If you love summer flowers in your garden, you may want to try using some edible flowers in your kitchen!
There are lots of edible flowers available at this time of year, so we thought we’d put together a guide of how you could use some of the most popular garden flowers in your cooking…
Roses – The true taste of the British summer! Rose petals are a wonderful ingredient for rose petal jam, rose petal panna cotta, rose petal shortbread, and, of course, your own homemade rosewater. That allows you to make your own Turkish delight, rosewater and raspberry fool, and cook up an authentic Kashmiri biryani rice flavoured with rosewater. Try a rose mojito, adding rose syrup to the rum, lime, mint leaves, and soda water.
Lavender – This versatile flower is a wonderful addition to many summer dessert dishes like lavender and blueberry scones, lemon and lavender posset, lavender shortbread, and lavender marshmallows. You could also try grilled duck breasts with a fragrant lavender-infused rub or cook salmon topped with a lavender and crushed pistachio paste. It’s also a key ingredient of the fragrant dukkah paste used with fish in the Middle East. It’s made with sesame seeds, toasted hazelnuts, cumin seeds, and coriander. Try these edible flowers with summer mackerel.
Marigolds – Use these colourful blooms in summer salads and as a garnish. You can also make marigold and orange biscuits, spring rolls with marigolds and nasturtiums, marigolds and pumpkin seed focaccia, and creamy marigolds rice. Try a blood orange and marigold margarita at your summer party!
Chamomile – These edible flowers are not just for chamomile tea! Try a vanilla bean and chamomile cake, chamomile biscuits, apricot and chamomile cake, chamomile tea scones, a chamomile tea loaf, or make a chamomile dressing for salads with extra virgin olive oil, honey, salt, pepper, and lime juice. Make a refreshing iced chamomile tea for hot, sunny days and serve over ice.
Honeysuckle – A fantastic flavouring for syrups, teas, and desserts, and the ideal flower to steep in vodka and serve with homemade lemonade. Make a honeysuckle ice cream and serve it with a salted almond brittle, make honeysuckle jelly, honeysuckle cheesecake, or honeysuckle and peach iced tea. A honeysuckle and meadowsweet spritzer is a cooling drink. Make it by making a sweet syrup with the flowers and add it to white wine and sparkling soda water. Make sure you use the flowers of an edible honeysuckle like the common and Japanese honeysuckles.
Lilac – Traditionally, lilac has been used to make a fragrant wine but it can also be a useful dessert flower. Try making lilac shortbread, lilac jelly, lilac syrup, and infusing salt with it. Lilac syrup will help you make a delicious icing and sponge cake, too. Add lilac syrup to tequila and lime for a lilac margarita or make lilac cordial for a summery soft drink.
Nasturtiums – Perfect for summer salads, the nasturtium’s edible flowers can also be added to a cooling chilled gazpacho, a garden focaccia, chargrilled summer vegetables, and spring rolls. Make a nasturtium flower soup with peppers, garlic, potatoes, and onion, or stuff the nasturtium leaves with rice, pine nuts, and beef. You could also make nasturtium leaf pesto.
Pansies – These lovely flowers are perfect for decorating the top of sweet biscuits and cupcakes. Try using them to decorate lemon curd tartlets, and watermelon punch.
Top tips
- When it’s hot, freeze your edible flowers in ice cubes and use them to give your cool drinks an added floral flavour. It also makes them look beautiful.
- Crystallise your edible flowers with a coating of egg white and a dusting of sugar. Leave them to harden for a few days before using them as a delightful decoration.
- Always be sure of what you’re picking. If in doubt, don’t eat it. Check whether the flower variety you have in your garden is edible.
- Pick young flowers on dry mornings before the sun gets too strong and reduces the colour and flavour.
- The most fragrant rose varieties will give you the best flavour.
Take a look at the amazing dishes Simon creates from seasonal ingredients in our sample menus.
