Lynn Smythe
History of Edible Flowers
January 8th 2008 18:24
Sunflower - A Type of Edible Flower
A Brief Survey of the History of Eating Flowers
The history of edible flowers can be traced back thousands of years. For instance, capers (Capparis spinosa) are the flower buds of a Mediterranean evergreen shrub and have been used as a condiment for over 2,000 years in Europe. Dandelions were one of the bitter herbs referred to in the Old Testament of the bible. Edible flowers such as daylilies and chrysanthemums have been used by the Chinese and Greeks for centuries.
The use of edible flowers was carried on by the Romans who used mallows, roses, and violets in a myriad of dishes. The English would have been exposed to the uses of edible flowers such as borage and roses through their contact with the Romans.
Anglo-Norman cuisine of the 13th and 14th centuries utilized a variety of edible flowers such as roses, hawthorn blossoms and elder flowers. Hugh Platt's 1602 book Delights for Ladies includes recipes for candying flowers. Violets, cowslips, pinks, roses, and marigolds were used as natural food colorings during the Renaissance. The Portuguese first used the safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) in the 1700's as a substitute for the more expensive saffron.
Saffron comes from the dried stigmas of the crocus flower (Crocus sativus) and is very expensive to produce. Each crocus flower contains only three stigmas and it takes approximately 4000 flowers to make one ounce of saffron. The Europeans would have continued to use edible flowers after colonizing the new world.
Victorian Era
Edible flowers were very popular during the Victorian era (~1837-1890) especially as part of salads. The Victorians added a variety of items to their salads including violets, borage, primroses, gilly flowers (clove pinks) and nasturtiums. Many of these flowers could also be pickled to be stored for use during the winter months when fresh flowers were not available. They also candied violets and other flowers to garnish baked goods such as wedding cakes.
Edible Flowers in the Modern-Day
There has been a resurgence within the past 15 years or so to once again utilize edible flowers in home prepared meals. This renewal of flower cookery concurs with the organic health food movement. Americans have a renewed interest in eating and even growing their own fresh produce in lieu of consuming so much nutritionally inferior fast foods and using only commercially produced ingredients. Upscale restaurants and home cooks are using a plethora of edible flowers in their food and beverage creations. Magazines such as Country Living and Gourmet have featured edible flower recipes in recent articles.
Cooking with Flowers
Flowers can be tricky to work with. The delicate flowers and flower petals can quickly wilt or become mushy if they are cooked too long or drowned in heavy sauce or dressing. Many recipes call for the flowers to be added towards the end of the recipe or just prior to serving your meal.
Historical Colonial Uses of Edible Flowers
American colonists arriving from Europe brought with them the seeds of a variety of plants to grow in their gardens upon arrival in the new world. Among the seeds were a number of edible flowers including pot marigold and dandelions. Some historic colonial uses of edible flowers included:
candied flowers
dandelion flower jelly
dandelion flower wine
salads
rose jelly
syrup of roses
syrup of violets
The complete article, History of Edible Flowers, can be found on the Associated Content website.
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