To most of us, the idea of eating flowers evokes the humorous image of someone biting into a rose, or chomping off the head of a daisy. Yet there was a instant not so very long ago that flowers we are an integral part of cooking. While most of us are aware that violets can be candied and nasturtiums eaten in salad, theres a truly amazing variety of flowers that are not only edible, but delicious!

A Candy Flower Garden for Your Sweet Tooth
Violets arent the only flower that may be candied! Many of the spring flowers with small, delicate blossoms have a sweet, slightly spicy flavor that is enhanced by dipping in sugar. It goes without quote that any flowers that you gather for eating should not have been sprayed with any pesticide by growing them yourself, you could be sure that theyre untreated. A Candy Flower Garden that blooms throughout the summer might include:

Violets of course! Purple, blue or white, violets are among the first flowers to bloom in the spring. They spread easily, and grow readily when transplanted into a garden bed and you do want to confine them to a bed unless you love the look of a full carpet of blooms spreading across your lawn.

Pansies A relative of violets, pansies are just as delicately flavored and could be used in most recipes that call for violets. They contruct beautiful border flowers, with their bright painted faces.

Angelica These delicate, lacy white flowers could be sprinkled in salads but the stems and shoots build a delicious traditional candy that tastes a bit like minty licorice.

Roses yes, roses! Candied rose petals and rose syrup were mainstays in Victorian cooking. Sweet delicately flavored rose syrup gives baklava its characteristic flavor, and is a perfect foil for cardamom in Indian recipes.

To candy flowers from your garden:
Violets and pansies can be candied whole. Roses should be separated into petals. Most recipes for candied flowers call for the use of raw egg whites. Because of the danger of salmonella, I recommend using a confectioners powdered egg white instead.

Mix powdered egg white according to package directions (equivalent of one egg white).

Spread a cup of superfine sugar in a flat bottomed pan. Carefully dip each flower into the egg white, then press into the sugar. Use a fork to gently turn the flower so that all surfaces of the petals are covered. Lift out of sugar and lay on a screen or drying rack till completely dry. Apple and cherry blossoms might also be candied the identical way.

A Soup, Salad and Savory Flower Garden

When I was growing up, one of the most special treats of early summer was my grandmothers fried squash blossoms. Dipped in egg and flower, then fried in olive oil with garlic, the blossoms have a sweet, nutty flavor that is like nothing else in this world. Other garden flowers that are delicious in soups and salads add :

Borage Like the leaves, borage flowers are delicious in salads and cold soups. They have a cool, cucumber like taste that translates well from flower garden to kitchen table.

Carnations The flavor is as spicy as the scent. Carefully separate the petals from the bitter white of the flowers base and sprinkle in salads for a surprising touch of color and spice.

Daylilies Like squash blossoms, day lilies have a mildly sweet, nutty flavor that many people think varies by color. Dredged in flour and dipped in egg, fried daylilies are a succulent vegetable.

Those are just a small sampling of the many edible uses of flowers from your garden. If youre interested in learning more, you will find excellent recipes and information on edible flowers at a number of web sites on the internet. DO be careful in your taste-testing. If youre not certain that a flower is edible do NOT eat it.