I confess that I’ve never known what edible flowers actually are. As if they’re some exotic species of flower grown just for eating. I’ve bought and consumed them, leaving it up to the flower Gods to keep producing them in order to make my salads prettier, my soups more colorful. It just so happens that I was at the farmers’ market last week when some tattooed expert looking she-chef walked up and confidently stated that she’ll take a box of pansies. Mystery revealed, they’re nothing special, we’re just eating flowers from our gardens, but I’ll pretend that I never knew that.
ME: Ok, you’ve never seen anything like it. What are these?
LAUREN: What? Isn’t that just flowers? Are we eating flowers?
SAM: Cabbage.
ME: Yes, they’re flowers. But they’re a special kind. They’re edible flowers.
SAM: I’m not going to eat flowers.
ME: You’re not going to eat flowers? I actually ate them on my soup last night.
LAUREN: Um, can you take this off?
SAM: No, thank you.
LAUREN: Do you eat that? Do you eat this?
ME: Smell it. Yeah, you can eat the whole thing.
SAM: I want to smell it.
ME: Does it smell like anything?
LAUREN: It smells like petals.
ME: It smells like petals? Yeah, well it actually doesn’t have a strong floral smell which is probably why they’re edible flowers. You can eat that whole thing.
LAUREN: I don’t want to eat this. OK, maybe I’ll try the yellow one.
ME: Sam, you’re going to miss out. Here, do you want to try the yellow one or the purple one?
LAUREN: I tried the yellow one.
ME: Lauren tried the yellow first. You’re gonna try yellow first too, Sam?
SAM: I want to try purple.
LAUREN: They taste kind of different. The yellow tastes sour.
ME: The yellow tastes sour? What do you think it taste like, Sam?
LAUREN: Well, a tiny bit.
ME: Sam’s trying the yellow one right now!
SAM: Petal.
ME: It tastes like petals?
LAUREN: And the purple one just plain. Plain oatmeal.
SAM: This one tasted like cabbage.
ME: The purple one?
SAM: Yeah. Wait. Let me try the purple one again. And the yellow one tasted like petals.
ME: So purple tastes like petal and —
SAM: No, no. Like cabbage.
ME: Oh, purple tastes like cabbage and yellow tastes like a petal? Yeah.
SAM: Yeah.
ME: Let’s see if Emma wants to try these. Guess what? Guess what, you get to eat the flower. You want to try one?
EMMA: No.
ME: You want to try a purple one?
EMMA: No.
ME: Or a yellow one? Purple one first? Yeah, you get to eat these. They’re called edible flowers.
EMMA: Ewwwww, no.
ME: So, you’re not gonna try it? Guys, do you want to tell Emma how good they are?
LAUREN: They’re good.
ME: Lauren says they’re good.
SAM: They’re super good.
ME: They’re super good. Sam said they’re super good.
ME: Yeah. Sam liked them too. Ok. Emma’s not going to try it. That’s okay I’m not going to force you.
SAM: Too bad.
ME: Should we get these again?
LAUREN: Ok.
Great post. The kids are so brave. Naturally Lauren chose the yellow flower!
Yes, I’m a little surprised that they went for it, flowers aren’t actually all that flavorful, but they do make food look beautiful! xo
Are these flowers actually good for you? Did you eat the same kind of flowers pictured? I have never heard of edible flowers.
Have a terrific weekend!
What a cool thing to try! They are great sports. So pretty! Always a great dialogue