Ever since I started reading Cooking With Flowers, Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers by Miche Bacher I look at flowers with different eyes. I knew that a number of flowers were edible (commestibili), from zucchini blossoms (fiori di zucca) to herb flowers (which I have used, for example, in rye bread) to roses (which I have used to flavor ice cream). But I did not know that orchids are edible and so are daylilies and lilacs, to name just a few.
FTC disclosure: I have received a free review copy of Cooking With Flowers from the publisher. I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for discussing it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.
After the introduction, the book devotes a chapter to each flower, from Calendulas to Violets. At the end, there is a section called The Basics, which covers a lot of ground, from flower sugars to flower vinegars and a lot more. The book's website has a page with some recipes that give you an idea of what to expect. Lovely photos complement the rich content. Overall, Cooking With Flowers is a pleasure to browse. You can take a look at the first 19 pages by clicking the "View interior spread" link on the book's web page.
Now, please, follow me in a short photo journey of a few of the dishes I made according to the book (marked with an asterisk *) or inspired by it.
I started with calendula flowers. For my first experiments, I bought a bunch of calendulas at the farmers' market, because the ones in my garden had not yet bloomed. As you can see from the photos above, those lovely flowers are quite photogenic. I used calendula petals (petali) as an ingredient in:
The recipe for Calendula Scrambled Eggs in the book only gives instructions on the amount of petals to use. For my first ever rendition of scrambled eggs, I followed my friend Sally's meditative recipe (from a personal communication; however, she just published a post on frittata where she talks about some important facts about eggs that have a bearing also on the making of scrambled eggs).
I also created a special pasta (hinted at in a recent black and white photo post), which will be described in detail soon.
While the experiments with calendula flowers were going on, nasturtiums exploded in my garden, so I turned my attention to them. I made "stained glass" maltagliati and
The bright orange color is simply spectacular. I have also added nasturtium flowers and young leaves to pans of leafy green vegetables (no good photo available yet).
While decorating cakes is not my thing, using flowers to brighten savory dishes thrills me: Cooking With Flowers caters to all preferences. It is a book I wish I had written, because I wish I had Miche Bacher's in-depth knowledge about flowers and her elegant way of sharing it. I am sure the book will instruct and inspire other interesting uses of flowers besides the ones I showed in this post. Thank you, Miche Bacher, for writing a great book!
Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:
or launch the cucinare coi fiori audio file [mp3].
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I get..or have? the feeling that you are calendula dipendent ^___^ I'm glad for your floral experiments, ciauzzzz
Posted by: martissima | June 20, 2013 at 09:35 AM
Oltre Cucinare con i fiori e La cucina dei fiori ho anche altri due bellissimi libri su come usare fogli e petali.
La salute foglia per foglia e Belle per Natura.
Mi intriga l'aceto di nasturzio, avevo fatto quello con sambuco e mi è piaciuto moltissimo.
Provo.
baciussss
Posted by: brii | June 20, 2013 at 10:35 AM
anch'io ho cucinare con i fiori, sgancia qualche segreto di Belle per natura che tento di rimanere ancora un bocciolo ^___O …… scusa l'invasione Simo
Posted by: martissima | June 20, 2013 at 12:52 PM
I have used some edible flowers but I guess I need to know more :)
Posted by: Ivy | June 21, 2013 at 07:57 AM
I've been following your posts on cooking with flowers, and this one — especially the nasturtium vinegar — finally convinced me to order the book! Looking forward to experimenting more with these...
Posted by: diary of a tomato | June 21, 2013 at 08:03 AM
Ciao Martissima. You got it! Their season will end soon, so I must experiment with them while I still can.
Ciao Brii. Tra il tuo bel giardino e le camminate per sentieri che fai, sono sicura che di fiori ne hai a volonta'. Mi intrigano tutti i titoli che elenchi.
Martissima, se scopri qualcosa di interessante, fammelo sapere ;)
Ciao Ivy. There are more options for using flowers than either of us thought.
Posted by: Simona Carini | June 21, 2013 at 02:20 PM
bellissimo post Simona. io sono spaventatissima di usare fiori in cucina per paura di avvelenarmi :) ho un libricino sui fiori selvatici e ce ne sono talmente tanti che sono letali... ma certo che con una guida esperta come quella fornita da questo libro tenterei anch'io. non con qualche palpitazione la prima volta. ma i risultati sono spettacolari. tutti quei colori... bellissimi tutti i tuoi esperimenti.
Posted by: Bread & Companatico | June 23, 2013 at 02:38 AM
This is very cool! I love that you made a variety of foods with the flowers! Challah? Eggs, Cheese? Very cool! I love the color of the vinegar. Spectacular!
The cookbook sounds very nice and different.
Posted by: Paz | June 23, 2013 at 03:40 PM
Ciao Paz. Indeed, that vinegar is a pleasure to look at. I have made another type already, but I think I will make another batch of nasturtium vinegar as long as I have flowers. Indeed, this is quite a nice cookbook.
Posted by: Simona Carini | June 24, 2013 at 05:02 PM
Hai ragione ad essere cauta, Barbara. Un esempio classico e' il gelsomino, che io uso per esempio per fare il gelo di melone. Il falso gelsomino e' molto diffuso nei giardini in California ed e' tossico. Ma tanti altri fiori sono usati da tempo: rose, violette, ecc. quindi e' bene non lasciare che il timore fermi del tutto la creativita'.
Posted by: Simona Carini | July 25, 2013 at 10:06 PM
Let me know what you think, Debra. I have also made some rose vinegar. Have not tasted it yet, but the color is stunning.
Posted by: Simona Carini | July 25, 2013 at 10:13 PM