Edible Flowers

Spring is a favorite time of the year for me. It usually marks the end of cold weather and the beginning of green vegetables that we long for over Winter. Along with great vegetables come flowering plants, trees and vegetables from the Winter carryover. The flowers are not only pleasing visually, but also to the palate. Take, for example, arugula flowers. They have all the pepper and nutty flavor of arugula leaves but packed all into one intense bite. The pink flowering redbud trees stretching down the hillsides will remind you of fresh peas as you taste them. The yellow flowers from wood sorrel can add a great tart flavor to dishes you might find yourself normally adding lemon zest. The most important thing when using flowers is identifying which are edible and which are not. Once they are identified as edible, the fun begins as to what dishes you can find yourself elevating with fun, unexpected flavors.

The edible flowers shown in the photo are (left to right) multiplier onion flowers, chive blossoms and bachelor buttons.

– Chef Joseph Lenn