Last year I gave a talk to the Mercian Herb Group on “Eating & Drinking Herbal Flowers”, I was reminded of the talk whilst browsing YouTube, I came across the following link Healthy Edible Flowers – Choosing and Preparing  it’s Caroline Holmes garden designer, writer and former Chairperson of the Herb Society, the embed feature had been disabled so I couldn’t add it to this post as anything but a link.

These days if your mention edible flowers the ones that automatically spring to mind are lavender, rose and violets, they’re the most common herbal floral delights that make syrups, sweets, cordials, scented sugars and deserts. But did you know that there are over 70 different herbal flowers that you can use in the kitchen?

Some of them may surprise you, the list I’ve put together so far and sampled the delights of includes:- Acacia, angelica, anise hyssop, apple blossom, basil, bergamot, borage, broom, calendula, catmint, chamomile, chicory, chives, coltsfoot, coriander, courgette, cowslip, daisy, dandelion, day lily (hemoerocallis), dianthus (clove pinks), dill, elderflower, evening primrose, fennel, feverfew, fuchsia, gorse, heartsease, hawthorn, hibiscus, hollyhock, honeysuckle, hyssop, jasmine, lavender, lemon blossom, lemon verbena, lilac, lime (linden), marjoram, marshmallow, meadowsweet, mimosa, mint, myrtle, nasturtium, orange blossom, oregano, pansy, pineapple sage, primrose, red clover, rose, rosemary, sage, salad burnet, salad rocket, scented geraniums, sunflower, sweet rocket, sweet cicely, sweet woodruff, tansy, thyme, tuberous begonia, valerian, vanilla (the stamen of Vanilla planifolia a member of the orchid family), viola, violets, wormwood and yarrow.

Strangely enough flowers are more commonly used in other parts of the world than the UK these days, in China and Japan jasmine, lotus and peonies are used in tea; chrysanthemums are fried in batter and added to soups and stir fries and they are rather fond of tiger lily stamens. In the Mediterranean, squash flower fritters are a summer delicacy and they still flavour their Sambuca with elderflowers. The French wouldn’t be without their lavender flowers which they add to both sweet and savoury dishes. Middle Eastern cooking is synonymous with roses and orange blossom whilst the Norwegians love to add dill flowers to their recipes. I’ll be including more herbal flower recipes in the future, but for now here is one of my favourite summer treats and a recipe that went down a storm with the Mercian Herb Group.

Chive & Thyme Flower Savoury

125g Cottage Cheese
125g Cream Cheese
I Tbsp Chive Flowers
1 Tbsp Thyme Flowers
1 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Crackers or cheese biscuits to serve

Place the cottage cheese and cream cheese into a bowl with a teaspoon of olive oil and beat with a fork. Add the chive and thyme flowers and stir, season with black pepper and place into ramekin dishes; oil the dishes first if you wish to turn the savories out onto a serving plate.

Chill well, and when chilled turn out on to a serving plate on a bed of salad burnet leaves and long pieces of chives. Decorate with whole chive flowers and salad burnet flowers. Serve with herb crackers or melba toasts.