Edible Flowers

Fabulous. Thanks Heidi.

Hi Heidi. Funny to read your post today because I had been thinking about writing you to tell you about my friend's cookbook that just came out this spring, by Miche Bacher (which I see several people have recommended as well, yeah!) I have always felt that you and Miche would have a lot in common and very similar styles. Perhaps you will get a chance to meet someday!

I love to make chive blossom salt. Throw sea salt and chive blossoms (I like a high blossom-to-salt ratio) in the food processor until the blossoms are broken down enough to incorporate nicely into the salt. Spread the mixture on a cookie sheet for a couple of days to dry, stirring every once in awhile, and store in a small jar. This stuff is amazing! I love it on hard boiled eggs but it takes just about anything to the next level.

Lovely timing. My chives are in full bloom and don't know what to do with them. Looking forward to trying the chive blossom vinegar. During my time in Australia it was common to have hibiscus flowers in champagne.

Heidi, Thank you so much for this post. Cooking with flowers is on my list to learn, and this is a great motivation to get started. Any info/tips on lavender? Thanks again!

Edible flowers are truly wonderful. I use them in salads and even in cocktails. My favourites are borage (sweet, cucumber flavour) and marigolds! x

I just planted some zucchini, and this post reminded me that I'll also be able to harvest the blossoms to fry. Made my day!

I love Magdalen's idea with the honeysuckle! My neighbor's spills over my fence and I love the smell — have been wondering if I could use it in food. Does the sweetness stay once it's dried? Just made lavender salt – just ground lavender flowers and tossed in a jar with coarse salt, then let sit to infuse. A friend puts it on everything, from meat to chocolate cake. Going out to pick rose petals right now.

I recently received copies of one old and one new cookbook on cooking with flowers...'Cooking with Flowers' by Miche Bacher of Mali B. Sweets and 'The forgotten Art of Flower Cookery' by Leona Woodring Smith. I can't grow roses very well because of the amount of rain we receive but I do grow nasturtiums, geraniums, violas, squash, and use the blooms from several herbs. I usually don't dry them but use fresh.

Borage flowers. Flowers from kale, arugula , broccoli, all work.

What gorgeous photos! I love using edible flowers. Right now I am saving lilac petals for a batch of lilac wine. You can freeze them until you have enough. If you'd like to join me and try making lilac wine, you can start saving them and I'll be posting about the process next week.

Loving the flowers. I've been sweeting them up all spring, and it is high time I dive into the savory realm. That said, have you tried feijoa flowers? They are an oddly satisfying, fleshy, sweet and unintimidating blossom from the feijoa bush, aka, pineapple guava. They grow everywhere where I live. I could imagine you doing wonders with them in a shoot.

You can microwave them to dry them, but they will get kinda stuck to the platter so this is best if you plan to make it into a dust or mix into a salt. Don't forget that a surprising amount of people have dehydrators--a post on facebook might have you loaned the equipment you need for a big batch. Go ahead and slice some tomatoes, strawberries, apricots or other fruits in half while you're at it and dry those too!

Have you seen the recently released cookbook on cooking with flowers? I'm blanking on the name right now, but it's incredibly beautiful, and the recipes/ideas in it sound fabulous.

I like to dry jasmine and honeysuckle to add to loose chai for a lovely floral note. I just dry by laying them out on the windowsill on some waxed paper then storing in a paper bag until I'm ready to use them. I've tried using a dehydrator before but found it to produce dried flowers that smelled just a little big cooked.

I want to dance in these photos... Heidi xo

thanks for this post. i was looking for some fresh ideas and this really inspired me. just made some lavender simple syrup using dried buds and it was incredible for cocktails. great photos and tips. thanks again.

Edible flowers are so lovely! As a little girl in France, I used to eat sweets made of violet flowers, they were small pastilles shaped like the flower. The smell and taste were just incredible. I also tasted tiny flowers recently with mussels cooked in a broth of apple cider, very flavoursome! I will keep the tips on drying the flower petals, might come in handy sometime.

I had a courgette flower stuffed with manchego, lightly battered and fried, but then drizzled with some honey - I've never forgotten it! I love it when the chive flowers come out, and one year my thyme plant came out in little white flowers, that was beautiful on everything. I know sometimes rose petals make their way into harissa paste, but harissa is such a strong flavour, I've rarely felt the roses made much of a contribution. A friend of mine makes homemade butter with rose petals, gorgeous for a special tea time.

I love that this post was delivered to my inbox right after eating some hibiscus sorbet. So timely. Yum! Flowers!