ORGANIC AUTHORITY | Barbara Feiner 19.10.2006
If heiress/pop-culture diva Paris Hilton va exhausting a 15 minuts de fame in ancient Rome, les lladies-in-waiting would be serving her dishes flavored with saffron threads – most expensive spice on the platet – while the restan the us (Calendula officinalis, often referred a les "pot marigold" o "poor man's saffron").
Edible flowers have been used in international kitchens for thousands of years.
Vaig grind them into powder, to be used as spice, or adorn an elegant dish with brilliantly hued pètals. Purchase edible flowers a l'organic market, spice store, nursery o farmer's market, o start a l'organic gardening projecte que brightens your backyard.
According to OFA, Association of Floriculture Professionals, the top 10 edible flowers are calendula, chives, daylily, mint, nasturtium, pansy, rose, sage, signet marigold and squash blossoms. Altres favorits inclou chrysanthemum, dandelion, hibiscus, honeysuckle, lavender, sunflower, tulip and violet.
Summer és un lloc ideal per a organitzar gardening, and calendula – a hardy annual que produeixes orange or yellow flowers on a long stem – is one of the easiest edible flowers to grow, acordant to Jennifer Urezzio, founder of Blooming Grove Herbal Remedies.
"Calendulas will flower from mid-summer until frost. The normal height of the plants is 24 inches, and they like well-drained, light, sandy soil and full sun. Start seeds now. sprout and grow quickly.
Calendula petals have a zesty or peppery flavor, according to Urezzio. "Us heu d'utilitzar en soups o rice dishes," she says. "They work wonderfully if you're making herb butters or salads. The petals will add a yellow color to the dishes."
Gather violets (Viola odorata) and garnish deviled eggs, says Dr. Ty Harrison, a professor and chair of the Biology Department al Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.
He adds them en lemon gelatin and green salads, and "they can also be candied with egg white and sugar to decorate cakes and desserts."
“Mi wife and I grow the common showy milkweed (Asclepies speciosa) in our backyard to make milkweed-flower fritters," he adds.
"Small clusters de milkweed flowers són picked at their peak in early summer. We dip them in light batter and deep-fry them for few seconds until light brown and crisp. Sprinkled lightly with cinnamon and sugar, the delicate fragrance of the milkweed flowers can be detected, along with the crunch. I pickle the young, 1" milkweed pods and use them als capers or hors d'oeuvres.
Regardless de les edible flowers es col·loquen en grow. "Hi ha un gran nombre d'orgànics orgànics en el mercat totay. I suggest checking with your local garden store." One last note of caution: Never eat flowers unless you are sure they are edible!
Read the full article written by Barbara Feiner in Organic Authority.
