Nature On The Plate: How To Wow Your Guests With Edible Flowers

If you are an amateur gourmet, and you are planning on cooking for a group of friends in the near future, then you might be looking for some unique ideas. One really impressive way to wow your guests is to incorporate floral ingredients int your menu. While flowers always look nice as a table arrangement, they can be even more impressive if you add them to your meal as an edible ingredient. However, not all flowers can be eaten. So, if you want to make sure you serve something that will taste nice and is also safe to eat, then consider choosing from the list below. 

Borage Blossoms: Best For Salads

Borage blossoms are bright blue and have a very pleasant taste. They also have a long association with cooking. In traditional Italian cooking, you will sometimes come across ravioli made with a mixture of cheese and borage blossoms. It's also used in sauces. However, a very quick and simple way to use these beautiful, small, blue blossoms is to add them to a light salad. They have a faint taste that some people compare to cucumber. 

Hibiscus Flowers: For Champagne and Tea

Hibiscus has a very bright red color and also a sweet flavor. That's why you will see hibiscus syrups in many high-end dessert shops. However, if you don't want to go through the trouble of making a simple syrup from scratch, you can always use fresh hibiscus flowers for your cocktails (they pair wonderfully with champagne) or in tea after dinner. 

Lavender Leaves: Best for Vanilla Ice Cream

Another really fun edible plant to use is lavender. You should be aware that lavender has a very strong scent. It's such a powerful herb that it is often used in potpourris and is even used to make scented soaps. For that reason, you should make sure to use it sparingly. You should also consider the type of food you are pairing it with. A sweet dish is perfect and many people like to sprinkle a few lavender buds onto vanilla ice cream. The sweetness of the vanilla and the bright white color contrasts lovely with the pungent flavor and bright purple color of the lavender. 

Edible Orchids: Best for Light Spring Salad

If you are serving a light spring salad, then a perfect flower choice would be edible orchids. These look beautiful and are delicate and flavorful. They are large and won't fade into a salad and be lost. You can choose bright purple or orange edible orchids and mix them in with a green spring salad and it will wow your guests. Consider placing a stand-alone orchid floral arrangement in the center of the table to complement the dish.

For more information about edible orchids, contact a company like Perfect Image Orchids, Inc.