Dandelions haven't been so much fun since Mama had a baby and her head popped off.
Foraging, if you hadn't heard, is the new repurposing. Going out and finding ingredients for your dinner either in the woods, your front lawn or ... if conditions are right, your neighbours back lawn.
Most foraging takes research, education, some professional guidance, and let's face it ... bravery. It takes a brave soul to a) rumble around the bush with all it's spiders and such, looking for an edible mushroom or leaf. Because spiders are scary. Of course there's the whole, if you pick the wrong plant you might poison yourself thing too. I'm much more frightened of the spiders.
But. I wanted to forage. I'm nothing if not willing to jump on every single food/farming bandwagon that comes along. In fact, I'm so into bandwagoning that if you are on that bandwagon and there's no more room for me, I will jump up on the bandwagon, shove you off, stamp on your hands as you hold on for dear life and laugh, hands raised over my head, as you tumble down the dirt road until you're nothing but a faraway spot with hair.
So this foraging business. It got me to thinking, if it seemed like kind of a pain and a bit risky to me ... the wild child of the farm world ... what must others think of it? I'm totally going to learn how to forage, but I needed an immediate fix. So I got my research cap on and went searching around the big, fat liar of an Internet to see what I had right around my house that could be eaten this very moment.
I found a lot.
And chances are if you have a regular type garden with pretty common flowers YOU have a lot in your flower garden you can eat too.
So, after researching I set out with a pair of scissors, a baggie and a set of teeth and a tongue. The baggie was borrowed (from my mom), the teeth and tongue were my own.
As you probably know by now, I can't present you with anything, or recommend anything that I haven't tired myself. So I gathered up all the flowers, sat down and ate em.
Here are my findings:
Edible Flowers & What They Taste Like.
Nasturtium: Not a lot of flavour, definitely wouldn't overpower any dish. Peppery with a hint of nutty sweetness. Beautiful flower for putting in salad or on an open faced sandwich as well as garnish.
Dandelion: Again not a lot of flavour, but there is some flavour there. Like plant basically. Others recommend pulling the petals off and scattering them over rice which I think would work well.
Rose: Roses taste like ... roses. Honestly. Probably best on a dessert item and garnish for cakes. The white part in larger petals can be bitter.
Impatiens: These were among my favourites. They're actually meaty and almost have the flavour of arugula without any bitterness. Would be FANTASTIC in salads. But go for rustic, not cutsey please. Oh hell. Do whatever you want. It's your salad.
Thyme Flowers: Very strong flavour of thyme. Use wherever you would use thyme. Would be really nice as a garnish sprinkled over a stew or any soup that has thyme cooked into it.
Squash Blossom: Very mild squash flavour. Beautiful smooth, velvety texture. Nice raw, but watch for a fried squash blossom recipe coming up soon.
Phlox: Surprisingly strong floral taste. Good for fruit salads. Only the perennial phlox is edible. Those are the ones that come up every year and are about 3 feet tall.
Tuberous Begonia: These were my hands down favourite. The flower petals have an incredibly strong lemony taste. Sort of a cross between rhubarb and lemon. The stalks and stems taste almost exactly like rhubarb, but a bit brighter tasting. It's that undertone of lemon. Use anywhere you want a punch of sour lemon flavour like salads, fish, garnish. They'd be beautiful floating in a glass of lemonade. Begonias should not be eaten by anyone with gout, kidney stones, or rheumatism.
Obviously this isn't a complete list of edible flowers. These are just the edible flowers I found around my garden or my mother's garden. Here's a good source I found with lists of edible flowers if you're interested in learning more.
Now come on! Hop on the foraging bandwagon with me. Honestly. I'm willing to shove off anyone necessary to make room for ya.
note: don't eat any flowers unless you're sure they haven't been sprayed with pesticide. Or urine. Duh.
Danielle
Great post! I've never actually tried any of these things, but I keep schooling my Dad (who wants to napalm my yard with weed killer) about the edible nature of dandelions, of which I have more of than grass right now.
Something in the neighbourhood has already eaten my impatiens this year. If they ever grow back, maybe I'll try a nibble.
