If you want to make your recipes look really gourmet and give them flair, try cooking with flowers. Edible flowers add beauty but also lots of flavour and interest. Flowers make wonderful additions to all kinds of dishes. You can use them in soups, salads, main dishes, appetizers and desserts. Flower bouquets are not only beautiful but they are a nutritious ingredient for your cooking.
Certainly not every flower is something that you can cook and eat but there are a large variety of flowers that are really very tasty. They add the decorative quality to your dishes and even nutritional value. There is nothing quite as lovely as flower petals floating in soup. When you want to impress your dinner guests, remember to make a visit to the florist for some edible flowers to add to your recipes.
The best flowers to use are the ones that have been grown without the use of pesticides. Let your florist know you are planning to use the flowers in your recipes and ask for their guidance. Be sure to clean these flowers thoroughly before using them like you would with any vegetable.
As a general rule for dishes that are sweet try using violets, citrus or apple blossoms and carnation petals. Main dishes do well with broccoli florets and herbs. Vegetables that have edible flowers are arugula, okra, broccoli, fennel, and the male squash flowers. The flowers of the arugula have a nutty taste like horseradish. The whole fennel plant is edible and the flowers taste like aniseed which goes well with salmon.
It is commonly known that the flowers of herbs add a fresh flavor to dishes. The herbs that have edible flowers are lavender, mint, basil, dill, sage, chives, thyme and rosemary. Sugar made from lavender makes an excellent sweetener for making tea, jelly and cookies. The rosemary has little buds that are good for cooking with any meat or can be added to salads. The flowers of dill go well in an omelettes while the flowers of the dandelion appear buttery but taste of pepper. The flowers of the chive have a gentle onion taste and they have a crunch when you bit into them so they are great for salads.
Other flowers that can be used in cooking come from the ornamental variety of flowers. They include chamomile, impatiens, violets, chrysanthemum, violas, nasturtiums, hollyhock, calendula, daylilies, rose-scented geraniums, bergamot and pansies.
For spicing up your salads or adding interest to your soup by floating flower petals is a good addition to your menu. Crystallizing hollyhock flowers are good dessert garnishments. The main dishes like omelettes, souffles, rice dishes and breads go well with calendula. There is a peppery flavor with nasturtiums and they pair well with guacamole or cheese. The day lilies taste a lot like asparagus so they work really well in a stir fry dish or in soups.
Trees and shrubs that produce flowers also have edible types like honeysuckle, roses, plum, peach, pear, apple and hibiscus. The petals of roses make a candy when crystallized and can also be made into a jam or jelly. Cakes decorating is always much better when edible flowers are used for embellishments. No matter which flower you would like to try, it is best buy them from a florist you trust. - 30241
Certainly not every flower is something that you can cook and eat but there are a large variety of flowers that are really very tasty. They add the decorative quality to your dishes and even nutritional value. There is nothing quite as lovely as flower petals floating in soup. When you want to impress your dinner guests, remember to make a visit to the florist for some edible flowers to add to your recipes.
The best flowers to use are the ones that have been grown without the use of pesticides. Let your florist know you are planning to use the flowers in your recipes and ask for their guidance. Be sure to clean these flowers thoroughly before using them like you would with any vegetable.
As a general rule for dishes that are sweet try using violets, citrus or apple blossoms and carnation petals. Main dishes do well with broccoli florets and herbs. Vegetables that have edible flowers are arugula, okra, broccoli, fennel, and the male squash flowers. The flowers of the arugula have a nutty taste like horseradish. The whole fennel plant is edible and the flowers taste like aniseed which goes well with salmon.
It is commonly known that the flowers of herbs add a fresh flavor to dishes. The herbs that have edible flowers are lavender, mint, basil, dill, sage, chives, thyme and rosemary. Sugar made from lavender makes an excellent sweetener for making tea, jelly and cookies. The rosemary has little buds that are good for cooking with any meat or can be added to salads. The flowers of dill go well in an omelettes while the flowers of the dandelion appear buttery but taste of pepper. The flowers of the chive have a gentle onion taste and they have a crunch when you bit into them so they are great for salads.
Other flowers that can be used in cooking come from the ornamental variety of flowers. They include chamomile, impatiens, violets, chrysanthemum, violas, nasturtiums, hollyhock, calendula, daylilies, rose-scented geraniums, bergamot and pansies.
For spicing up your salads or adding interest to your soup by floating flower petals is a good addition to your menu. Crystallizing hollyhock flowers are good dessert garnishments. The main dishes like omelettes, souffles, rice dishes and breads go well with calendula. There is a peppery flavor with nasturtiums and they pair well with guacamole or cheese. The day lilies taste a lot like asparagus so they work really well in a stir fry dish or in soups.
Trees and shrubs that produce flowers also have edible types like honeysuckle, roses, plum, peach, pear, apple and hibiscus. The petals of roses make a candy when crystallized and can also be made into a jam or jelly. Cakes decorating is always much better when edible flowers are used for embellishments. No matter which flower you would like to try, it is best buy them from a florist you trust. - 30241
About the Author:
For a wide variety of flowers to choose from for the perfect gift, visit Adam Fowler's Online Florist at ModeFlowers.com!
