Most of the flowers we see used in world cuisine are often included in the form of teas, desserts and salads to some extent. They can also be added to a great number of different foods, such as ice cream, syrupy drinks, pasta and more. There are great possibilities between their aroma, taste and uses around some inventive cooking recipes. Before you decide on what flowers you may want to add to your diet, you will need to know a few things to make it safe for you to do so, which is information that some gardening experts may be able to provide.
Make sure you only eat flowers that happen to be a hundred percent edible. If you're not sure that's the case, then you will need to check for more information online or in various gardening books of your choice that may contain information. You should stick to eating the petals of your chosen flowers, but you must pay special attention to any allergies you may have when using flowers for cooking or salads. Smaller, gradual portions of the flowers should be introduced into your regular diet if you want to stay on the safe side.
You should make sure the flowers come from your own garden care efforts if you want to use them as food, since there is no guarantee that the ones sold by a florist have not been sprayed with pesticides in the process. You must also avoid eating flowers picked on the side of a road or public parks, as they may have already been polluted with exhaust fumes and pesticides. You can store your flowers by wrapping them in paper and refrigerating them in a closed and sealed container, allowing them to last for more than a week. The following few flowers are only a part of the many you can use in your cooking:
Violets are a wonderful, sweet and pleasant flower with a great taste for desserts, drinks and salads or even decoration of meals.
Allium are blossoms of the family of plants which include leek, garlic and chives among others. They are flavorful and often used in cuisines around the world as we all know, however what most people fail to realize is that their flowers are also edible and actually quite tasty, especially when they happen to be in season and freshly blooming.
Sunflowers are also edible beyond just the seeds. The bud itself can be steamed and then prepared in pretty much the same fashion as an artichoke.
Angelica stems can be prepared into a candy, but they can also be cooked with fish. However, for some people angelica flowers can be an allergen, so you would do well to double check to be sure if you're not allergic. Their colors are rose to lavender blue and their petals are quite pretty.
Pumpkin blossoms and squash are another type of flower you can introduce into your diet, whether they are used as stuffing, cooked with spices and cheese or something else. Families in Italy often use them as a traditional ingredient around the harvest season of their gardening efforts.