Friday Food Review…Edible Flowers…Part 3…English Daisy, Japonica Flowers and Banana Flowers…

Welcome to this week’s edition of edible flowers…I watch all…well most of the cooking programmes…I love Masterchef and Great British Menu and I am in awe of the beautiful presentation of the food if I can ever-present food that resembles those dishes just a little then I will be a happy bunny…Whatever the month there will be a plant or tree that flowers obviously not all edible or palatable but I am trying to find flowers in season pretty much like fruit and vegetable although, of course, that will also depend on where you hail from around the globe…

Lots of the FB and Instagram posts portray such beautiful food often adorned with pretty flowers which seems to be something of the norm now…BUT….. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THOSE PRETTY FLOWERS ARE????

DO YOU ASSUME BECAUSE THEY ARE IN A DISH THAT THEY ARE EDIBLE???

Well, Don’t! Pretty does not mean it’s safe to eat…a bit like mushrooms some of the prettiest mushrooms are the deadliest…and don’t forget we don’t want to eat flowers if they have been sprayed with a pesticide so if you are buying edible flowers you need to know their source…

A fairly accurate rule of thumb is if the flower produces an edible fruit then the flower is safe to eat that is of course if it is palatable…

English daisies…

The English Daisy(Bellis perennis) flowers have a pleasant tart taste, they can be added to a salad, a sandwich or a cooked dish or used to flavour vinegar. The buds of these flowers can be pickled in vinegar and used as a substitute for capers. The name Bellis perennis means ‘beautiful perennial’ and in warmer climates, they fill a winter and spring garden with beautiful colourful blooms.

Mahonia Japonica…

Native to eastern Asia, the Himalayas, and North and Central America this beautiful flowering small tree with its small bright yellow flowers and dark green glossy very pointed leaves reminds me of holly leaves…The small bright yellow flowers hang in dense clusters above the leaves in either Spring, Summer, Autumn or even Winter…it is said that the sometimes bitter flowers are sweeter in winter so …Think sherbet. First, you experience the super sweet honey nectar followed by a delicious lemony tang… it is in the winter months when the bees have very little to forage and it may be a choice between life and death for them…so when walking along and munching on the sweet flowers remember the bees…

Banana Flowers…

Anywhere that the banana grows naturally you will find that not only are bananas eaten but the banana flower is a popular food…at the moment I am seeing them on the markets just one or two not in dozens as I’m guessing that if you have a banana tree or three in your garden then to eat one or two of the flower buds would mean you would be cropping quite a few banana hands…as pictured…

This link from a previous post will tell you all about the banana flower and how we use it…

Thank you for joining me today for edible flowers I hope you have found it interesting and if you eat flowers or use them in recipes then please let me know with a link and I will share it here and of course give you credit ,,as always I look forward to your comments x

22 thoughts on “Friday Food Review…Edible Flowers…Part 3…English Daisy, Japonica Flowers and Banana Flowers…”

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  5. Rebecca Budd

    Flowers are more than a pretty face!! LOL There is so much we don’t know about nature, isn’t there? But when I come to your place, I learn a great deal about how nature sustains our life and well-being. Thank you, Carol!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      You are very welcome Rebecca its always lovely to see and hear from you and you are absolutely coreect so much knowledge has been lost to us over the​ years about how we can use nature such a shame… ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Sue Dreamwalker

    Oh I so loved this Carol…. Some are new to me while others like the English Daisy are old friends.. 🙂 And I never knew of them being used in vinegar as a substitute for Capers.. We live and we learn ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  11. johnrieber

    There was a recipe a while back using banana skins and everyone was revolted but the fact is we have so much more that we can use – and much of it is so good for us as well as you’ve shown once again – bravo!

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