| LCBO

Edible Flowers 101

Learn about picking, storing and where to buy.


""




Types

Edible flowers can be used to add a splash of colour to all kinds of foods, from salads to mains to desserts. Flower petals are a pretty and adventurous way to expand your culinary aesthetic and enhance your dishes.

1. Violets/Violas

Violets/Violas are sweet with a floral taste. The edible violet/viola plant can be used to make syrups, brew teas, be added in baked desserts and as garnishes on cakes. Flowers can also be added to salads and soups as garnish.

""

2. Lavender

Lavender’s initial sensory impact is a strong floral flavour and aroma, with subtle notes of herbaceousness, earthiness, and mint. Different varieties have undertones of fruit, smoke and woodiness. Use the complex culinary herb in moderation. Try it in hearty stews and wine-reduced sauces. It also adds a delightful scent to custards, flans or sorbets, and makes a beautiful garnish for salads, desserts and cocktails.

""

3. Marigolds

Marigolds have a refreshing lemony flavour with subtle spice. They add vibrant colour to dishes, and can be eaten raw or cooked and used in everything from savoury dishes to desserts, teas and cocktails.

4. Rose

Rose’s flavour depends on type, colour and soil conditions. While petals are intensely perfumed, their flavour is subtler and a bit fruity (think strawberries and green apples), with complex undertones ranging from fruit to mint to spice. The darker the petals the more pronounced the flavour. The miniature varieties are a beautiful garnish to ice cream and desserts. Larger petals can be sprinkled on desserts or salads. Petals can be used in syrups, jellies and sweet spreads. Be sure to remove the bitter white portion of the petals before using.

""

5. Pansies

Pansies are one of the most popular edible flowers, both because you can eat their sepals and because they come in such a wide array of vibrant colours. They have a fresh, slightly spicy, grassy and wintergreen undertone, which makes them a wonderful addition to salads, and they add a great splash of colour. They are also excellent dessert flowers. They can be pressed fresh into the icing of a cake or placed in a bowl of cut fruit.

""

6. Carnations

Carnations are crinkly, cheerful and have a sweet and spicy flavour. Culinary uses include being steeped in wine, candied, pickled, or used as a syrup base for cocktails and ice cream sundaes. They are great with rice dishes and bright additions to salads or as fresh toppings on savoury dishes.


Picking and Storing Tips

Edible flowers are often quite delicate and can wilt or spoil if they are not properly stored. A few simple steps can keep them fresher longer.

""

Mornings are the best time to pick edible flowers; that’s when they have the highest water content. Keep them on a dampened paper towel inside a sealed container. Wilted flowers can be revived by floating them in some ice water for a few minutes. Prepare them for eating just before serving in order to prevent further wilting.

""

Delicate flowers that have been removed from the stem, like pansies, violets, roses and nasturtiums, may only last 5 to 6 days in the refrigerator. Hardier flowers like herb flowers, chive blossoms, carnations and marigolds can last up to 10 days in the refrigerator.

""

Store fresh-cut lavender stems in a vase of water on the counter. They will last up to a week. But use as soon as you can for the strongest flavour and fragrance.


Local Resources

Edible flowers are mainly available from spring to late fall, depending on variety, with some available in colder months from greenhouses. Some specialty stores and wholesalers import some varieties all year-around.

Boncheff Specialty Produce

They offer a variety of specialty produce and edible flowers.
374 Olivewood Rd., Etobicoke

West Coast Seeds

They seek out the freshest, highestquality, untreated seeds for organic growing. 
Various locations, westcoastseeds.com

Ohme Farms

Ohme Farms grow specialty produce and edible flowers. 100km Foods is a  local food distributor in Toronto connecting chefs and customers with products from local farmers and producers. 
100kmfoods.com

Cheese Boutique Gourmet Foods

Located in Toronto, and family-owned since 1970 by the Pristine Family.
cheeseboutique.com




Edible Flower Recipes

These blooms can add beauty and subtle fragrance to your culinary repertoire.

Try these recipes.

""