Buffalo Rising Online

May 21st 2007, 7:54am By Adam Fix

A creative way to add a new touch to your cuisine this summer may be found in your own backyard- even if you haven’t planted any vegetables. Many common flowers are edible, and, when used properly, can add more than just decoration to your food and drink.

Now that lilacs are in bloom
She has a bowl of lilacs in her room
And twists one in his fingers while she talks.
"Ah, my friend, you do not know, you do not know
What life is, you who hold it in your hands";
(Slowly twisting the lilac stalks)
"You let it flow from you, you let it flow,
And youth is cruel, and has no remorse
And smiles at situations which it cannot see."
I smile, of course,
And go on drinking tea.
-T.S. Eliot, “Portrait of a Lady”

Perhaps, to the woman in the poem, you do not know life until you have tried lilac mixed with vanilla yogurt. With its perfumed, floral taste, it adds a nice accent for a quick and unique snack. She may also be referring to another delicious way to use the flower- as a candied decoration on cakes or pastries. Now would be a good time to give one of these ideas a try- but hurry, the lilacs may not be in bloom much longer.

A more common use of edible flowers is to make tea. Bee balm, for example, has a citrus, minty flavor that lends itself well to such an endeavor. Use 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flowers (stamens and pistils removed) for 4 cups water. Steep for 5 to 10 minutes, strain, and enjoy (perhaps the reason for the narrator’s smile at the end of the passage is his taste for Bee balm tea, which can be likened to Earl Grey).

Calendula (Pot Marigold) can also be substituted in the above recipe in place of Bee balm, producing a similar but slightly more bitter flavor.

For a cool, easy summer drink, try floating any of the following flowers in your drinks: Borage (crisp, cucumber flavor), Impatiens (sweet flavor), Violets, Johnny-jump-ups, and Pansies (sweet, perfumed wintergreen flavor).

Edible flowers can be found in the produce section at Wegmans (where the fresh herbs are kept) and at the fantastic Herbly Wonderful, located at 3701 Pearl Street Road in Batavia.

Editor's Note: Flowers sold in stores marked as edible are perfectly safe. But, please keep in mind that pesticides and fertilizers can make a common garden flower quite dangerous in terms of consumption. Growing your own varieties from seed is an ideal way to avoid potential contamination. Look to the Lexington Co-op for a good selection of organic seeds.