• facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
InspireHealth
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Mission, Vision, & Values
      • Strategic Plan 2020-2024
    • What We Do
    • Our Team
      • Join our Team
    • Board of Directors & Advisors
    • Partners
    • Founders
    • Reports
  • Programs
    • Class Schedules
    • Get Started
    • Our Approach
    • Programs
    • Clinical Services
    • Classes
  • Online Classes
    • Online Schedule
    • Online Centre Overview
    • Online Meditation
  • News & Events
    • A Night to Inspire 2020
    • COVID-19 Update
    • In the News
    • Events Calendar
    • Rain Walk
    • Past Events
      • A Night to Inspire 2019 – Vancouver Highlights
      • InspireHealth Rain Walk 2019
      • A Night to Inspire – Vancouver – 2018
      • A Night to Inspire – Victoria – 2018
    • Supporters
    • Honours and Awards
  • Resources
    • Research Updates
    • Blog
    • Recipes
    • Leaflets & Posters
    • Guide References
    • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Locations
    • Volunteer
  • Donate
    • Make A Donation
    • Become a Monthly Donor
    • Legacy Giving
    • Gifts in Kind
    • Why Donate?
    • Become a Society Member
    • Become a Partner of InspireHealth
    • Purchase the Cookbook ‘Inspired Cooking’

Blog

  • Your path to better health Get Started
  • Support InspireHealth Donate
> Blog > Petal Power – The culinary use and nutritional value of edible flowers
InspireHealth

Petal Power – The culinary use and nutritional value of edible flowers

July 16, 2015 Recipes and Nutrition

 

To find our food visually appealing goes far beyond the superficial; it stimulates digestion in the same way that smelling a delicious meal can make your mouth water.   The art or nourishing one’s self is meant to be a multisensory experience and what better way to create this than the use of edible flowers.

From the scent and color to nutritional value, adding a few petals to even the most basic of dishes ups the culinary wow tenfold.  They can be used to garnish everything from salads and soups, to meat and fish dishes, iced teas and desserts.

Below are just a few of the many edible flowers to choose from.  While many of these are widely available commercially, keep in mind that the majority of store-bought plants are heavily sprayed.  Ensure that when choosing flowers for culinary use, they are organic or wild-growing and make certain you have confirmed the identity of the flower before eating it.

The focus in general is to use the petal and discard the inner stamens and styles, which for those with a pollen allergy may cause trouble, otherwise, indulge in power of the petal and bon appétit!

Marigold – Also known as calendula, marigold is commonly used topically for its calming and soothing properties, but did you know that the flower petals of all marigolds are edible?  They add an incredible punch of color to salads or cold summer soups and lend a mild peppery to bitter flavor.  The bright red, yellow and orange colors indicate a high flavonoid content, which provides antioxidant and immune system support, along with a hit of vitamin C.  

Dandelion – This ubiquitous plant which many regard as a pesky weed is entirely edible and offers many nutritional benefits from root to leaf to petal.  The green leaves are the more commonly eaten part of the plant but before opening, the young, small buds have a honey-like sweetness and, once they flower, the yellow petals add a beautiful addition to rice dishes, pasta or salads. They also provide an array of vitamins and minerals including beta-carotene.

Be sure to pick dandelions away from roadsides or public spaces where chemicals are often present and harvest them from organic gardens or green spaces that you know to be clean. 

Lilac – The flowers of the lilac are intensely perfumed and offer lemony undertones to a dish.  A little goes a long way with this one. 

Nasturtium – This beautifully vibrant flower is a cousin to the brassica family (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage etc.) and has a sweet, peppery flavor to it.   They are great for garnishing meat, fish or vegetable dishes and bring any salad to life. 

Nasturtiums also offer wonderful nutritional benefit.  A 2009 study by the Universidad Nacional de Colombia identified the bright pigments of the nasturtium as having the same phenolic compound as blueberries.  This compound, called anthocyanin, is shown to help neutralize the damaging effects of free radicals and exhibit anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anti-cancer effects.

Pansy – The decorative properties of this flower are the real draw as there is not much flavor to the petals.  However, the nutritional properties of this flower also offer incentive for its use. Similar to the nasturtium and many other edible flowers, the brightly colored petals of the pansy provide significant antioxidant support and have been shown to offer cellular protection due to the presence of powerful polyphenols.  The whole flower of the pansy can be used and makes a great addition to fruit salads. 

Rose – The essence of this flower is commonly used in Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines, where rose water can be found in many recipes and lends a delicate, floral hint. However, the entire petal can be eaten. Rose petals can be intensely perfumed, so a little goes a long way. Their flavor is slightly fruity and milder than their scent would lead you to believe.  When adding to a dish, remove the bitter white base of the petal and be sure to use organically grown roses. 

Squash/zucchini blossoms – If you find yourself growing zucchini in your garden this year expand your harvest by collecting more than just the fruit and treat yourself to some of the flowers as well.  There are both male and female flowers on the squash plant.  As the female flowers are the ones that will end up baring fruit, you’ll want to avoid or limit how many of them you harvest and focus on picking the male flowers only.  These can be identified by the long, winding stems to which they’re attached.  The female blossoms grow closer the center of the squash plant, on shorter, stubby stems.

The blossoms themselves have a mild squash like flavor and can be stuffed with savory ingredients such as goat cheese and herbs or rice and like any flower used to garnish almost anything.

Regardless of how you use them, a few petals can make the experience of eating both artful and nourishing.  Experiment, enjoy the season and allow yourself to think outside the box of what we eat in the plant kingdom. 

