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Flowers can be an integral part of cooking. While most of us are
aware that violets can be candied and nasturtiums can be eaten
in salads, there’s a bounty of flower varieties that are both
edible and delicious.

Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth with Flowers Violets are not
the only flower that can be candied. Many spring flowers with
small, delicate blossoms have a sweet, somewhat spicy flavor
that is enhanced by dipping them in sugar. It goes without
saying that any flowers that you gather for eating should have
been grown without the use of pesticide – by growing them
yourself, you can be sure that they’re untreated. A Candy Flower
Garden that blooms throughout the summer can include:

Violets – Purple, blue or white, violets are among the first
flowers to bloom in the spring. They spread easily, and grow
happily when transplanted into a garden bed – and you do want to
confine them to a bed unless you love the look of a full carpet
of blooms spreading across your lawn.

Pansies – A relative of violets, pansies are just as delicately
flavored and can be used as a substitute in recipes that call
for violets. They make beautiful border flowers to boot.

Angelica – These delicate, lacy white flowers can be sprinkled
in salads – but the stems and shoots make a delicious
traditional candy that tastes a bit like licorice with a hint of
mint.

Roses – Candied rose petals and rose syrup were mainstays in
Victorian cooking. Sweet delicately flavored rose syrup gives
baklava its characteristic flavor, and is a perfect foil for
cardamom in Indian recipes.

To candy flowers from your garden: Violets and pansies
can be candied whole. Roses should be separated into petals.
Most recipes for candied flowers call for the use of raw egg
whites. Using a confectioner’s powdered egg white instead
reduces risk of salmonella.

Mix powdered egg white according to package directions
(equivalent of one egg white). Spread a cup of superfine sugar
in a flat bottomed pan. Carefully dip each flower into the egg
white, then press into the sugar. Use a fork to gently turn the
flower so that all surfaces of the petals are covered. Lift out
of sugar and lay on a screen or drying rack till completely dry.
Apple and cherry blossoms can also be candied the same way.

A Soup, Salad and Savory Flower Garden Early summer
squash blossoms may be dipped in egg and flour, then fried in
olive oil with garlic. The blossoms have a sweet, nutty flavor
that is like nothing else. Other garden flowers that are
delicious in soups and salads include:

Borage – Like the leaves, borage flowers are delicious in salads
and cold soups. They have a cool, cucumber like taste that
translates well from flower garden to kitchen table.

Carnations – The flavor is as spicy as the scent. Carefully
separate the petals from the bitter white of the flower’s base
and sprinkle in salads for a surprising touch of color and spice.

Daylilies – Like squash blossoms, day lilies have a mildly
sweet, nutty flavor that many people think varies by color.
Dredged in flour and dipped in egg, fried daylilies are quite
succulent and unique in flavor.

These are just a small sampling of the many edible flowers from
your garden. Be careful in your taste-testing. If you are not
sute if a flower is edible do not eat it.

Landscaping With Fruit: Strawberry ground covers, blueberry hedges, grape arbors, and 39 other luscious fruits to make your yard an edible paradise.
Price: $11.77

• ISBN13: 9781603420914
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Landscaping With Fruit: Strawberry ground covers, blueberry hedges, grape arbors, and 39 other luscious fruits to make your yard an edible paradise.
Product Description
Fruit trees, shrubs, and vines are true two-for-one plants. Many varieties are strikingly beautiful — well suited to doing double duty as delicious sources of sweet, organic fruit and as ornamental additions to the home landscape. Backyard fruit plants also tie in perfectly with the growing locavore movement. It’s difficult to find food that’s more local than one’s own backyard!

“Luscious landscaping,” as author Lee Reich calls it, takes fruit-bearing plants off the commercial farm and replants the prettiest and tastiest specimens in suburban and rural yards. Spring blossoms, summer and fall fruit, and the year-round presence of the plants themselves bring a special magic to the home landscape. Pillowy pink blossoms on peach branches or the bright orange fruit of persimmon trees perk up their surroundings with color and drama.

Beautiful plants, yes, but these landscaping additions also provide sweet, nutritious fruit. Homegrown, organic varieties bear almost no resemblance to commercially produced fruits,which are bred and selected to withstand shipping and refrigerated storage conditions. It’s hard to believe that Alpine strawberries and those grown in California and shipped across the country are even related!

Fruitscaping is a complete, no-nonsense guide to growing temperate-zone fruit, with information on everything from planting and pruning to pest control and harvesting. Readers will find all the basics of landscaping with fruit — site analysis, climate assessment, understanding soil and sun, plant selection, and optimizing growing conditions. An encyclopedia of 38 plants includes information for each entry on hardiness, size, potential pests, special care and pruning, harvesting, and visual appeal.
Landscaping With Fruit: Strawberry ground covers, blueberry hedges, grape arbors, and 39 other luscious fruits to make your yard an edible paradise.

Landscaping With Fruit: Strawberry ground covers, blueberry hedges, grape arbors, and 39 other luscious fruits to make your yard an edible paradise.