edible flowers - how to?

ceridwen

I'm familiar with eating nasturtium flowers.

However - in a veggie box here I have received:
- calendula
- borage
- cornflowers

I'm not quite sure on procedures here.

I assume one:
- picks the individual petals off calendula and discards the base and centre
- picks the head part off borage and just uses in decorative icecubes in drinks (but can eat the flower when cube melts)
- twists the petal part off the cornflower base (at which point it disintegrates into individual petals:()

So - I've just gone ahead and done as per above with some calendula and cornflower and ended up with the individual petals part only on top of my salad.

Is that correct?

JillS_2

Right for calendula and borage and I've done both - though not eaten the borage flower.

Not heard about cornflower - that's interesting - what sort of cornflower is it (annual or perennial or specific name)?

The only thing I'd add is to be very wary of insects in the flower heads - they really seem to be attracted to these flowers.

stiltwalker

Seem to vaguely remember from a visit to a National Trust property with a wonderful old herb garden that borage had some medicinal use, I'm sure you must have a book with such things in your vast reference library Ceridwen? If not I'm sure Amazon will have something.

Personally I love borage flowers in a nice glass of Pimms. Got my MIL a white borage plant last year from a garden centre and the combination of blue and white flowers was really pretty in drinks and salads but TBH for flavour I don't think you can beat nastertium.

You can also dry calendula and it's good in homemade bath and beauty stuff.

ceridwen

JillS wrote: »

Right for calendula and borage and I've done both - though not eaten the borage flower.

Not heard about cornflower - that's interesting - what sort of cornflower is it (annual or perennial or specific name)?

The only thing I'd add is to be very wary of insects in the flower heads - they really seem to be attracted to these flowers.

Thanks.

Type of cornflower - errrr...scratches head...'fraid I dont know that. Its blue if thats any help...

I didnt know cornflowers are edible actually - until I thought "Well - its in with my food - so it must be..." and looked it up and it is..

ceridwen

stiltwalker wrote: »

Seem to vaguely remember from a visit to a National Trust property with a wonderful old herb garden that borage had some medicinal use, I'm sure you must have a book with such things in your vast reference library Ceridwen? If not I'm sure Amazon will have something.

Personally I love borage flowers in a nice glass of Pimms. Got my MIL a white borage plant last year from a garden centre and the combination of blue and white flowers was really pretty in drinks and salads but TBH for flavour I don't think you can beat nastertium.

You can also dry calendula and it's good in homemade bath and beauty stuff.

...and thats reminded me - I can always look up what other (ie non-edible) uses I can find for any flowers I get given...

You dont want to see how big that "library" is getting - I ordered a couple more books for it in the week.....ahem....

squeaky

Food for free

There's even a Kindle version available.

ceridwen

Thanks squeaky - hmmm...wonders if the "how to" details are in my "Food for Free" book - will check...

Seakay

A great many flowers are edible - it's more a question of taste as to whether you do eat them.
Personally I do as Ceridwen has done because I don't like the taste of the green bits of the flower heads.
Don't forget that borage leaves are the original garnish for Pimms - they taste faintly of cucumber.
Chopped borage leaves loose their hairiness (which also goes if you press or crush them a bit - use a rubber glove) and can be added to cottage cheese or salads.
Chive flowers taste of onion - add the petals rather than whole flowerheads to salads.
Rose petals add fragrance and colour rather than real flavour - add as individual petals chopped or not and cut out the white bit at the base of the petal 9if any) as this can be bitter.

Here's an article with more ideas and mention of a book
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/31/flowers-you-can-eat

See also:

A Country Harvest by Pamela Michael

Wild Flowers of Britain by Roger Phillips (mentions when plants are edible - if the plant is edible then the flower is although it's a matter of personal taste if you want to eat it!)

JillS_2

Seakay wrote: »

A great many flowers are edible - it's more a question of taste as to whether you do eat them.
Personally I do as Ceridwen has done because I don't like the taste of the green bits of the flower heads.
Don't forget that borage leaves are the original garnish for Pimms - they taste faintly of cucumber.
Chopped borage leaves loose their hairiness (which also goes if you press or crush them a bit - use a rubber glove) and can be added to cottage cheese or salads.
Chive flowers taste of onion - add the petals rather than whole flowerheads to salads.
Rose petals add fragrance and colour rather than real flavour - add as individual petals chopped or not and cut out the white bit at the base of the petal 9if any) as this can be bitter.

Here's an article with more ideas and mention of a book
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/31/flowers-you-can-eat

See also:

A Country Harvest by Pamela Michael

Wild Flowers of Britain by Roger Phillips (mentions when plants are edible - if the plant is edible then the flower is although it's a matter of personal taste if you want to eat it!)

Interesting post Seakay and an interesting article.

Were the borage leaves for the Pimms used whole or chopped?

squeaky

ceridwen wrote: »

Thanks squeaky - hmmm...wonders if the "how to" details are in my "Food for Free" book - will check...

I can't find my copy at the moment. Eek! But I seem to remember that a lot of things had recipe suggestions on the pages.