What to buy

Perhaps the easiest way to cook with flowers is using rose and orange blossom waters. These clear flower distillations are very fragrant and can be used in both sweet and savoury cooking. You can also boil these waters with sugar to make a floral syrup, or buy flower syrups from specialist stores – violet syrup is wonderful for drizzling over ice cream. Also look out for petal jams in Middle Eastern shops and flower liquors and wines in French delis.

There are some great spice mixes containing flowers that give another dimension to savoury dishes. The most famous of these are probably the Moroccan ras el hanout, meaning “top of the shop” which is heady with rose petals, and the French herbes de Provence which is best when full of lavender flowers.

Flowers from your garden

If you are lucky enough to have a garden, you can use fresh blossoms in your cooking. Lots of flowers are edible but avoid those that have been sprayed with pesticides, which includes shop-bought blooms. Look at our guide to which flowers you can eat and which to avoid.

Preserving fresh flowers

There are many ways that you can preserve summer flowers to use throughout the year. It is usually not the petals themselves that you want to keep, but infuse their flavour into butters, oils or vinegars. Layer caster sugar with flowers such as lavender to make a scented sugar to use in baking or make floral jellies by boiling the flowers with apples and sugar.

Crystallize petals, or whole flowers, by brushing them with egg white, then dipping them in caster sugar and drying them out overnight. You can also freeze whole flowers, such as borage or violets, in ice cubes to add the prettiest sparkle to summer cocktails. Or why not go the whole hog and make a flower-filled ice bowl to serve ice cream in?

Sweet recipes

Roses, violets, elderflowers, lavender, geraniums, orange blossoms, pinks and lemon verbena all have a wonderful fragrance to impart to sweet dishes. Try making jellies, sorbets, rice puddings or ice creams infused with flowers or sprinkle fruit salads with flower waters. You could make a glorious sponge cake using rose sugar, filled with petal butter and topped with an icing made with rose water. Or how about frying elderflowers or meadowsweet in sweet batter to make delicate fritters?

Mascarpone Ice Cream with Violets

Scented Geranium Cake with Muscat Wine

Baked Ricotta and Lavender Cheesecake

Gooseberry Elderflower Fool with Almond Lavender Hearts

Lavender and Lemon Panna Cotta

Elderflower and Berry Jellies

Lemon Verbena Crème Brûlée

Elderflower Fritters

Parsnip and Primrose Pie

Savoury recipes

Herb and vegetable flowers such as chive, rosemary, basil, thyme or marjoram are wonderful tossed into salads, bringing both colour and a delicate herbal flavour. Try using sunflower petals, nasturtiums, cowslips and dandelions as well. Or mix these flowers with butter and use to finish recipes, giving a mild herbiness to your food.

One of the greatest savoury treats is courgette flowers, stuffed and fried in a light batter, Italian-style. Meats are wonderful roasted with lavender flowers, as the French often do. Or go Moroccan and sprinkle flower waters into tagines and over carrot salads.

Roast Pheasant with Apple and Sweet Geranium Sauce

Barbecued Leg of Lamb with Lavender and Apple Jelly

Salt Spring Lavender Lamb

Rack of Lamb with Elderflower and Gooseberry Pickle

Pappardelle with Nasturtium Butter and Ricotta-stuffed Courgette Blossoms

Moroccan Grated Carrot Salad with Orange Flower Water

Chicken and Rose Petal Curry

Drinks

Flowers can add an elegant twist to drinks. There has been a recent fashion for violet and rose martinis in trendy cocktail bars. Try dropping a crystallised flower into a glass of champagne, or a hibiscus flower and watch the bubbles open up the petals.

Floral infusions can also be refreshing summer alternatives to a glass of wine. Elderflower cordial is a popular favorite, or add a few drops of rose water to a glass of cold water. You can also make hot infusions such as chamomile or dill flower tea to sooth and restore.

Elderflower Cordial

Lemonade with Sweet Geranium and Lemon Balm Leaves

Geranium Tea

By Eleanor Smallwood