Playing online casino Malaysia through Alibaba33 online casino Malaysia can be a fun and rewarding experience for those who enjoy playing games for fun. trusted online casino malaysia alibaba33Bet on your favourite slots, live, sporting events and win big! If you enjoy sports, slots like Mega888 ewallet Alibaba33 online casino Malaysia has something for you.

Viagra Malaysia treat erectile dysfunction with the original ED treatment that has helped men feel confident in bed for decades. We’ll connect you with a licensed viagra malaysia healthcare provider to evaluate if our prescription ED treatments could be right for you, including super-affordable generic Viagra viagramalaysiaofficial Viagra is an oral ED medication that works by suppressing an enzyme in the body called PDE5.

Tag: edible flowers - Organic Lifestyle Magazine Tag: edible flowers - Organic Lifestyle Magazine

Eating Edible Flowers

The culinary use of edible flowers is not a recent trend; it can be traced back thousands of years to the Greeks, Romans, and Chinese. Flowers were traditionally incorporated into many various cuisines –from Asian and East Indian to European, Victorian English, and Middle Eastern. Think of the lush rose petals in Indian food and the bright squash blossoms in the Italian meals.

Edible flowers fell out of grace, but they are making a huge come-back, not only as a fancy garnish, but also as an effective seasoning. Of course, flowers are not everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to cooking. The secret is to learn to pick the right ones and to combine them properly with other ingredients.

The buds and blooms of different plants offer a wide range of flavour, colour, and a tinge of whimsy. Some are irresistibly fragrant and tasty, others are spicy and sharp. Some are lemony or weedy while others are floral or herbaceous. The rich palette of taste and colour make edible flowers a perfect addition to almost every dish. Spruce up the regular meal with these surprisingly delicious blooms.

Not All Flowers Are Edible

Not every flower that you have in your garden is edible. Even though the buds may not be poisonous, they don’t all taste good! Luckily, most of the blooms of fruits, veggies, and herbs work just as great as their fully-grown counterparts.  It’s advisable to consume only plants that have been grown without pesticides or with such that are suitable for edible crops. If you buy flowers from expert gardeners, a nursery or garden centres, check to see if they are labelled as edible. Make sure you are not allergic to a certain type of plant before you use it. That said, here are a couple of tips on how to harvest and store your edible flowers.

  • Pick the blooms and buds just before you use them for the best flavour
  • Harvest during the cool of the day, after the dew evaporates
  • Brush off any soil and remove any insects hiding within
  • Wash the flowers gently and let them air-dry over a paper towel
  • If not used right away, keep them in the fridge for no longer than 10 days
  • They can be dried, frozen or preserved in vinegar or oil

Some Flowers You Can Grow and Eat

You can choose from a variety of annuals, biennials, and perennials that will look gorgeous in your garden and will add unique taste to your meals. Planting some of these flowers can introduce benefits both to your garden and your cooking routine. If you are looking for your next gardening projects, here are a couple of ideas you might want to consider:

Nasturtium

nasturtium flowerThere are many reasons to consider planting nasturtium in your garden. These vibrant and versatile annuals serve a double duty – as an exquisite culinary delight and as a natural pest control. The sun-loving greenery will bloom from midsummer until the first frost. Its peppery tasting flowers can be added to fresh salads or used in your favourite pesto recipe. You can also skip the mustard, and stuff the spicy petals into your sandwiches with creamy cheese and sliced tomatoes.

Squash Blossoms

male squash blossom flowerThese are probably some of the most widely used edible flowers, especially in the Italian cuisine. Squash blossoms are the flowers of the late-season pumpkins, zucchini, summer squash, and winter squash. The orange and yellow buds can be used raw in a salad or stuffed with cheese. They taste like a more delicate version of squash and can be fried or cooked with creamy rice.

Dill

Dill FlowerDill offers remarkable benefits for both your health and your garden. It contains enzymes that help reduce the free radicals and carcinogens in the human body. Plus it prevents bone loss and has anti-bacterial properties. According to the gardening experts, the blossoms can attract pollinators and beneficial insects into your backyard. The flowers have light dill flavour and are usually added to jars with cucumber pickles.

Chives Blossoms

Chive flowerChives don’t require any garden maintenance or efforts. Your site is probably filled with these lavender-pink flowers, so why not try them out? Toss them in a fresh salad, add them in a casserole, or cook them with fresh vegetables. Their taste resembles onions so don’t use too many of these pungent flowers.

Violet

african violet flowerViola odorata or sweet violet is an all time classic when it comes to cooking with edible flowers. It was a favourite treat of English royalty and a popular ingredient during the Victorian era. The taste of this flower pairs well with lemon and chocolate. You can use it in different recipes – from crèmes and desserts to tarts and salads.  Violets can be quite challenging when it comes to cooking, because you will need a lot of them to extract enough flavour.

For more unusual gardening ideas, be sure to read the Home Garden blog.

Further Reading:
Sources:



Three Beautiful, Beneficial, Edible Flowers

These three flowers may look beautiful in your garden, but their value is not limited to their ornamental use. They also provide a variety of health benefits.

Pansies Are Antibacterial

11

These brightly colored flowers – usually blooming purples and yellows – are characterized by large interloping petals that sometimes remind you of a butterfly and at other times look like a face. But above all, they’ll take you back to your Alice in Wonderland days.

Among a number of health perks of the flower, they are best known for their antimicrobial properties and are commonly used as an ingredient in skin care creams and ointments. They can also be used to counter a number of bacterial infections in the digestive tract.

The flower’s antitussive properties make it a great addition to your diet plan if you’re suffering from respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis. Not to mention, the petals are rich in antioxidants and flavonoids that can help treat cancers and tumors.

The entire flower is edible, but the petal has a milder flavor in contrast to the whole that is more wintergreen-like. An entire flower before a meal is a good idea, especially if thrown into a salad. The flower can also be boiled in water to make pansy tea,  a popular way of taking in the pansy’s nutritional goodness.

Hibiscus and the Heart

13

Maybe it’s not a contender in the scent department, but if there’s any flower that can give the rose one hell of a beauty complex,  it’s the hibiscus. Characterized by five wide open petals with the flowering reproductive parts protruding out like the Eiffel tower, these flowers come in an unmatched variety of hues, from stark solids to heavenly melanges. The combinations are breathtaking, but what makes them even more outstanding is their ability to moderate blood pressure and cholesterol.  In addition, the hibiscus flower is a source of Vitamin A and C, thus adding a bit of goodness for the eyes along with cancer preventing and immunity boosting properties.

Hibiscus is best consumed in the form of a tea. The petals can also be added as a garnish to salads and juices in thin strips, but be aware that their distinctively sharp taste tends to overpower other savory flavors.

Marigolds Have Big Cancer-fighting Properties

12

While many varieties of marigolds are mostly ornamental, the calendula variety packs nutritional goodness. Marigolds get their bright orange and yellow color from a high concentration of carotenoids in their petals. Carotenoids are very powerful antioxidants known for their ability to counter free radicals in our body and boost our immune system while also significantly reducing the risk of developing cancers in the future.

These big orange beauties have a slightly bitter taste that is followed by a subtle hint of sweetness. The best way to incorporate the nutritional value of their antioxidant content into your diet is by drying their leaves into a spice.

You can also choose to eat the entire flower minus the green base, but avoid this choice if you have breathing difficulties or asthma, as the large amounts of pollen will might make it worse.

Recommended Reading: