Challenge for the Weekend

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Challenge for the Weekend
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cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 05 10:03 am Post subject: Challenge for the Weekend

Here's a fun idea.

If you've never done it, this is the weekend to be a little adventurous with wild flowers. Traditionally, the dandelions for making wine are picked on St. Georges day (the 23rd, for those of you who aren't fortunate enough to be English

), but you don't have to stop with using such flowers for wine.

Go out onto your lawn, or anywhere else you can be fairly confident about, and gather some dandelions, daisies, cherry blossom, plum blossom, and any other flowers you know for sure to be edible and good. Dandelion is especially good. Make a nice crisp salad of whatever takes your fancy (I reccomend lettuce, rocket and sorrel), and just before serving dress it lightly, and add the flowers as garnish.

Not the most substantially wild feast you'll ever have, but a very pretty and tasty addition.

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 05 10:21 am Post subject:

Sarah Raven had an article in last week's Telegraph about edible flowers - click here because it's an awful long link. You'll need to register or use bugmenot to read it.

She says that *all* polyanthus and pansies (violas) are edible...but that the larger ones are less tasty. Is that true?

I went out in to the garden and ate a couple of primroses as a result (real primroses, they're like a weed near us and all over our garden). They were unexpectedly nice, I think they remind me of pumpkin! Sweet, yet not sugary, and almost slightly bready in taste and smell. It still feels odd eating flowers though.

Dandelions and daises, do you pull those to pieces and scatter the little flowerlets (I know that's not the right word)?

And in our garden is a lovely big cherry which is either a wild cherry or a bird cherry, we're not certain. White single blossoms follwed by cherries with hardly any flesh around the stone. Are all plum/cherry flowers edible?

And do you recommend any sources for more info (sites/books?).

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 05 10:36 am Post subject:

Bugs wrote:

She says that *all* polyanthus and pansies (violas) are edible...but that the larger ones are less tasty. Is that true?

Violas are edible, and pretty, but for flavour you REALLY have to go for sweet violets. They're incomparable. If you have them in your garden, still flowering, try them. Polyanthus... Which ones are they, the primrose family?

Quote:

I went out in to the garden and ate a couple of primroses as a result (real primroses, they're like a weed near us and all over our garden). They were unexpectedly nice, I think they remind me of pumpkin! Sweet, yet not sugary, and almost slightly bready in taste and smell. It still feels odd eating flowers though.

Dandelions and daises, do you pull those to pieces and scatter the little flowerlets (I know that's not the right word)?

Dandelions I pull apart and scatter (florets, I believe), and daisies I just leave whole.

Primroses look really sweet in ice cubes, floating in a jug of sangria.

Quote:

And in our garden is a lovely big cherry which is either a wild cherry or a bird cherry, we're not certain. White single blossoms follwed by cherries with hardly any flesh around the stone. Are all plum/cherry flowers edible?

To the best of my knowledge, yes. Give it a taste. Eat them sparingly because (a) there will be less fruit for the birds, and (b) the flavour is intensely almondy.

Quote:

And do you recommend any sources for more info (sites/books?).

Lots of the wild food books list some edible flowers. None of them are, in my opinion, so much better than the others; this is perhaps the area where Hugh Fearnley Whittingstalls book "A Cook on the Wild Side" scores most highly.

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 05 10:45 am Post subject:
i had a look at that article, think i'll copy and paste it into a document to save, thanks! it mentions nasturtiums which i can vouch for being lovely. the leaves are great in salad and the flowers are heavenly battered and lightly fried mmmmmmm

sara jane goodey

Joined: 12 Apr 2005
Posts: 45
Location: north wales

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 05 10:52 am Post subject: Foraging for wot?
Blimey you english softies talking about leaves, dandelions etc haven't even got new grass growth here yet let alone leaves??!!I think any fungi may have been washed away by the recent vv heavy rain!!

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 05 12:15 pm Post subject:
So own up, who was up to the challenge?

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 05 12:23 pm Post subject:

Well, I tried dandelion, daisy, and cherry blossom, but none of them were up to much. Didn't try violets as ours are not sweet ones.

I can highly recommend primroses though

(obviously not from the wild).

We do use basil, chive and summer savoury flowers in the summer, but that's not very foragey, going out in to your back garden in your slippers with a pair of scissors, is it?

I'm still waiting for A Cook on the Wild Side to turn up

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 05 12:28 pm Post subject:
Surprised you didn't like the cherry blossom. Use the whole flower, taking off the sepals and leafy bits, and if the ones on your tree aren't up to much go foraging to try them elsewhere. Daisy flowers are there just to be pretty, and dandelions you either love or you don't 'get'. I love them.

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 05 3:21 pm Post subject:
cherry blossoms are the abundant pink ones in bloom now aren't they? i always assumed these were cherry blossom but don't want to eat them if they're not

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 05 3:24 pm Post subject:
what is the scientific name for the edible cherry blossoms? i can get a look on google if i have that info and then find out if the ones we have are the same thing

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 05 3:29 pm Post subject:

ButteryHOLsomeness wrote:

what is the scientific name for the edible cherry blossoms? i can get a look on google if i have that info and then find out if the ones we have are the same thing

Prunus something... Errm... Can't remember... But as long as you avoid spindle, I'd say you ought to be fine sampling any of the Prunus flowers.

Res

Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 1172
Location: Allotment Shed, Harlow

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 05 4:17 pm Post subject:

ButteryHOLsomeness wrote:

i had a look at that article, think i'll copy and paste it into a document to save, thanks!

Check!

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 05 4:26 pm Post subject:

a google search using prunus and cherry brought up loads

wild cherry is Prunus Avium
Prunus padus - Bird Cherry the related cultivated version of wild cherry

Ornamental Cherry 'Amanogawa' (Prunus serrulata)
if these are ornamental, does that mean you can't eat the cherries or the flowers?

hmmmm a further search tells me that other members of the prunus family include:

peaches
nectarines
plums
almonds
apricot

if this is the case, can you eat their blossoms as well?

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 05 7:48 am Post subject:
In moderation you can eat all of them, save spindle, which I think is also Prunus. Don't go crazy, they do contain cyanide after all...

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 05 9:56 am Post subject:
Well, we sat next to out stream after a country walk and ate some primrose flowers, quite refreshing and nice to see the kids getting stuck in. The Dandelion leaves I found bitter, might try it again after blanching and then refreshing.

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