Did you know that some flowers can be lunch?
I grabbed my Edible Flower book and wandered around the yard, tasting. I eat whatever is in the yard that I KNOW is edible, including pecans, blackberries, mulberries, blueberries, tomatoes, wild cherries, figs and cucumbers.
Now I have added Edible Flowers to my “Okay to eat” list. I don’t use these flowers as a main course – they are too pretty blooming in the yard! I pick them as garnish and they add a special pop to any dish.
Some edible flowers are tastier than others. As I was walking around Big Mill B&B, I found that I have many edible flowers already growing here. So far, my favorites to eat are chive flowers and nasturtium flowers. The Nasturtiums are in the watercress family and have a peppery taste; they are great in salads.
I also serve pansies, Johnny-Jump-Ups and even Spiderwort. They really aren’t so tasty, but they are pretty and my guests love the presentation!
Before you go snacking in the gardens and fields be sure to find out which plants are safe. Good sites to test this are the “edu” sites. Just type into a search engine edible flowers site:edu. This will give you search results from academic and research-based sources. Also, do not eat flowers directly from the nursery or near roads. These might have been sprayed with toxins.
If you don’t have any edible flowers, don’t fear – you can BUY edible flowers from Amazon.com.
I grow every flower in these photos, even the Elderberry, which grows in the ditch here on the farm.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure you know what you are eating and eat in moderation. Many flowers can make you sick and some can be lethal.
To try all these wonderful Edible Flowers come see us at Big Mill B&B or give us a call 252-792-8787.
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