Flower Cookery Is in Full Bloom : Cuisine: Edible flowers add flavor as well as visual appeal to meals. But the blossoms must be nonpoisonous and grown without toxic pesticides.

It’s incredible how many flowers or parts of flowers I’ve eaten in the last few years--lavender petals made into ice cream, salads sprinkled with petal confetti and nasturtiums used in butter, just to name a few. And I’ve gone out of my way to spread the natural wealth, sprinkling chive blossoms over salads and rose petals on cakes to unsuspecting guests.

Not only do I eat edible flowers, but I’ve become a missionary in promoting them. Today I travel throughout the country demonstrating edible flower cuisine.

I’d love to tell you about the first flower I ever ate, but I can’t remember. It was probably a nasturtium though, seven or eight years ago. I’m certain I started slowly, since to eat a flower seemed odd to me, maybe even taboo. I remember eating rice garnished with calendula petals in Vermont and thinking they made the dish colorful but didn’t add much to the flavor. Later I tried a few pansy petals in a restaurant salad and still wasn’t won over.

Not until I tasted lavender ice cream at an herb seminar did I become really enthusiastic. It was fantastic. Obviously my indifference had overlooked a whole aspect of cooking.

Since becoming involved with edible flowers I’ve read everything I could find about them. I’ve asked all the chefs I’ve interviewed about their experiences with them. And I’ve tasted, tasted and retasted every edible flower I could get my hands on, even stoping on occasion to taking a bite out of my hostess’ centerpiece.

Actually, a few words of caution are needed here before we delve into the many apsects of flower cookery. Unless you have spent much time working with toxic plants or are familiar with texts on edible and poisonous plants, be very conservative as to which new edible flowers you try. I’ve seen much shoddy scholarship and numerous “iffy” recipes, even cookbooks that recommend you cook with poisonous flowers like lily-of-the-valley and rhododendrons.

In fact, the only list I trust is the one I’ve researched and given below. It represents countless hours in herbariums, poison labs and botanical libraries. In addition, not only must you limit floewr cookery to proven edible species, but it is most important that you only use flowers when you know how they have been grown. Numerous toxic pesticides, not for human consumption, can be used on flowers.

These two cautions aisde, cooking with edible floers is filled with delights. So let’s look at the many wyas they can be enjoyed.

The primary contribution flowers make in the kitchen is indisputably decorative--their colors and shapes are spectacular additions to many dishes. Americancooks are thinking more and more about how food is presented and are subscribing to the belief that beautiful meals are more satisfying than plain fare. Consider how festive salads are with a sprinkling of nasturtiums instead of hum-drum red cabbage, and how about a runner bean blossom on the cream soup instead of tired old parsley. Or for an alternative to the usual frosting flowers on a birthday cake, how about using fresh or candied rose petals?

But eye appeal is not the only virtue of edible flowers. Many actually give us new flavors to cook with. Consider the rich, aromatic flavors of roses, lavender or anise hyssop. These under-utilized flavors are a suseful as the more familiar ones with which we enrich our cooking.

But before you start using edible flowers to any degree, it’s helpful for both cook and diner to learn a few basics. How are the flowers prepard for cooking? What parts are edible? Which flowers go with which dishes?

Let’s begin with the question of preparation. Start by choosing flowers from the list provided below and tasting them to see if you like them. Flowers have not been bred for eating and not all varieties of the same flower taste equally good. This step seems obvious but I’ve been served some pretty unpalatable flowers throughout the years--I’m sure the cooks hadn’t tasted them before serving.

Once selected, flowers are easy to prepare. Pick them in the cool of the day, preferably morning. Put those with long stems in water and refrigerate; pick short-stemmed blossoms, such as borage, within a few hours of using and place them between layers of damp paper towels and refrigerate. Flowers, of course, are perishable and will wilt in a warm place. And they’ll bruise almost instantly if they’re roughly handled.

Most cooks gently wash flowers before using them. While washing flowers look for “critters,” such as baby slugs and aphids that might be hiding down in petals; there are more places for them to hide in flowers than in vegetables.

With some flowers--such as roses, claendulas, chrysanthemums and lavender--?only the petals are edible. With others--Johnny-jump-ups, violets, nastrutiums and runner bean blossoms--the whole flower can be eaten. If you are using only the petals of a flower, separate them just befores erving as they will wilt within minutes. In addition, if you’re using the flowers on a salad, add the flowers after the dressing as its weight will compress them into a lump.

Some flowers, such as roses and dianthus, have a white portion at the bsae of the petal that can be quite bitter and metallic. If the flowers you are using have such an area, remove it. Also remove the stamens of squash blossoms.

It is ipmortant that the edible floers you use actually fit a dish. While it’s not an absolute rule, sweet- and floral-tasting flowers are best suited to desserts and fruit dishes, while savory types are wonderful with dips, soups, salads and entrees. Examples of the latter are chive blossoms in sandwiches and on onion dishes and nasturtiums in salads. The sweet floral taste of roses and violets goes well with cakes, sorbets and pies.

A spectacular and easy edible flower technique is to make petal confetti. Just before serving, remove the petals of calendulas, pinks, rosemary, Johnny-jump-ups, violas,miniature roses and/or lavender, and srinkle them over salads, soups, cakes, crepes or any dish where you want a “show-off” presentation.

The world of flower cookery is boundless. Soon you’ll be flower-fluent and using thin slices of squash blossom in omelettes or sprinkled over clear soups.

LIST OF EDIBLE FLOWERS In my opinion, the following edible flowers are the tastiest and most versatie. Of more importance, there is much documentation that these flowers have been eaten for centuries--it’s unlikely further research will reveal problems. Caution: As the chemicals used on flowers are often very toxic, eat only unsprayed flowers.

Chives (Allium Schoenoprasum and A. tuberosum)-- Onion flavor, use when buds first open or they will be papery and tough; try in potato and egg salads, in butters and salads.

Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum X morifolium) --The petals of chrysanthemums range from slightly to very bitter; use sparingly over salads, in floral confetti or as a garnish.Elderberry (Sambucus caerulea) --Fritters have been a traditional way to prepare the blossoms. Make sure you identify species; some are poisonous.

Geranium (Pelargonium spp.) --Rose-scented varities superior to common geraniums in flavor; use in sorbets, butters and as garnishes.

Herbs--Research indicates that herb floewrs are edible. Of particular culinary interest are the flowers of thyme, basil, rosemary, arugula, fennel and sage; use in salads, butter, marinade and as garnishes.

Lavender (Lavandula aungfustifolia) --English lavender has a sweet, strong lemon-floral taste superior for cooking; great in marinades, salad dressings, sorbets and ice creams.

Nasturtium (Tropaeolum maius) --Watercress-type flavor, one of the most versatile and widely accepted edible floers; try in salads, butters, stuffed and as garnishes.

Pink (Dianthus spp.) --Generally the classic cottage pinks have the best clove flavor; good in sorbets, butters and salads.

Rose (Rosa spp.) --Diverse flavors from floral and lush to metallic, taste to test; Rugosa Alba, Egalantine and damask types are choice in salads, butters, vinegar, floral confetti and candied.

Viola, Pansy and Johnny-Jump-Ups (Viola cornuta, V. wittrokiana and V. tricolor) --Light floral flavor; little difference in taste, nice in salads and floral confetti.

Violet (Viola odorata) --Strong floral taste, great candied or in salads.