As wild mushrooms continue to rise on the food and beverage trend charts, a natural progression to other botanicals seems fitting. 2023 is the year for flowers in food and beverages, and they are not just for garnish any longer. As we move into the warmer months, enjoy the addition of flowers to your sweet and savory recipes.
Sweet Florals
Violets, daises, pansies, and lilacs are easier to get at your local supermarket and have been used as garnishes in salads and as decor on pastries and cakes. However, the movement to foraged foliage like dandelion and clover leaf flowers will be uptrending. Both dandelion and clover are popping up everywhere in the spring, and you can eat the leaves and flowers. I recently decorated a cake I baked for a friend using dandelion flowers, leaves, and beautiful yellow clover flowers!
Pinterest reported that the search for wildflower cupcakes was up 110% in reference to their 2023 predicted “Wildflour” trend—cupcakes and cakes decorated with beautiful icing flowers and real edible flowers. The “cupcake bouquet” is a stunner: a grouping of floral-decorated cupcakes pushed together to form an edible bouquet.
How about a floral breakfast? Search “floral pancakes,” and you will get some delightful options, including Lavender Pancakes., Zucchini Flower Pancakes, and Martha Stewart’s Pansy Pancakes. Look out for floral-infused syrups as well, like orange-flower! So, So, Yummy!
Related: Sea Greens Finding Their Way into Everyday Foods
Savory Florals
You can amp up savory dishes with edible florals as well. Lavender works in salad dressings and supposedly even with French fries!
Cheese boards are perfect for edible florals, as sage, cilantro, and rosemary blooms are perfect pairings for cheese. Plus, it turns that expected cheese board aesthetic into something new and conversation-worthy.
Chive flowers used in omelets and baked potatoes are great additions because they have a peppery or garlic flavor depending on the type. Have you seen the beautiful focaccia bread with edible décor baked right in? Instagram site Must Love Herbs by Lauren May recently posted one with organic zinnias, allium blossoms, signet marigolds, sage, globe amaranths, and mint blossoms. All botanicals on this gorgeous focaccia are edible, and the design is genuinely artistic.
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Botanical drinks
I wrote about butterfly pea flower a few years ago and have seen it burst onto the food and beverage scene since! Its magical way of changing colors when adding an acid, like lemon, makes for beautifully entertaining beverages. The Little Violeta Cocktail Kit from Crafted Taste has all the ingredients you need to craft floral cocktails using gin and sparkling wine, including Blue Butterfly Pea Flower Tea. The Little Violeta cocktail uses Butterfly Pea Flower, gin, and dried fruit slices. The craft cocktail kits have enough ingredients to make 12-16 cocktails of four varieties. There is plenty of rave reviews for these kits, including that they are excellent as a gift for Mother’s Day!
Now that you know many edible flowers, will you try a new floral recipe? Soups, salads, cupcakes, breads, cocktails! The list of possibilities in which to use edible florals is plentiful.
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