Food Journal #9: Edible flowers and how to use them

Today we bring you in search of colorful edible flowers. Do not confuse them with simple toppings and seals. These edible flowers will be the main ingredient of your recipes, as happens for many haute cuisine dishes.

One of the best known and eaten flowers is perhaps the pumpkin flower, but there are different varieties that can be consumed and that will give color, smell and taste to your dishes.

Dill, borage, chervil, carnation, hibiscus, monarda and verbena ... to name a few. Slow Food identifies as many as 40 species, while the Rome University Department of Biology shows us even 50 and we want you to discover their versatility in the kitchen.

How can we use edible flowers?

The choice is wide and each edible flower has smell, sight and taste particular characteristics. From aperitif to dinner, every flower allows to amaze guests with unusual combinations!

• The Alkanet flowers (Anchusa officinalis), with a blue color, can be frozen in ice cubes and used for cocktails.
• Begonia flowers, but only of the tuberhybrida variety, when combined with peppermint, become a refreshing drink, with an acidulous aftertaste like lemon and an anti-inflammatory power.
• The Borage flowers (Borago officinalis) are the perfect ingredient for interesting wine cocktails.
• The Carnation flowers (Dianthus), with a pleasant and delicate scent, are suitable for the preparation of desserts, sauces and to accompany white meat or fish dishes.
• The Nasturtium flowers (Tropaeolum majus) are characterized by intense and vivid colors and have a slightly spicy taste reminiscent of mustard. They can therefore be tasted together with meat.
• Pancakes with eggs, flour and Elderflower (Sambucus nigra) are excellent.
• Dahlia flowers is an excellent ingredient for desserts, it can give a characteristic note of flavor and can have a diuretic and digestive function.

Edible flowers nutritional contents

From a nutritional point of view, edible flowers have beneficial properties for the human organism: very poor in fats and rich in nutrients such as minerals, proteins and vitamins A and C, they have a high quantity of antioxidants.

Collection tips

In flowers collection, we must be very careful not to collect poisonous species and to respect the nature. The flowers collection should be done in the morning, to preserve the scent and texture. Dew and pollen should be eliminated, shaking them gently.

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