How to cultivate and use edible flowers. Ten plants appreciated for taste and flavor

Sprinkle in salads, added in syrups or consumed in various other combinations, edible flowers add color and aroma to each dish. A botanical specialist shows which are the most appreciated such plants and how they can be used.

Carolyn Dunster wrote at large about the best flowers to grow, cut and dry, inspiring from his own small urban garden. He described them in his book “A Floral Feast” (a floral feast), dedicated to cultivating flowers and plants that can be used in gastronomy.

Here are ten of the edible flowers preferred by her and the advice that the author specialized in Botanics and offered for their consumption, according to The Telegraph.

Tropaeolum major (Capucin)

Capucin is the number one plant for a garden with edible flowers, being easy to grow and completely edible, notes the author. It is resembled directly in the soil or pots, 5 centimeters deep and 15 centimeters away between plants, without pretensions regarding the soil. They offer leaves and flowers throughout the summer, especially if the sowing are staggered. At the end of the season, you can keep the seeds for next year, dried well and kept for cool.

“The flowers and leaves are edible and delicious-the flowers have a delicate, slightly spicy aroma and add texture, color and crocating a mixed green salad. The leaves can be given by a light and fried dough to be served as tempura, or they can be transformed into a brightly colored pesto.” writes the specialist in botany.

Calendula officinalis (yellows)

Calendula (yellows) are versatile edible flowers, with intense taste, similar to the saffron, ideal for decoration and salads. They are easy to cultivate, resistant and bloom all summer if they are sown in autumn and spring. For compact and productive plants, pinch the tips and collect the flowers regularly. The petals can be used fresh or dried, and the “Indian Prince” variety is preferred for culinary uses, Carolyn Dunster shows.

“The calendula works like a saffron in the preparations and will lightly color and will give a subtle aroma to the different dishes. I press the petals over a simple risotto, even before serving. The aroma is best described as intense, with a slightly grassy note. The leaves have a spicy taste and can be added to the salads-with a maximum effect” Write this.

Dianthus (carofiță, carnation)

Edible carnations and carnations offer an extra color and a sweet note to the dishes, being ideal for decoration and aromatic infusions. Garofits are more resistant and suitable for the garden, while carnations prefer protection, for example in a greenhouse. They can be grown from seeds or cuttings, prefer sunny places and well drained soil. Regular picking and careful care keep them compact and productive, even in small spaces.

“Turn them into aromatic sugar for cakes and biscuits or add them into ice cream and sorbets. Colored and wavy petals look spectacular floating in drinks or sprinkled as food” confetti “over the dishes, even before serving. Make sure you remove the white part from the base of the petal (heel), because it has a bitter taste ”, shows the author.

Foeniculum vulgare (common fennel)

The fennel, with its slightly anasted aroma, is a completely edible plant, ideal for salads and soups. It is easily cultivated, by sowing autumn or spring, and needs space for roots, so the seedlings must be chilled 50 centimeters away. After flowering, the stems with seeds and leaves at the base for regeneration should be cut. The ripe seeds are easily kept, dried and stored in a tight jar.

“All parties are edible and have a mild anise. Add flowers in salads and cold vegetables, and leaves and stems in stews and soups-or consume raw. The seeds can be used in curves, pickles and cans.”writes Carolyn Dunster.

Hibiscus Syriacus (Sharon rose)

Hibiscus petals have a fruity and intense taste, ideal for brightly colored juices and syrups. The plant is resistant, it prefers the sun and the soil well drained, and a light trimming in the spring helps it grow bushy. It is easily planted from bought seedlings and blooms generously from summer until autumn. The flowers are harvested when they are completely opened, carefully separates the petals, dries and stored for culinary uses.

“The petals have a fruity aroma, reminiscent of black and plum currants. Dark pink or red varieties, such as” Flower Tower Ruby “, are the best for intensely colored juices and syrups – I use them for boiled pears in syrup”, notes the publicist.

Jasminum officinale (common white jasmine)

Jasmine, with its sweet and slightly mosquate aroma, is ideal for refined teas, cakes and desserts. The white flowers, stelate, not only perfume intensely, but also beautify the garden full all summer. It is planted in the spring or autumn, it prefers the sun directly and easily climbed on the supports, being excellent for covering the walls or fences. After flowering, trim it no matter how drastic you want, and the collected flowers are kept cold in closed containers, recommends the specialist.

“You only need a few jasmine flowers to give flavors; their sweet, slightly musk taste, add a floral note to the cakes, desserts and puddings, or you can add them in preparations with rice and noodles for a splash of perfume. To prepare your own jasmine tea, alternate or green flowers, orwrites Carolyn Dunster.

Lavandula (lavender)

Lavender is an aromatic and versatile plant, ideal for flavoring sugar and preparing jams. It harves the flowers when they are in full flower or after drying, and the cultivation of several varieties extends your harvesting season. It prefers the strong sun, the well drained soil and the rare watering. After flowering, cut off the rods without touching the dry wood, to stimulate a new flowering the next year.

“You can harvest the lavender flowers in different stages. Gently detach the small flowers (flowers) on the main rod, when they are in full flower, to decorate cakes and desserts. Use the entire flowers to make syrups and drinks for cocktails. Keep them in a jar, and use them,” notes this.

Pelargonium (fragrant bites)

Pelargonium leaves, with their varied flavors-from rose to lemon and mint-ciocolate-are excellent for syrups and aromatic sugar, perfect in desserts. It is important to choose the edible varieties, not the classic bites (geranium). Pelargonii prefer well drained soil and a sunny place, being sensitive to excessive moisture. Cultivated in pots, they can be moved indoors in winter, and an easy trimming autumn keeps them vigorous and productive.

“Use the leaves to make scented syrups or aromatic sugar, which you can use for cakes”, writes the flower specialist.

Rosa (rose)

Petals and rose buds offer extra elegance to desserts, drinks and syrups, being excellent both fresh and dried. Choose scented varieties that bloom repeatedly, and with a little care, you will enjoy the flowers all the season. The roses prefer the sun, but some varieties develop well in the shade or in pots. For spectacular decorations, opt for varieties with pink flowers or cherries, which keeps their color well at drying and crystallization. Regular harvesting and removal of past flowers stimulate new flowers.

“It uses whole petals, buds or floral ends – fresh or dried – for decoration or as an ingredient in syrups, aromatic water and drinks, but also in various sweet or salted dishes. I use rose water, rose syrup and petals to make a pavlova with roses”,, “ writes Carolyn Dunster.

Helianthus Annuus (sunflower)

Sunflower petals and seeds add a delicate walnut note in soups, stews or granola. It is easily grown in sunny places, with a little water and a lot of space, either in the soil or in pots. There are various varieties, from intense yellow to cream, bronze or cherry – “ms mars” being an elegant example. Harvest the petals in the morning, and the seeds when they are ripe and easily detach, dry them well and enjoy their aroma in various dishes, writes Carolyn Dunster.

“Use the seeds in stews, soups, bread, tartable creams, vegetable butter and granola, or consume raw. Add the petals in any preparation with vegetables. You can also consume young sunflower buds; they have a texture similar to the heart. shows the specialist.