Tracy
Hi Karen,
Your timing is perfect. I have overplanted yellow squash in my garden and am eyeballing the blossoms. I am assuming that any blossoms I pick will end th develpoment of a squash in that spot, but I think I have some to spare. Do I just pinch them off?
Also, how does one harvest beet greens without damaging the beet? Inquiring minds want to know....
Karen
Tracy - Just harvest the "male blossoms". Those are the ones on the long stem, that doesn't have a bulby looking thing at the base of the blossom. Those don't turn into squash, they're just used to fertilize the female blossoms. For beet greens just take a few, young greens from each beet, as opposed to cutting the entire top off one beet. Good luck! ~ karen!
Seb
Stuffed squash blossoms is a famous dish in Turkey especially in the Aegean area and they're delicious..
Langela
I haven't tried flowers, yet. I'm happy to leave the flowers on the plant, looking pretty. However, I do forage from the wild. Choke cherries, gooseberries, elderberries, and blackberries are some of what I've tried. I thought of trying the elderberry flowers, but didn't get to them in time this year.
LeeAnne Bloye
A few years back, pansies were served with a salad when I went to The Globe restaurant near Alliston, Ontario. It's an old inn. There used to be two inns but the owner of The Globe stood with her shotgun at the "town" pump so the competition could not put out their fire and the other inn burned to the ground. If you'd been around in the 1800s Karen, I'd bet she'd have pushed you off the band wagon Karen. Or perhaps just a kindred soul and you two would have rode around shoving people off the wagon all day. :-)
Natika33
I'm with Gayla - I would never pick wild mushrooms myself. There are several varieties that are nearly immediately fatal, a few that let you live for a few days while your liver slowly shuts down completely and a few that can make you just very unpleasantly ill. There's even one type that is totally harmless to eat unless you combine it with alcohol - in which case you'll likely hallucinate and be sick for awhile then recover, but not without the threat of permanent liver damage. Yay!
Flowers, however, are a different story. I want to try them too! Yay for more followers!
mimiindublin
I can't believe this! I was out foraging yesterday morning!
Rose petals, to be precise, to make rose petal jam, which is just done!
Yay, how do you think begonia petal jam would go down?
And a thyme flower or two on top of a ramekin of home made chicken liver pate (sorry Karen!), over the clarified butter, looks fab!
I'm on that bandwagon for sure, at least till the next person comes along and Karen kicks me off!
JebberA
Day lillies are edible too. My nephews go and eat them out of grandma's garden.
Melanie
"Begonias should be eaten by anyone with gout, kidney stones, or rheumatism." Is this right? Is it the 11th commandment? It is worded like it should be the opposite. I have had kidney stones and would love it if they could be treated with begonias!
Jillian
Last week I made the most awesome dish from Sorrel, Lamb's quarter and Dandelion all from my back yard. Highly nutritious and yummy.
Recipe:
Melt duck fat (or butter & olive oil) in a wide, deep frying pan.
Mince onions & garlic (or just one), caramelize in fat/oil
Pile in the greens (can use kale, swiss chard, collards but adjust cooking to texture of the type of green). It will seem like a lot but will wilt down to almost nothing.
Add chicken or bone broth, seasoned salt and just a bit of balsamic butter.
To change it up can use bacon & bacon fat, you know the Southern way but make sure you have homemade corn bread to go with it!
When wilted and tender and broth is absorbed, it's ready to serve!
Melissa
If you like lemony flavor, go for sorrel. While not technically an edible flower, the early leaves of spring sorrel should not be missed in - what we refer to at our house as - yard salad. What, and no mention of day lilies? Never mind that small percentage of people who get ill from them; they probably will get belly aches from begonias, too. Wusses!
Tigersmom
"or recommend anything I haven't tired myself"
It's good to know that you're going to wear those flowers out before you ask us to take them on.; )But you're just considerate like that.
I eagerly await the fried squash blossom recipe (not that I am necessarily capable of reproducing it). I had them once in a tempura batter and they were like the most lightly textured wonderful popcorny deliciousness.
Laura Bee
Begonias should be eaten by anyone with gout, kidney stones, or rheumatism? Whoops, had to google that one. Great post otherwise :)
Karen
typo ... been rectified. ~ karen
Sean Lewis
I'm sure Karen meant Begonias should NOT be eaten by anyone with gout, kidney stones, or rheumatism.
