10 Ways You Can Use Edible Flowers in Your Cooking (And Give Your Food the Wow Factor)

Once upon a time, you used to love cooking. But not anymore.

Now you have children or you’re swamped with work. The days are crammed and you’ve run out of ideas. You mean to do better but you end up with the same old tried and true recipes. (Make that ‘tired’ and true recipes._)

Everyone is as bored of them as you are.

But guess what? You can make your dishes look like the ones on Instagram that are almost too beautiful to eat.

Because there’s a treasure in your garden, just waiting to be discovered.

Edible flowers.

They’re easy to grow, they’re easy to prepare and they’ll make your dishes look amazing.

All you have to do is learn a few special techniques. Use them, and your family and friends will be begging to eat at your table.

First Things First: Don’t End Up Dead in A Ditch

There are a few things you should know before you go sprinkling flowers all over your food.

1. Some flowers are poisonous, so make sure you identify your plants properly.

2. Source your plants from your own garden or from specialist edible flower suppliers. Buying flowers from the florist is risky because commercial flowers aren’t grown for human consumption. They may have toxic chemicals on them.

3. Pick your flowers in the morning when they’re dewy and fresh.

4. Shake them or lie them on a counter for a few minutes so the little creatures can crawl out. Unless you like eating insects, that is.

5. Keep your flowers fresh by putting them in water or in the fridge. It’s best to use them on the same day you picked them.

Serve These, Sit Back and Let the Compliments Roll In

The following techniques can be used with most edible flower varieties.

Just be aware — their flavours differ.

Some are peppery (nasturtiums, arugula), some are fragrant (lavender and roses) and some are tangy (rosella). As a general rule of thumb, herb flowers taste like the herbs they come from.

And some have no flavour at all.

But every single one is beautiful. Not only that, edible flowers contain trace elements, minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants.

Have fun playing around with them!

· Floral syrups fit for a rainbow

How to do it

Make a simple syrup by boiling equal amounts of sugar and water until it’s a bit runnier than honey. Add your flowers and let them steep until you have a jewel-like colour. You may need a few changes of flowers to achieve this.

Which flowers should I use?

Violets are the queen of syrups, producing a beautiful sea-green tint that’s reminiscent of a Mediterranean sailing holiday. Red rose petals produce crimson, scented gorgeousness.

What should I do with it?

Drizzle your syrup over ice-cream or desserts. Add it to iced soda water. Use it in cocktails — herb flower syrups are good for this.

· Dress your salad for the red carpet

How to do it

This is where you channel your salad interior decorator. My advice is to visit Instagram for inspiration. Just be aware that many of those gorgeous posts feature inedible dishes. You want people to eat your food, so sticking a whole hibiscus on their plate isn’t guest friendly.

Which flowers should I use?

The clue here is ‘edible’ flowers. So use small flowers or pull the petals off large ones. Remove stamens and tough, hairy bits. Any edible flowers will do, but herbal, peppery flowers go well with salads. Aragula, nasturtium, mint, sage, rosemary and bee balm flowers are great salad partners.

Vinegars that go beyond mere salad dressing

How to do it

Fill a clean glass bottle with your chosen flowers, then top it up with hot vinegar. Apple cider, white wine or rice vinegar is best. Vinegar eats metal, so use a plastic cap or put cling film between the lid and the jar.

Your vinegar will be ready in a few days. You can choose to leave the flowers in it but be aware that most varieties will go pale and soggy. Best to sieve them out.

Which flowers should I use?

Red rose petals and chive flowers will give you a lovely pink vinegar. Nasturtiums have a peppery tang and and the vinegar is orange-brown. Rice vinegar infused with jasmine flowers gives sushi rice a delicate lift.

What should I do with it?

Salad dressings, of course. But there’s so much more — add a few teaspoonfuls to a sauce, use it in mayonnaise, drizzle it over strawberries. My favourite is rose-petal vinegar stirred into soda water and topped off with a little honey.

· Cocktails (almost) too lovely to drink

How to do it

You can have so much fun playing around with flowers and booze! Try adding your home-made floral syrups. Drop in some flowery ice-cubes for a sensual twist. Add flowers as a garnish.

