At my local farmers’ market I learned about chive blossoms and pea blossoms – I wondered about other edible flowers and how they might be used in recipes.
The variety of edible flowers and the uses for them is much greater than most of us know.
- Most culinary herb blossoms are also edible including - thyme, basil, sages, lavender, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, cilantro.
- Most of the allium family (which includes chives, leeks, onions, garlic) have edible blossoms. My chive blossoms from my local farmers' market were a wonderful surprise. In addition to adding color to my salad (a lovely pale lavender) they add a slightly peppery flavor with a definite chive punch in the tiny little petals.
- Borage - delicate blue flowers with a cucumber taste, young leaves of this herbal plant also impart a subtle cucumber taste; can be frozen in ice cubes for an interesting addition to summer punch bowls.
- Pea blossoms - here is an example of the importance of knowing your source: ornamental sweet pea blossoms are poisonous. Edible pea blossoms come from pea vines. The ones I tasted at the farmers' market were purple and crunchy and tasted like peas.
- Lavender is another plant that has both culinary and (non-edible) decorative branches of the family. Be sure you know which you're dealing with. The culinary lavender is widely used in fines herbes.
- Arugula blossoms are the star in So Wildly Elegant.
The copyright of the article Chive Blossoms and Edible Flowers in Gourmet Food is owned by Jacqueline Church. Permission to republish Chive Blossoms and Edible Flowers in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
