Edible Flowers Add A Dash Of Spice To Your Life

Are your dinners begging for a little extra zing, your taste buds clamoring for a change of pace? How about adding flowers to your menu? Edible flowers - with their charming colors, shapes and distinctive flavors.

Flowers? Not on your plate, you say. When was the last time you ate broccoli or drank a cup of herbal tea? Sure enough, it was the flower you were a tastin’. Edible flowers have been used for centuries as medicine, as zesty flavoring, as teas and as delightful garnishes.

You may be familiar with a few of the more notable edibles - nasturtiums, pansies, borage, roses, daylilies, lavender, safflower, even squash blossoms … but are you familiar with these food enhancers?

Bee balm (monarda) - a 3- to 4-foot-tall plant with brightly colored, raggedy flowers that attract bees and butterflies:

Though the flower petals of this plant have traditionally been used in the making of a sweet, citrusy tea, called Oswego tea (after the Oswego Native Americans), bee balm is often used in garnishes, sauces and as a bit of color and flavor in breads. Since the plant is a member of the mint family, a bit of mint flavor can also be detected in the recipes.

Chrysanthemums (Dendranthemaes is now the official botanical name):

Chrysanthemums, or Dendranthemaes, have graced fall gardens since before the time of Christ. Not only were they loved for their colorful formal flowers, but the tangy, bitter petals were also treasured as a food source.

Chrysanthemum petals can be used as a garnish, as a tangy flavor to salads and as a tea. It is advised that the base of the petal be removed, since it is very bitter.

Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), a prolific vine with highly fragrant, trumpet flowers:

Even though there are many varieties of honeysuckle that can be grown in the garden, ONLY Lonicera japonica is edible. At the base of the trumpet flower is hidden a pocket of deliciously sweet nectar. This is why hummingbirds adore this vine.

To remove the nectar, gently snap the top of the flower just above its base. Carefully pull the flower back to reveal the nectar. Enjoy.

Use honeysuckle flowers to make tea and special desserts.

Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) a member of the olive family:

Most all of us enjoy the sweet perfumed fragrance of lilacs, but have you ever thought of eating them? Though some have very little if any flavor, the old-fashioned fellows make great tea as well as sweet flavorings in sauces.

Redbud (Cercis canadensis) - a small tree with pealike flowers:

The bright pink flowers of this beautiful tree can be harvested in bud form or as open flowers. The flowers and buds have a crunchiness to them, making them especially suitable in salads. The flowers and buds can be added to many vegetable dishes or used by themselves in soups. For something extra special, try pickling the buds. The many ways of using redbud could be a full chapter in Martha Stewart’s Living magazine.

If you’re going to venture into the flower kingdom for a meal, here are 10 rules suggested by Cathy Wilkinson Barash, author of “Edible Flowers.”

1. Eat flowers only when you are positive they are edible.

2. Just because it is served with food does not mean a flower is edible (see rule 1).

3. Eat only flowers that have been grown organically.

4. Do not eat flowers from florists, nurseries or garden centers (see rule 3).

5. If you have hay fever, asthma or allergies, do not eat flowers.

6. Do not eat flowers picked from the side of the road. They are contaminated by car emissions (see rule 1).

7. Remove pistils and stamens from flowers before eating. Eat only the petals.

8. Not all flowers are edible. Some are poisonous.

9. There are many varieties of any one flower. Flowers taste different when grown in different locations.

10. Introduce flowers into your diet the way you would new foods to a baby - one at a time in small quantities.

Colorful faces of pansies covered in sugar crystals; fresh flowers, frozen in ice and floated in pitchers of lemonade - now that adds charm and delicious zing to the meal.

, DataTimes MEMO: Phyllis Stephens is a horticultural consultant and landscape designer in Spokane.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Phyllis Stephens The Spokesman-Review