{"id":3076,"date":"2009-07-27T09:00:13","date_gmt":"2009-07-27T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nybg.org\/wordpress\/?p=3076"},"modified":"2011-04-11T11:54:21","modified_gmt":"2011-04-11T15:54:21","slug":"tip-of-the-week-%e2%80%94-72709","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/2009\/07\/tip-of-the-week\/tip-of-the-week-%e2%80%94-72709\/","title":{"rendered":"Tip of the Week: Edible Flowers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\"\"<\/td>\nSonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education. Join her each weekend for home gardening demonstrations <\/a>on a variety of topics in the Home Gardening Center.<\/span><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\"daylily\"<\/a>Edible flowers are not to everyone\u2019s taste. Some are wonderfully fragrant and delicious, others are lemony, some are spicy and tangy, others taste green and weedy, and some even taste fishy. Edible flowers are a good way to add color and seasoning to your summer salads. They brighten up\u00a0herb butters and dress up\u00a0desserts. When added to a bowl of sugar or to a bottle of vinegar and left to steep for several weeks, they create inventive, tasty combinations.<\/p>\n

Some flowers need a little bit of preparation before they are ready to tickle your tongue. The sepals, stamens, and stigmas of some flowers such as borage (Borago<\/em>), tulips (Tulipa<\/em>), and daylilies (Hemerocallis<\/em>) should be removed before eating\u2014only\u00a0the petals are eaten.<\/p>\n

Pinks (Dianthus<\/em>) and roses (Rosa<\/em>) can have a bitter white edge at the base of the petal, which should be cut off before using. Some marigolds (Tagetes<\/em>) are divine, but\u00a0others are not\u2014try the lemon-flavored Tagetes tenuifolia<\/em> ‘\u2018Tangerine Gem\u2019 and \u2018Lemon Gem\u2019.<\/p>\n

For the best flavor, harvest flowers either when they are in bud or have just opened. Harvest on a dry day, mid-morning after the dew has evaporated and before it gets too hot. It is best to use flowers when they are fresh. They can be refrigerated for several days, but they do not dry or freeze well. <\/p>\n

You may have already eaten edible flowers without knowing it. Flowers are used to\u00a0flavor many herbal teas. My favorite is a lavender (Lavandula<\/em>) tea. There is a French cafe in New York City that serves a mean cup. It is simply an infusion of dried lavender flowers. If you go down to Chinatown, a traditional hot and sour soup will contain\u00a0\u201cgolden needles,\u201d\u00a0which are the dried petals of the tawny daylily.<\/p>\n

I\u00a0find edible flowers\u00a0sold by organic farmers at the market in Union Square. Upscale supermarkets such as Whole Foods also contain some salad mix that includes a nice array of edible flowers. Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum<\/em>) add wonderful color and a nice peppery flavor to salads. Pot marigolds (Calendula<\/em>), with their spicy flavor,\u00a0are my personal favorite for salads and herb butters.<\/p>\n

Warnings and Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n