Martha Stewart has a sweet tip: create a citrus ‘raft’ by cutting a thin slice from a lime/lemon/orange and float it in your glass. Pile some edible flowers on top or pull their stems through a hole in the citrus slice.

Which flowers should I use?

There are two things to consider: flavour and appearance. How you mix and match depends on your palate, but it comes down to whether you want sweet or herbal flavours. You’ll just have to experiment!

· Gourmet ice cubes? Yes, they do exist.

How to do it

Easy peasy. Put your flowers into ice-cube trays, pour water in and freeze.

Which flowers should I use?

Any of them. They’re for decoration, really.

What should I do with them?

Float them in drinks, punch bowls and ice-buckets. People LOVE it when their drink looks extra special because it makes them feel special too. But leave the ice-cubes out of the champagne flute — bubbly is too good to be watered down.

· Cakes that will make a baker cry

How to do it

Edible flowers are best on icing and as decoration. You can make a cake look beautiful without having to play around with piping bags, nozzles and fancy equipment. All you have to do is press your flowers into the icing or arrange them on top. You can colour code a rainbow or let your blossoms drift as if they fell from heaven. Either way, your cake will look fantastic.

Which flowers should I use?

I’d pick petals for colour and theme, while being staying away from strongly flavoured flowers. I’m sure your cake already tastes delicious — the petals are there to make you look like a 5-star chef.

Try these varieties: violets, small rose petals, viola (Hearts-ease or Johnny Jump-Ups), calendula.

· Salt and flowers — don’t knock it until you’ve tried it

How to do it

Edible flowers in salt. Sounds weird, doesn’t it? However, it works well because the salt preserves the flowers and the flowers make the salt look great. This technique works best if you add other ingredients like lemon zest and pepper. Don’t use whole flowers for this, small petals are the go.

Which flowers should I use?

Any small-petalled ones. Bee balm is good because it has a strong oregano flavour and the deep purple gives your salt mix an unusual twist. Lavender is delicious, although it should be used sparingly.

Try these blends: lavender, lemon zest and pink salt; bee balm, crushed peppercorns and sea salt.

What should I do with it?

Use as you would normal salt. You can also add your salt mix to marinades and BBQ rubs.

· Sweet and crunchy crystallised garnishes

How to do it

Crystallised flowers require some effort, and a steady hand, but the result is very special.

You start by whisking an egg white. Next, dip a paintbrush into the beaten foam and paint your clean, dry flowers with it. It’s easier to do this if you hold the flowers with tweezers.

Then shake castor sugar over the flowers until they’re covered in it. Dry them upside down on baking paper for at least 24 hrs. Don’t let them blow away!

Which flowers should I use?

Cornflowers, pansies, rose petals, violets, violas. Leaves are good too, especially mint leaves.

What should I do with them?

These sweet, crunchy little morsels look gorgeous on top of an iced cupcake. Use them around a jelly to turn it into something extraordinary. Or try arranging them in an artful heap on top of a special occasion cake.

· Take your teas to heavenly heights

How to do it

There are two methods: you can either make tea with fresh edible flowers and herbs or you can add dried petals to a tea mix. To make the fresh version, add a small handful of flowers and herbs to a teapot, fill it with just-boiled water and let it steep.

For a tea blend, it’s better to dry the petals first. The easiest method is to place them on paper towel and microwave for 15 second bursts until they get crispy. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. When they’re dry, you can mix them up with black, green or herbal tea.

Which flowers should I use?

My favourite blend is dried cornflower, calendula and rose petals mixed into Earl Grey tea. It looks and tastes luxurious. If I’m making fresh tea I tend to use herb flowers because they have the best flavour. A mug full of pansies looks good but tastes of nothing.

Did you notice something about these recipes?

Vinegars, salts, syrups, floral ice cubes and teas can all be made in advance and stored.

That means you can add a dash of colour or a hit of flavour at the last minute. No effort, no worries.

And the others?

Just step outside and grab those garnishes. You don’t have to get in the car or waste your time at the supermarket.

You can use these techniques to give your tried and true recipes a makeover. Or you can create new ones.

Either way, edible flowers will turn your dishes into colourful, fragrant, healthy delights.

And not only will they look stunning, but they’ll taste lovely too.