fried tempura-style. She went on to say, "Most of the calendulas we tried didn't impress me as much as our simple pot marigolds, which self-seed right here in the garden. They have large flowers and nothing seems to affect them. I don't like 'Kablouna,' because you can't get the petals off the tight head easily. And I found Stokes's claims about their calendulas—all these so-called scarlet, gold, and apricot tones—to be an overstatement. The differences among them are very subtle."
Andrea told me they did a lot of experimenting with the flowers in the kitchen. For example, she picked two deep tubs—that's probably about ten gallons—of nasturtium flowers. She then asked the chefs to get creative with them, and they made a soup with potatoes and the nasturtiums. According to Andrea, it was a total flop. "It was really awful," she said. "It had kind of a slimy texture. So we found out that you can't use nasturtiums in great quantities; they have to be used quite sparingly." Their most successful way of using nasturtiums was to chop them and mash the bits into butter. The butter then looks like it has been laced with confetti, especially when borage and pansies are chopped up along with the nasturtiums, to get blue and purple. "It's very pretty," said Andrea, "and you can put it on pasta, steak, or toast. Alice [Waters] also found this to be a good way to use flowers that have started to wilt. Squash blossoms, too, are wonderful. The chefs stuff them with cheese, or chop and fry them and serve them over pasta. They also saute them with vegetables. Squash blossoms are very versatile and have a pleasant, delicate flavor."
Chez Panisse chefs use flowers not only in salads and butter but in many of their famous desserts. They put fresh flowers on cakes and souffles or candy them and use them whole or chopped. The sugar makes the flowers sparkle. "Very pretty on a chocolate cake," Andrea said. "The chefs sprinkle it on the sides and then, using a small doily as a stencil over the top, make a little design all the way around of sparkling, multicolored glitter. This glitter idea came from using the delicate candied flowers. It turned out to be a great way to use the broken ones."
The chefs love to use the flowers as flavorings in ice cream. Before making the basic custard mix, they steep the petals in milk for as long as it takes to flavor it—anywhere from a few hours to a day, depending on the intensity they want. Then they strain out the flowers. They aim to flavor the custard slightly stronger than they want the end result, because some of the flavor gets lost during freezing. The most successful flower ice cream, and Andrea's personal favorite, is anise hyssop, but the chefs have made ice cream with everything from rose petals, lavender, and almond blossoms to many of the scented geraniums.
"Over the years," Andrea concluded, "we've found that you really have to think about how you use flowers. They should enhance the meal, not just be thrown randomly onto the plate or into the salad. The flower garnishes, for instance, need to have some relation to the food. So thyme flowers in a savory soup or chive blossoms in a salad instead of onion would be great, but just floating pansies by themselves on a soup doesn't make any sense.
"I would definitely grow all the edible flowers again, even the hollyhocks. They're so beautiful, and it's fun to share them with your friends. And there may be ways to use them that I just haven't discovered. I think having a flower border that's entirely edible is a good enough reason in itself to plant it. People who visit the restaurant are delighted with the edible flowers. All in all, it seems a great way to combine the beautiful flowers in the garden with what you enjoy on your table."
interview
Alice Waters
Alice Waters is the proprietor and inspiration behind one of this country's most famous and revolutionary restaurants, Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, California. Although I had worked with Alice casually over the years, I never appreciated her vast range of talent and knowledge until I interviewed her specifically about edible flowers. While other chefs can talk about some of the most common edible flowers, Alice expounds on many with an excitement that's infectious.
"How do patrons react to flowers on their plate?" I asked. "The flowers are a fascination," Alice said. "People really focus on them and are very curious. Some people refuse to eat them, but about half will taste them readily. I like to serve them in such a way that they're tasty and accessible to people; a large flower by itself is a little intimidating. I like to incorporate Johnny-jump-ups or nasturtium petals in salads—or serve them in ice cream or butter."
I gave Alice the list of edible flowers I had compiled and asked her to comment on those she had tried. Her face brightened as she perused the list; she seemed to be able to replay the tastes and feelings of those she had used.
"Calendulas have a real nice flavor," she began. "Not too strong, but kind of peppery—even a little grassy. I use fresh petals in salads, or I like to dry them and use them in soups in the winter. Honeysuckle is good too," she continued. "It's very sweet and tastes just like it smells; it's quite extraordinary in some desserts. You don't need much of it, though, just a little spoonful.
"Lavender is wonderful. You can use it in both sweet and savory dishes, as a marinade for meats, or for lavender ice cream. I'm crazy about nasturtiums too. 'Empress of India,' which has a dark red color, has a spicy, peppery flavor. I enjoy using the 'Alaska' variety in salads because the foliage is so beautiful—variegated green and white. I also use nasturtiums to top soups, salads, or pizzas—for example, smoked salmon pizza. Just put them on top at the last minute so they won't wilt. In butters, the colors and flavors seem suspended.
"And certainly we have to talk about roses and violets. Rose petals are fantastic; they have all different flavors, depending on the variety. On one special occasion I used 'Damask' roses in ice cream and garnished it with deep red-orange 'Joseph's Coat' rose petals that had been dipped in egg white and sprinkled with sugar. Another time I chopped candied rose petals so they looked like little sparklies—very special. I find brightly colored varieties most effective. And we use fragrant violets in late winter; we candy them and then use them to garnish sherbets, or we fold fresh violets into ice cream just before we serve it."
Alice Waters is proprietor of Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley and one of the most influential chefs in the world of fresh produce.
The day I interviewed Alice, a gentleman from Texas called to find out if Chez Panisse was the restaurant that served edible flowers; he wanted to come try some. It seems that people are finding delight in trying new tastes, and Chez Panisse leads the way.
encyclopedia
of edible
flowers
The following entries detail what I consider the most versatile edible flowers. The basic cultural information on preparing the soil, planting, seed starting, watering, mulching, fertilizing, pruning, and controlling pests and diseases are covered in Appendices A and B (pages 92-102).
You may notice that a few species occasionally sold as "edible" flowers—bachelor's buttons, impatiens, and snapdragons—are not listed. There is no evidence in any of the historical or scientific literature to indicate that they are edible. Why then are they regarded as edible? I've been able to trace it all back to an article published in the late 1980s by a very reputable magazine. Upon calling the editor to see where the author had obtained this information, I was shocked to learn that the list came from a young grower who "thought," but had no proof, that these plants were edible. Two other flowers on that infamous list are stock and petunias. Although stock was eaten during famine in southern Europe, the question remains, Why didn't people