About the Author
 
Hillary Krupa, RNCP, Nutritionist, InspireHealth – Vancouver Island Victoria

As a holistic nutritionist, Hillary encourages healing and balance through the use of whole foods.  She has seen how foods in their purest, most unadulterated form can serve as practical, powerful and fundamental parts of healing.

Comments

  1. Audrey Rezanoff says

    July 15, 2016 at 2:32 pm

    Many thanks for this timely article. Will use some flowers when I prepare luncheon for a birthday celebration for my 81 year-old dear friend!

    I so enjoyed a retreat out on Hornby Island in May of 2015, & all of the flora that abounded there!

    I pass on the HANS newsletters via e-mail to members of the Healthy Okotoks Coalition. Most of them have wonderful gardens, although the hail has been unkind to this area this past month.
    The annual garden tour had to be cancelled due to the devastation. The plots in our Community Garden were hit as well. No green & yellow beans for me this year! The spinach & lettuces are now unrecognizable.

    Cheers, AXR

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Audrey Rezanoff Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog

  • Research Update – January 2021
    Jan 05, 2021

    Russo, E., Nannini, G., Diny, M., et al. Exploring the food-gut axis in immunotherapy response

  • The Benefits of Movement
    Jan 05, 2021

    ‘A new year’…three words, one sentence. Thinking about the upcoming year, we may notice a

  • The Gift of Rest
    Dec 04, 2020

    “How shall I live?” This is a question that has been asked by many contemplative

Let’s Get Social

inspirehealthbc

Supportive Cancer Care organization in BC, Canada. Programs & services to enhance quality of life, health & well-being of people living with cancer.

InspireHealth
We invite you to take time this weekend to smile, We invite you to take time this weekend to smile, breathe and go slowly. #weekendquotes #quoteoftheday
.
.
.
.
.
.
#inspirehealth #inspiredaily #cancercare #cancersupport #physicalhealth #mentalhealth #emotionalhealth #mindful #mindfulness #smile #breathe #goslow #stressreliever #stressmanagement #heal #healing #weekendquote #takeiteasy
✨ Youth Workshop Announcement ✨ On Saturday, ✨ Youth Workshop Announcement ✨ 

On Saturday, January 30th, InspireHealth Clinical Counsellor, Genevieve Stonebridge, will be conducting a mindfulness workshop @yacancercanada Young Adult Cancer Canada's (YACC) 2021 SURVIVOR CONFERENCE: CHILL. 
 
"Observe Not Obsess: Mindfully Exploring your Emotions" will explore how by building self-awareness, we can learn ways to communicate, self-soothe, and regulate our emotions. And, explore how to be with feelings in a mindful way.

If you or someone you know is a youth with cancer or supporter (aged 18-39), please join us, share this post, or tag a friend. ⠀
⁠⠀
Register for #YACCSC21 at https://distanttarn.com/

Learn more about the conference at https://www.youngadultcancer.ca/program/survivor-conference/
.
.
.
.
.
.
#inspirehealth #inspiredaily #cancercare #cancersupport #cancer #cancerworkshop #mindfulness #cancersurvivor #conference #youngadults #youthcancer #youngadultscancer #cancercanada #cancerbc #cancerprofessionals #cancerhelp #ayacancer #youngadultcancer #yacancer #ayacsm
Sunrise over rolling clouds. #meditativemoment #m Sunrise over rolling clouds. 
#meditativemoment #mindfulmoments
.
.
.
.
.
.
#inspirehealth #inspiredaily #cancersupport #cancercare #meditation #meditate #peace #peaceful #sunrise #sun #sunshine #clouds #fog #nature #tranquil #tranquility #calm #calmness #serene #serenity #mindful #mindfulness #relax #relaxation #relaxed #stillness #innerpeace
There are many sources of ‘externally-created’ There are many sources of ‘externally-created’ stress in our lives, especially during these restrictive times. 

For example, our increased exposure to mass media can unconsciously sap our energy and have negative impacts on our lifestyle.

Fortunately, there are some simple solutions that we can use:

* Be discerning about what we choose to watch and read
* Read books and articles that celebrate human nature
* Remove ourselves from negative TV and social media imagery
* Spend socially distant/online time with those we enjoy

Let's be sure to watch for and minimize our external stressors. Most of us can be unaware of the degree to which we are affected by them.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#inspirehealth #inspiredaily #cancercare #cancersupport #cancer #cancercanada #bccancer #stress #stressreliever #stressrelief #massmedia #media #socialmedia #takeabreak #positiveenergy #goodnews #selfcare #healthandwellness #takecareofyourself #takecare #mentalhealth #positivemindset #positivethinking #positivethoughts #positivevibes #positivity #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthawareness #mentalwellness
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Newsletter Sign-up



InspireHealth Newsletter
Stay connected with updates, health tips, recipes, and stories
Online Programs
Get weekly reminders with links to our online classes
Research Updates
Get up to date research from our specialists

Inspired Health
  • Get Started
    your path to better health

  • Donate
    support InspireHealth

  • About Us
  • Programs
  • Get Started
  • Join Our Team
  • Privacy Policy: Patient Information
  • Newsletters
  • Founders
  • Privacy Policy: Donor Information
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Research
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube

Charitable Registration Number #108 103 920 RR0001 Call us: 604.734.7125 or Toll Free 1.888.734.7125

© 2021 InspireHealth. All rights reserved. Site design by SWCA