Janet Nutt of JanBil Farms/Country Cuttings in Cedartown brings bouquets and loose stems of flowers and herbs to the Marietta Square Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. Most of those flowers are going into arrangements to brighten her customer’s homes, but some of those flowers will find their way into salads and onto desserts.
Eating flowers may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you see her colorful blossoms, but flower cookery dates back to ancient times and is actually common in many cultures. Tempura day lily blossoms anyone? Goat-cheese stuffed squash blossom as a first course? Rose petal jam with your tea and crumpets?
When you begin researching it, there are dozens of edible flowers. Over the growing season, Nutt can offer bachelor buttons, pinks, hollyhocks, marigolds, bee balm, nasturtiums, hyacinth beans and snapdragons along with many other flowers. She'll have flowers from elephant garlic available for the next few weeks and if you don't eat them, you can dry them for your flower arrangements.
Herb blossoms are another option. Mint, rosemary, sage, chives, borage, dill, lavender and scented geraniums are just a few of the herbs whose flowers are most commonly enjoyed.
And the blossoms have distinct flavors. Herb blossoms taste like their leaves but with a more floral note. Chive and garlic blossoms are flowery versions of their leaves and bulbs. Nasturtiums and radish blossoms are peppery and the only way to describe rose petals is that they taste like the essence of rose.
Not every flower is edible. You need to do a little research.
One rule of thumb is that a flower that produces a vegetable or fruit is edible. Think of those squash blossoms, but know that you can eat apple blossoms, blueberry blossoms and even banana blossoms, most commonly used in Southeast Asia cuisine.
Perhaps the most important rule of thumb is to never eat any flower that could possibly have been sprayed with chemicals. If you’re not growing your own edible flowers, be sure you buy them from a farmer you trust. Never eat the flowers you find along the roadside or even in a neighbor’s garden if you don’t know how they were grown.
If you can get your edible flowers on the stem, just put them in a vase of water and enjoy them on your countertop before you add them to your meal. If you buy flowers off the stem, a day or so stored in moist conditions (a damp paper towel in a plastic container) is about all you should expect.
For an unusual garnish that can be absolutely stunning, consider adding a few blossoms to your next dish.
At local farmers markets
Cooking demos:
6 p.m. Thursday, May 24. Chef Seth Freedman of Ruby Root Connections. East Atlanta Village Farmer's Market, Atlanta. www.farmeav.com
9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 26. Chef Britt Cloud of Sprig, working with grits. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com
10 a.m. Saturday, May 26. Chef Justin Burdett of Miller Union. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
11:30 a.m. Sunday, May 27. Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene/Holeman & Finch Public House. Grant Park Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.grantparkmarket.org
For sale
Vegetables and fruit: arugula, Asian greens, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, chard, cucumbers, dandelion, endive, escarole, garlic, green onions, herbs, kale, lettuce, mache, mushrooms, mustard greens, pea tendrils, peaches, potatoes, radishes, spinach, strawberries, sugar snap peas, summer squash, tomatoes, turnips, zucchini
From local reports
Flower Cupcakes
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes
Makes: 24 cupcakes
Flower Cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup milk
Flower Buttercream (see recipe)
1 cup mixed edible flowers and petals
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until mixture is completely smooth, about 4 minutes. Stop mixer, add baking powder, vanilla and salt and mix until just combined. Stop mixer, add eggs and mix until just combined. Stop mixer, add flour and mix until just combined. Stop mixer, add milk and mix until just combined.
Spoon 1/3 cup batter into each muffin cup. Bake 20 minutes or until tops just begin to brown and cake is set. Remove from oven and set cupcakes on wire rack to cool.
When ready to serve, frost cupcakes with Flower Buttercream and top immediately with edible flowers. Serve immediately.
Per cupcake, with Flower Buttercream -- 266 calories (percent of calories from fat, 42), 3 grams protein, 36 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 13 grams fat (8 grams saturated), 67 milligrams cholesterol, 104 milligrams sodium.
Flower Buttercream
Flower waters are available very inexpensively at some grocery stores, Whole Foods, DeKalb Farmers Market, Buford Highway Farmers Market and stores carrying Arabic groceries.
Hands on: 5 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes
Makes: 2 1/2 cups buttercream
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon rose flower water, orange flower water or vanilla
Red or yellow food coloring
Heavy cream, if needed
In the bowl of a food processor, combine butter and sugar and process until smooth. Add desired flavoring and one drop food coloring. We used red food coloring with rose flower water and yellow food coloring with orange flower water. Process until smooth. If frosting is too thick, add heavy cream by drops until the right consistency is reached. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before frosting cupcakes.
Per serving: 76 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), trace protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 4 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 10 milligrams cholesterol, 1 milligram sodium.
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