Floral Fruit Salad

Often, we think of flowers as a source of visual beauty. We keep them in our gardens, in vases at home, we give them as gifts and tokens of appreciation.. but what about food?

Flowers are often overlooked when thinking about food, but actually provide some pretty cool health benefits. Plus, they look darn pretty on a plate!

Flowers are very high in antioxidants, especially those with deeper colors. Certain flowers also contain vitamin A, C, D, E, beta-carotene and fiber.

Have you ever heard of taking bee pollen to help lessen allergy attacks? Well guess what, when you eat flowers, you may be eating the pollen as well which can help boost your body and lessen your allergies!

When you are prepping flowers to eat, fill a large bowl with water and wash the flowers gently followed by letting them air dry on a towel. They should be enjoyed right away, but if you need to store them, you can do so for a week as long as they are in an airtight container in the fridge with a damp towel.

It is important when picking flowers that you know where they come from. Don't go to a floral store and grab some flowers to munch on; most have been sprayed with chemicals and pesticides to keep them fresh and happy looking. Always purchase your edible flowers from a grocery store in the produce section, pick ones that you grow and know where the seeds came from or purchase them online.

To purchase them online, two good places are Gourmet Sweet Botanicals as well as The Chef’s Garden. Click on the company names to get to their sites.

The range of edible flowers is pretty vast from cruciferous veggie flowers, squash, cucumber, garlic, chives, flowering herbs, chrysanthemum, daylilies, carnations, roses, calendula, bee balm, honeysuckle, violets, jasmine, clover, dandelion petals, chickweed, chicory, elderberry.... the list goes on. There are lots of resources out there to make sure that the petals you plan on putting in your mouth are healthy to do so and what their best preparation is.

There are flowers that are not edible, so definitely make sure to find out what you are eating before you plate it up. Click here for a really good book to have when referencing to flowers.

Grab your apron and get ready to enjoy this wonderful dish!