the right flowers to avoid putting your health at risk. Which edible flower are you going to try out today?
About the Author
Eun Rockwell is a blogger and academic writer from the UK who helps students use studying tools for college. She likes trying new subjects and is always focused on proving her worth as a writer in new and challenging writing areas. Her hobbies are reading books and traveling.
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