Flowers are symbolic of many things around the world: abundance, purity, beauty, divinity, romance, riches, fertility, enlightenment, and even knowledge in some civilisations.
Flowers, like fruits, vegetables, spices, leaves, and nuts, are part of Nature’s nutrition menu for us. Flowers have been employed for therapeutic purposes and for balancing throughout India’s culinary heritage.
What better way to turn your dishes into ‘gourmet’ style plating than doing it with flowers? A few colourful flower petals in a salad, a small bouquet of Dianthus or Butterfly Peas on a birthday cake, or a Basil pod in a stir fry may all transform your delectable creations into sheer eye candy.
Edible flowers are a delicious and simple way to add colour and taste to a variety of foods and drinks, especially when you can pick them yourself. You can also buy them from a neighbouring gourmet food store.
Flowers taste and look best just after they’ve been opened, rather than after they’ve been open for a few days. Rinsing edible flowers is the best way use them. They are best when eaten raw.
Consider the following flowers that look as well as taste good:
Alliums: Add them to your Green salads, potato and pasta salads, and dips with chives, leeks, and garlic etc,
Nasturtiums: Blossoms have a peppery, watercress-like flavour. They go well with Salads as garnish, by adding many hues – they are very colourful, artistic and delicious too. You can consume the leaves as well.
Pansy: Wintergreen in flavour, these blooms look lovely on cakes and other delicacies. For a jewelled effect, glaze with warmed jelly.
Calendula and Cosmos: These are simple and prolific edible flowers that may be grown from seed in the garden. Toss the petals into salads after separating the petals from the flower’s centre. From bright yellow to orange and crimson, the colours are varied.
Borage: The sky-blue blossoms of this fuzzy-leaved herb have a faint cucumber flavour. Add to fruit salads, green salads, or ice cubes for refreshing drinks.
Butterfly pea: This is a type of pea. Many gardens have this plant, but be cautious – not all types are edible. They make a pleasantly flavoured blue tea that is rich in antioxidants.
Pumpkin Blossoms: They are a delicacy when stuffed with ricotta and tempura fried.
When it comes to edible flowers, there are only two things to keep in mind: To begin with, not all flowers are edible. Some flowers, in fact, are poisonous. So stick to flowers supplied by reputable brands like LittleGIANT. And if you are adventurous, conduct your own thorough research to ensure your safety.
The second point to remember is to stay away from flowers that have been sprayed with insecticides, fungicides, or herbicides. Except for roses, most edible flowers require a great deal of attention and knowledge to grow hence it is always better to source them from trusted sources.
Click here to get your plate of edible flowers: LittleGIANT
