Beautiful to look at, good to eat. THE edible flowers can give a touch of elegance, perfume and taste to our dishes. There are different types and varieties, opening up a range of possibilities for obtaining dishes with different flavors and fragrances: the rose is used above all for sweets and jams thanks to its delicate scent and strong flavour, the violet recalls mint, the calendula it has an intense color and a peppery taste, the chrysanthemum flowers give a pleasant bitter note, while the borage tastes of watermelon.
If combined in the right way, edible flowers are able to enhance the simplest dishes and stimulate the five senses. For use in salads, risottos, meat, fish and desserts but also in cocktails and herbal teas: adding edible flowers to dishes or drinks is a pleasure not only for the eyes but also for the palate. And while until recently this art was reserved only for great chefs capable of measuring and balancing the use of flowers with other ingredients, it is possible to replicate or create dishes with edible flowers even at home.
There are many types and for all tastes: spicy, sweet, sour, spicy and bitter. Precisely for this reason, the floral culinary art requires careful study to balance all the flavours, always trying to maintain a basic balance. It is therefore not enough to put flowers or petals on the plate, you need to know how to propose them in the right way and with precise combinations.
Edible flowers have always been part of our gastronomic tradition. Just think of cabbage or zucchini, but roses, calendula and jasmine are also taking off in Italian cuisine. And as with many products there are good ones and poisonous ones, but their use in food is older than you think. The culinary use of flowers dates back thousands of years in civilizations such as the Chinese, Roman and Greek. Even in the Victorian period in England roses were used in the kitchen to add flavor but above all color to dishes.
Great allies of our body, flowers have remarkable nutritional properties. Low in fat, the edible flowers are rich in mineral salts, proteins, vitamins (A, C) and essential oils. They have a high water and fiber content, excellent for promoting proper digestion. Furthermore, they contain antioxidant substances thanks to the presence of flavonoids and cartenoids on which the color of the petals depends. For example, purple to dark red flowers have many anthocyanins, orange ones have high amounts of carotenoids, while white flowers have quercetin.
On the market they can be found fresh, dried or powdered but also grown at home. Once purchased, they can be consumed immediately or crystallize or dehydrate. In the first case, the petals are taken and first dipped in egg white and then in granulated sugar. They are then dried in the oven until crispy chips are obtained. In the second case, however, they are dehydrated at 60° until they always reach a crunchy consistency. Even if the flowers lend themselves to any type of cooking, it is advisable to use them fresh or dried, so as to preserve their fragrance and nutritional properties. When they are used as a filling, on the other hand, the presence of the dough manages to protect the flower against the heat. The important thing is never to wash them under running water and always check where they come from: they must not be contaminated by chemicals and insecticides.
Currently, i recognized edible flowers are over 50. The most used ones are: lavender, nasturtium, elderberry, magnolia, rose, geranium, tulip, cornflower, borage, dandelion, begonia, chamomile, daisy, carnation, jasmine, lilac, black locust, pansy, passion flower, calendula, mimosa, primula, dahlia and hyacinths.
Their use in the kitchen is no longer limited to garnishing, many chefs use flowers as the protagonists of their dishes. An example is Stefano baiocco, chef with two Michelin stars of the beautiful Villa Feltrinelli on Lake Garda, who has made flowers his forte. His salad is famous with over 120 elements including herbs, flowers and shoots grown or personally harvested by the chef.
Compared to the past, eating is no longer just a necessity but has become a moment of sharing, to live an all-round culinary experience. Thus we no longer speak of cooks but of chefs, with an excellent knowledge of food, in which they put their creativity and imagination at the service of beauty, proposing increasingly sophisticated and scenographic dishes. The maximum expression of a dish is the perfect balance between flavour, aroma and colour: all this can be found in a flower.
