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How to use, preserve and enjoy edible flowers

As our thirst for growing our own food continues to bloom, the icing on the cake is the use of edible flowers. Botanical Stylist Carolyn Dunster has ideas and recipes to inspire you

Edible flowers are more popular than ever, whether for topping your fairy cakes, adding flourish to your floral syrups, or bringing a splash of colour to a salad. Carolyn Dunster has ideas to fill your kitchen, and your food, with the beauty and flavour of flowers.

Preserve and conserve

There are myriad ways to incorporate edible flowers into everyday dishes and the key is to experiment with their different flavours, tastes, and textures. It is possible to preserve and conserve garden-grown edible flowers following the same methods as fruits and vegetables, and use them for making syrups, jams, and pickles.

Floral syrups

Flower syrups form the basis of many floral recipes. They are a way of bottling the fragrance of a flower – not unlike making perfume – and provide a means of converting the original scent into a taste. Rather than distilling the natural essential oils, done through steam extraction in perfume production, it is possible to capture the scent by steeping flowers in a warm sugar syrup. Pick flowers at their peak, when they have had the warmth of the sun on them and will be most strongly scented, to provide the best results. Once bottled, flower syrups will keep for a year.

As a guide these are the quantities you will need:  

  • Elderflower syrup: ten heads of elderflower for each cup of water
  • Violet syrup: three cups of sweet violet flowers for each cup of water
  • Lilac syrup: two cups of lilac florets for each cup of water
  • Rose syrup: two cups of rose petals for each cup of water
  • Lavender syrup: three tbsp of lavender flowers for each cup of water

Floral jams

To make a few pots of floral jam you will need:

  • Five handfuls of freshly picked, scented flower heads or petals of your choice - best results are obtained from jasmine, roses, dianthus, lavender, violets, and lilac 
  • 460g (two cups) preserving sugar or granulated sugar
  • Juice from two lemons
  • 750 ml (25½ fl oz) cold water
  • Sterilised jam jars 

Floral honey

Unflavoured, clear runny honeys will take on the flavours of scented flowers.

Floral cordials

To make a floral cordial of your choice, use a handful of freshly picked, scented petals or flowers. Honeysuckle, lilac, hibiscus, elderflower, rose, or jasmine all make delicious, refreshing cordials.

Teas and tisanes

You can make floral and herbal teas and tisanes from any edible flowers, herbs, and foliage.

Flower and herbal flavoured waters and unsweetened juices

Although rose water will be the first floral water to spring to mind, you can make any kind of floral or herbal water with scented edible flowers or herbs. Flavoured waters can also be used in sweet or savoury batters, dressings and marinades, or mixed with icing sugar to drizzle over fruit salads or as frosting for cakes. 

Follow these instructions and substitute the rose petals for others of your choice:

Flavoured alcoholic drinks

Creating tasty alcoholic drinks is an effective option with edible flowers.

Floral sugar

To create a floral sugar, use perfumed flowers such as beebalm, lilac, or lavender, herbs such as rosemary, mint, hyssop, lemon balm or sweet cicely, or scented foliage such as pelargonium or myrtle leaves.

Floral and herbal salt

Make floral or herbal salts to use on dishes and in recipes in place of ordinary salt – the brightly coloured petals of cornflowers, French marigolds or clover will add some real zing to a plate of fried potatoes or scrambled egg.

Pickles

Pickles are a great way of using gluts of vegetables and make perfect gifts at Christmas or for birthdays throughout the year, but you can also pickle edible vegetable flowers such as fennel, or herb flowers.

Vinegars 

To make a floral vinegar you will need 500ml (17 fl oz) white wine vinegar, a handful of freshly picked scented edible flowers for a sweet vinegar, or herb flowers for a sharp vinegar, a sterilised jar or bottle with a lid for sealing.

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Oils

To make a herbal oil, use 500ml (17 fl oz) of light vegetable oil as a carrier. Avoid using nut oils, or even olive oil, as they already have their own distinctive flavour.

Salads

Mixed flower garden salads or green leaf salads topped with edible flowers are the best entry point for eating freshly picked flowers and it is the easiest way to introduce the idea to anyone who is uncertain – the beauty of the plate will win them over.

Crystallised or frosted flowers

This is the prettiest way to decorate cakes, cookies and desserts for a special occasion. Choose scented flowers for the best results: lavender heads, small roses and rose petals, violets and dianthus. The sugar coating will preserve the flowers for several months.

Ice cubes and lollies

Making ice cubes and lollies is another way to preserve edible flowers if you want to use them at a later stage. These can be added to soups, stocks and broths as required. Alternatively use them immediately in cold drinks for a visual effect.

Garnishes

Finally, for any beautiful garden-grown edible flowers that don’t have a strong enough flavour to earn their place as a single note ingredient, use them as garnishes. Think of your serving platters as alternative vases for arranging food and flowers together to create eye-catching displays that will instantly make everything look a hundred times more appetising.

A garnish of colourful, edible flowers finishes the look of a salad

Image credits: Carolyn Dunster, Joanna Yee, Nicholas Hodgson

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