How to Identify Edible Flowers

Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen and in this segment we're going to talk about how to identify edible flowers. Now identifying edible flowers is kind of like identifying mushrooms. It's kind of a dangerous thing to do if you don't really know what you're doing, and so my advice is never just take a flower and eat it unless you know what it is and what, if it's poisonous or not. The same with mushrooms, you think that they're edible and because they look just like the picture but you go out and you collect them in the forest and you find that they're highly toxic and very dangerous. And we hear stories about people doing that every year. So when you're identifying your edible flowers, there's a few rules that you can follow and there's some flowers that are definitely edible. So the rule of thumb is to make sure never to gather from the wild and to only buy edible flowers from set vender's. Maybe at a farmers market that specializes in edible flowers or from the produce manager who knows for sure if they're edible or not, edible or not. But basically there's a lot of flowers that are edible. Violets are one of the most popular edible flowers. They're just a tiny blue, pinks, reds, they have a little bit of a stripe inside and they're really beautiful on wedding cakes and other different decorations. Chrysanthemums whether it's the leaves or the flower are very edible as well and used in a lot of Asian cultures too, and they're a beautiful plant and a beautiful edible flower. The same with Dandelions. Dandelions are very edible as well and they can be used in all types of salads. And all types of onions are generally edible and have all different types of flowers. The same with garlic. A lot of the garlic flowers are edible as well. But again do you research and make sure that the type of flower that you are using is truly edible. Because even within different plant groups there might be varieties that are not edible and that are. And so there's many different flowers that are edible, even roses and rose hips are very edible because they're really pretty and you can take the rose petals and dip them in chocolate. But you've got to be very careful too that you know that those flowers were grown organically without chemicals because a lot of the imported flowers are grown in areas where the chemicals are not illegal and so even though they are an edible flower they might come from an area that has used a lot of pesticides and chemicals on the flowers and that still will make them poisonous. So, really always be cautious when you're using edible flowers and do your research and you will find that you can have some gorgeous violets on your birthday cake or some gorgeous roses with your chocolate decadent pie and you can enjoy it and know that you're safe.