Karen
Yep. ~ karen
weirdrockstar
Pansies. We eat them every day with my kid. There are differences between petal colors. My personal faves are indigo and dark red leaves. They smell perfume-y and give a sweet taste on a delicately tangy side. Plus the petals feel velvety between the choppers. I toss the petals on salads, dishes, shove them between my sandwiches etc. Heaps of antioxidants and the works.
Highly recommended.
Krikit
Lots of fun, flower eating. ~:)
I also enjoy my Lavender, Ornamental Garlic, and Chive flowers. I use no pesticides...and I'm careful where I pee. ~;0)
Marcia O'Duggan
Love the Lost reference again! If you lived closer, I'd pop right on over with some rose petal jam for you to try! A bit floral-y but surprisingly tasty.
Rhonda "SmartyPants"
Well, now I'm confused -- your post says Begonias should be eaten by those with gout, kidney stones, and rheumatism; your link says they should NOT be eaten -- Oops?! Once you get the difference squared away, I will grant you Most Beautiful Edible Flower Post award because those pictures are plain ol' beautiful. Thanks for all you do - even the bandwagon invitation was a thoughtful touch.
Marie-Louise
Thanx for a very interesting post! Just for some additional info, Nasturtiums are a fantastic natural anti-biotic especially for upper resperitory infections. So chew 2 to 3 Nasturtium leaves 3 times a day and I assure you your chest cold will be gone almost immediately. Dandelions brewed into a tea helps for blood cleansing and renal infections.
I have turned my whole garden into a medicinal/edible garden, and I seldom go to the doctor for meds anymore. Just harvest, brew/chew, and Bob's your Auntie. :)
Gayla T
What's the deal? You usually post in the wee small hours of the morning. My mother-in-law was a great one for going out and picking stuff to eat and I learned to like a lot of greens that she picked. DO NOT EAT WILD MUSHROOMS unless you are with an experienced hunter and then look them up in a book. I have a friend whose brother thought he knew what the good ones look like and actually died. Evidently they completely destroy your liver past any hope of repair. He was a very smart guy,too. They say that anything that looks like what you buy in the store is dangerous picked in the wild. There have been some deaths in Europe lately because ones that were safe have mutated from polution and are deadly. I know Morels and Red Heads and that's it. I had heard Red Heads were safe and picked and ate them w/out looking them up but I sure would not now. Older and wiser. Or more scared. I've done roses, nasturtiums ans squash but I'm going to trust you and go taste my begonias and impatiens. I'll let you know if I like them.
Karen
Gayla - What you mean, what's the deal? I always post at midnight. Always, always. Have you been eating mushrooms? Certain, not normally found in the wild, mushrooms? I think, just to be safe, you should look in the mirror. Do you see yourself? Or do you see Cher? Or the smoke monster from Lost maybe. You should check. Just to be safe. ~ karen!
Gayla T
It usually posts at 1 pm my time and it's only 11 pm. I try not to spend time looking in a mirror as I keep seeing my mother. She's been dead for years so I don't know how she is running around my house and in every mirror I go past. I tasted my flowers. The impatiens tasted like nothing but the begonias were lemony good. I have the little pink ones with maroon leaves and they were very tasty. So,now you have me folling your trend. That makes you a trend setter. Wooo Hooo! Way to go!
Christina
Wow, Gayla, calm down! I'm a cautious but enthusiastic and experienced mushroom hunter, and I have to say yes! You SHOULD educate yourself! But it is entirely possible to make a positive ID based on a mushroom's appearance, habitat, and spore print. And if you're still not sure - well, don't eat it. Even if the mushroom's fine you'll make yourself sick with worry. The Puget Sound Mycological Society is one excellent resource: http://www.psms.org/edibility.php
Shauna
I agree about the mushrooms. My Dad who is a very experienced cook and general know it all;) almost killed the whole family (minus me) due to his thinking he knew what he was picking. Only because a Doctor friend happened to come by and saw how sick everyone was and called an ambulance was everyone okay. My Dad had to get his stomach pumped. Luckily, my Mom and little brother hardly ate any so they were just puking sick, not quite as deathly sick as my Dad was.