The Edible Flower Garden. Rosalind Creasy

      

      the EDIBLE

      FLOWER

      GARDEN

      Rosalind Creasy

      First published in 1999 by Periplus Editions (HK ) Ltd.-, with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, Vermont 05759 USA and and 61 Tai Seng Avenue, #02-12, Singapore 534167.

      Photographs and text copyright © 1999 Rosalind Creasy,.

       except p 49 (top); Gudi Riter.

       Illustrations by Marcie Hawthorne

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Creasy, Rosalind.

      The edible flower garden / by Rosalind Creasy.—1st ed.

      106 p. : ill. (some col.); 28 cm.

      Includes bibliographical references (p. )

      ISBN: 978-1-4629-0617-8 (ebook)

      1. Flower gardening. 2. Flowers. 3. Plants, Edible. 4. Cookery (Flowers) I. Title.

      SB405.C765 1999

      635.9—dc21

      98036999

       CIP

      Distributed by:

      NORTH AMERICA, LATIN AMERICA & EUROPE

      Tuttle Publishing

       364 Innovation Drive

       North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436 U.S.A

       Tel: [phone]

       Fax: [phone]

       [email protected]

       www.tuttlepublishing.com

      ASIA-PACIFIC

      Berkeley Books Pte. Ltd.

       61 Tai Seng Avenue, #02-12

       Singapore 534167

       Tel: [phone]

       Fax: [phone]

       [email protected]

       www.periplus.com

      JAPAN

      Tuttle Publishing

       Yaekari Building, 3rd Floor

       5-4-12 Osaki, Shinagawa-ku

       Tokyo 141 0032

       Tel: [phone]

       Fax: [phone]

       [email protected]

      First edition

      12 11 10 09 10 9 8 7 6 5 4

      Design by Kathryn Sky-Peck

      Printed in Singapore

      contents

      Edible Flower Gardens page 1

      How To Grow Edible Flowers 10

      My Edible Flower Gardens 16

      Interview: Alice Waters 26

      Encyclopedia of Edible Flowers page 29

       From Anise Hyssop to Violets

      Favorite Flower Recipes page 67

      Flower Butters 70

      Sweet Things 71

      Candied Flowers 72

      Edible Flower Canapes 74

      Tulip and Endive Appetizer 75

      Citrus Dip for Begonia Blossoms 76

      Pineapple Sage Salsa 76

      Ricotta-Stuffed Zuchinni Flowers 77

      Sage Tempura 77

      Flower Confetti Salad 78

      Wild Violet Salad 79

      Baby Shower Petal Salad 80

      Mardi Gras Salad with Pecans 81

      Poor Man's Pilaf 82

      Stir-Fried Beef with Anise Hyssop 83

      Grilled Swordfish with Rosemary 84

      Rose Petal Syrup 86

      Rose Petal Sorbet 87

      Lavender Ice Cream 87

      Tangelo and Kiwi Salad with Orange Blossoms 88

      Scented Geranium, Creme Fraiche, and Strawberries 89

      Tea Cake with Anise Hyssop and Lemon 90

      Lavender Shortbreads 90

      Appendices page 92

      Appendix A: Planting and Maintenance 92

      Appendix B: Pest and Disease Control 99

      Resources 103

      Acknowledgments 106

      edible

      flower

       gardens

      It's incredible how many flowers or parts of flowers I've eaten in the past few years—lavender petals made into ice cream, zucchini blossoms stuffed with ricotta cheese, roses used in butter, to name just a few. And I've made an effort to share the experience, serving unsuspecting guests unadorned pineapple guava petals and an Art Deco—style cake with candied pansies. Not only do I eat edible flowers, but I've become a missionary in promoting them!

      I'd love to be able to tell you about the first flower I ever ate, but I can't remember what it was. It was probably a nasturtium, though, eaten nearly twenty years ago. I'm certain I started slowly, since to eat flowers seemed odd to me, maybe even taboo. I remember eating rice garnished with calendula petals in Vermont and thinking that they made the dish colorful but didn't add much to the flavor. Later I tried