Edible flowers can take a typical salad and make it incredibly beautiful. They can add color, texture, and creativity to your cakes, baked goods, and other dishes! Use these flowers to decorate your cocktails and more! We love using edible flowers from the garden to add color and flavor to our kitchen creations. If you are not using edible flowers from your organic garden in your kitchen, you are missing out! Here are some key things to know when using edible flowers.

Knowing Which Flowers are Edible

When deciding which flowers to add to your kitchen creations, it’s first important to know which flowers you can eat. Some flowers, while beautiful, are not the kind that you can eat. Here is a list of flowers that are edible and delicious.

Allium flowers: Allium flowers are flowers from the onion family. Flowers from common garden plants like chives and garlic have a wonderful onion flavor that pairs well with potatoes and other savory dishes.

Arugula: Arugula flowers are edible and have a bite that will add beauty and flavor to any recipe.

Basil: Basil flowers are one of our favorite flowers to add cocktails.

Borage: Borage flowers have a mild cucumber flavor. They are beautiful when frozen in ice cubes and added to a spring or summer iced tea.

Cilantro: Letting your cilantro go to flower is great for pollinators, and you can use the beautiful flowers in your dishes.

Nasturtiums: Nasturtiums grow almost wild here in Southern California. They have beautiful flowers and leaves that you can add to salads and other dishes. The flowers have a peppery flavor that is similar to arugula.

Calendula: Calendula is an edible flower and a medicinal plant. We use it all the time on the farm! You can add it to salads, and it’s beautiful when used to decorate baked goods. We also use it to make creamy salves that help our hands cracked from farming in the wintertime.

Chamomile: Chamomile flowers are beautifully dainty and make soothing teas. You can also add chamomile flowers to your kitchen creations.

Squash blossoms: Squash blossoms are edible and so versatile in the kitchen! You can stuff them, deep fry them, and more.

How to Harvest Edible Flowers

Edible flowers, like any flowers, are best when picked early in the morning. Cool morning temperatures will ensure that the plant has high moisture content. For the longest-lasting blooms, place cut flowers immediately in water and refrigerate them until use.

Considerations for Consuming Edible Flowers

When choosing to consume flowers that you can eat, make sure you research thoroughly as some flowers are very poisonous. This list is not meant to be exhaustive. When picking edible flowers, ensure you are picking flowers from your organic garden or an organic garden that you are sure has not been sprayed by any fertilizers, chemicals, or pesticides.