Can you eat flowers?

Yes, flowers can be eaten or used to garnish a dish. Cooking with flowers dates to Roman times, and to Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Indian cultures. Edible flowers were especially popular in the Victorian era during Queen Victoria's reign. Today, many restaurant chefs decorate their entrees with flower blossoms, such as pansies and violets. Dandelions, arugula, watercress, lilac, nasturtiums, and garlic blossoms are often used in salads. In fact, you are probably eating flowers for dinner tonight. Broccoli, cauliflower, and artichokes are all flowers. The spice saffron, often used to flavor rice dishes, is the stamen from the crocus flower. And capers are the unopened flower buds from a bush that grows in the Mediterranean.