They help us celebrate joyous occasions, proclaim friendship or love, and console the bereaved. They bring nature’s beauty into our homes, add color to our world, and proclaim the arrival of spring. And they taste pretty darn good too. I’m talking about flowers, of course. They’re popping up on plates in restaurants all over the country… and they’re not just garnishes. More and more, chefs are using edible flowers to add vibrancy and flavor to their culinary creations, but this practice is not a new trend. It’s actually the resurgence of an ancient tradition.

The history of edible flowers can be traced to Middle Eastern and Asian cultures as far back as 140 B.C. In the Old Testament book of Exodus, the Bible mentions eating the Passover meal with “bitter herbs,” one of which was dandelions. The Greeks and Chinese have used flowers such as daylilies and chrysanthemums in recipes for hundreds of years, and the Romans were known to include mallows, violets, and roses in their cuisine. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Anglo-Norman recipes called for hawthorn blossoms, roses, and elder flowers. Flowers were also used as a natural food coloring during the Renaissance period, and found their way into salads and other dishes during the Victorian era. Candied flowers as toppings for cakes and other baked items were also highly popular in Victorian culture, as well as rose petals dipped in honey (used to sooth sore throats). Even early American colonists used flowers for such things as syrups, jellies, wines, and salads, while Native Americans often included cattails, red clover, and squash blossoms in their recipes.

Lee Jones, of the Chef’s Garden in Huron, Ohio grows 30 to 40 different edible flowers at his sustainable, organic farm. And though for a time these dainty delights were considered out of vogue, even “passé” by many chefs, he has seen a recent resurgence in their popularity and a new respect for them as well. He states that chefs are now taking the concept of edible flowers beyond a mere garnish and seeing them as more than just a visual complement to a meal. They are pairing them much as they would with a fine wine. In fact, Jones has even learned that products he wouldn’t have previously considered saleable have become desirable. A visiting chef actually leaped from a moving vehicle while on a tour of the farm to stop a field of yellow-flowered bok choy that had “bolted” from being plowed under. Lee learned from that chef that every stage of a plant’s life “offers something unique to the plate.” The Chef’s Garden now sells its bok choy in eight separate stages of growth.

If the concept of consuming flowers seems a bit foreign to you, consider this: common vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, and asparagus are actually immature flowers. Cloves are dried, unopened buds of an evergreen tree, and capers are the buds of a wild Mediterranean evergreen shrub.

A large variety of the herbs that are common in modern cuisine also produce flowers that are edible. Basil, sage, rosemary, oregano, chives, lavender, and comfrey blooms taste like a mild version of the herbs themselves. And a great number of everyday fruit and vegetable plants and trees have edible flowers as well. Humble vegetables such as garden peas, radishes, okra, and squash have highly palatable blooms, as do fruits like strawberries and lemons. Even Florida’s state flower, the orange blossom, is edible.

Blooms one would normally associate with special occasions or flower gardens can also be a beautiful, interesting, and tasty addition to meals and desserts. Day lilies, gardenias, hibiscus, jasmine, lilacs, pansies, signet marigolds, evening primrose, and roses (to name just a few) are all edible. The popular 17th century green liqueur Chartreuse was made with the “secret” ingredient of carnation petals. Even the great American patriot and epicurean Thomas Jefferson purportedly enjoyed the peppery flavor of nasturtiums in his salads.

If you’re exited about the endless culinary possibilities of flowers, there are a few “rules” to learn before you start noshing. Nursery, florist, or garden center flowers are not food quality blooms since they are usually sprayed with pesticides and fertilizers. Be sure to obtain only organically grown blooms for consumption. Those with allergies, especially to pollen, should consult a physician before eating flowers. Not all flowers are edible, either, so be very sure of what you are choosing, or buy from an edible flower specialist.

Health food stores and organic markets are great places to find edible flowers, or many varieties are easily grown in window boxes or home flower and herb gardens. Usually only the petals of the flowers are consumed, after the pistils and stamens (which can be bitter) are removed, though there are some varieties that can be eaten whole. A few flowers like roses and daisies have a bitter white “heel” at the base of their petals, which should also be removed before adding them to recipes.

Edible flowers should be picked in the cool of the day and washed in a strainer placed in a bowl of cold water, then gently patted dry. Harvested flowers do not have a long “shelf life” and are best when consumed quickly, though some will stay fresh for a few days if they are placed on moist paper in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Wilted petals can sometimes by “revived” by floating them in icy water for 2 or 3 minutes. For best results, add flowers to your recipes near the end of the cooking time or immediately prior to serving the meal.

The uses for edible flowers in cuisine are endless. They are perfect for adding color and flavor to green leaf salads, or steeped in vinegar for dressings and marinades. Add white basil blossoms to omelets and soups or bake geranium muffins. Make roasted beef glazed with lavender butter or smoked salmon topped with cucumbery, star-shaped borage blossoms. Serve pan roasted zucchini with their blooms attached or braised yucca blossoms as a side dish. Make a vibrant, peppery nasturtium pizza or sprinkle wild onion or garlic flowers on top of a pasta dish. Create appetizers and canapés that are literally in bloom with spicy, lemony signet marigolds and tart hibiscus. Freeze soft, minty pansy petals into ice cubes and serve in mixed drinks or teas. For dessert, chocolate gelato with a garnish of fuzzy blue mint flowers is sure to impress your guests. And of course, sweet, fragrant rose petals, violets, and feminine lilacs are perfectly at home on top of or folded into cakes (especially wedding cakes), tarts, and pies.

Elegant, intricate, delicate, flowers are nature’s gift to mankind. A gift not just meant to be appreciated visually, but one meant to be enjoyed by all the senses. And if the goal of fine cuisine is to serve foods that appeal to all of these senses, foods that catch your eye and excite your nose, with diverse textures and divine tastes, what better fare is there than edible flowers?

*Bolting is the growth of an elongated stalk with flowers grown from within the main stem of a plant. Bolting normally appears in hot weather and is an attempt by the plant to procreate as the elongated stalk contains flowers which are full of pollen and/or seeds.