1. Safety First
Figure out if the flowers you want to eat are indeed, safe to eat. There are a lot of poisonous flowers out there, notwithstanding the number of edible flowers coated in inedible pesticides, and there are different varietals of the same flower which have different levels of toxicity. No matter what you read here or elsewhere on the Internet, know about the specific individual specimen you yourself are dealing with. Do some homework before you chow down.
2. Go slow
It’s best to use edible flowers as an accent, rather than construct a salad out of them exclusively if they are new to you. Also, you may want to clip the stem, pistils, and stamen from your flowers and just eat the petals (although there are exceptions–nasturtiums, for example, can be eaten whole).
3. Taste and Delight
Flowers do indeed have unique flavors. There are exhaustive lists detailing the different tastes of different flowers online, but in general, here are some ideas of what kinds of flowers complement sweet or savory flavors:
SAVORY & SALADS: calendula (pot marigold–but not French marigold); carnation; cowslip; daisy petals; day lilly; geranium; lavender; nasturtium; pansy; Queen Anne’s lace; violet
SWEET: chamomile; geraniums; lavender; pansies; rose petals; violets; and apple plum, peach, orange, lemon blossoms
TEA: geranium, hibiscus; honeysuckle; jasmine; lavender; lemon verbena; red clover. Steep the blossoms in hot water.
4. Thrills & Frills
Candied Flowers: use unsprayed flowers that have been rinsed clean. Keep their stems in water, but their petals dry. Beat a few egg whites until light and frothy and add a few drops of vodka (to aid in drying). Set aside a bowl of superfine sugar. Then, with a small paintbrush, hold the stem and paint the petals of the flower with the egg white (you cannot dip the flower into the whites; it’ll soak up too much). Dip the flower into the sugar and shake off any excess and set it to dry on wax paper. After they harden, store in an airtight container for months.
Flower Syrup: use a 1:3:1 ratio of water:sugar: flowers and boil until thick, then strain.
