That Cheese Plate's Guide to Edible Flowers

If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know that I love garnishing my cheese plates. From fresh herbs to beautiful flowers, step 6 of the Cheese By Numbers method highlights these unique touches to put the “cherry on top” of your creations. With flowers, you always want to make sure they’re food-safe and clearly marked edible. These can be flowers you grow yourself in the garden or edible flowers from the farmer’s market and the grocery store. I’ve found them at Whole Foods and a few other markets in my Brooklyn neighborhood. Recently however, I learned that you can order edible flowers online which blew my mind. If only I knew this when I was writing my book this summer, instead of hauling bunches of flowers on the subway from the market!

Gourmet Sweet Botanicals sell a variety of edible flowers on their site, as well as “tiny crudite”, herbs and micro greens. Like the rest of the world, I’ve been in quarantine over the past few weeks. I haven’t had access to any garnishes for my isolation cheese plates (not that edible flowers are anywhere near a necessity), but when I received a shipment of fresh blooms at my doorstep it really made my day. I wanted to share with you some of the selection with their tasting notes.

A note about allergies:  Ingestion of edible flowers can result in allergic reactions, particularly in those who have asthma, pollen allergies, hay fever and other types of allergies. Edible flowers should be introduced into the diet one at a time and in small quantities to prevent and/or minimize side effects and allergic reactions.

Chamomile Flowers

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Let’s start with one of the most common edible flowers, chamomile! I’m sure you’ve at least heard of chamomile tea before. The tea is made from this delicate yellow and white flower. Chamomile is the common name for these daisy-like plants of the family Asteraceae.

Tasting Notes: Distinct floral aromas, crisp apple, mild aftertaste

Pansies

Pansies are another common flower, with beautiful purple, yellow, orange, maroon and white hues. These flowers are popular fresh in salads and candied in desserts.  

Tasting Notes: Mild, slightly peppery and wintergreen flavor 

Cosmos

Cosmos are delicate white and pink flowers. These are the perfect garnish for a wedding cheese plate or a baby shower.

Tasting Notes: Mild to no flavor, similar to lettuce.

Flowering Herbs

The common herbs you know and love also produce flowers! You can differentiate the herbs from their distinct smell and leaves. For example, the purple flowers above are flowering basil. They have an intense basil aroma and small basil shaped leaves. Some other common flowering herbs are dill, mint and thyme.

Tasting Notes: The herbs taste like their typical flavor profiles with a hint of bitter notes + sometimes sweet.

Micro Star Flowers

These beautiful pink, white and red flowers resemble mini stars, hence their name. These edible flowers add a layer of texture to your plates, along with a nice floral aroma.

Tasting Notes: Grassy, sweet honey, mild bitterness

Micro Crudités

Just like it sounds! Little micro carrots, radishes and turnips make for great garnishes on cheese plates. The vegetables are vibrant with leafy greens and not to mention, super cute.

Tasting Notes: They taste just like their full-sized produce counterparts!

Firestix

These vibrant edible amaranth blossoms are a beautiful garnish for big platters or grazing tables. Layer them between green herbs for a pop of color. Their texture is a bit woody, so these are best to remain as a garnish versus consuming.

Tasting Notes: Bitter, dense, tastes a bit like celery, not ideal for consumption.

Cornflower (or Bachelor’s Button)

Cornflower is a versatile flower, with bright hues of pink, blue and maroon. Garnish your fun summer plates with these vibrant blooms, or decorate a dreamy date night plate. These flowers grow all year round.

Tasting Notes: Neutral flavor, slightly bitter

Micro Marigolds

Just like your average marigolds, but mini! These bright yellow and orange flowers are about the size of a nickel. Great for small delicate details on a cheese plate.

Tasting Notes: Lemony flavor, very fragrant. 

Broccoli Flowers

You guessed it, flowers from broccoli! I truthfully didn’t know that broccoli had such beautiful white flowers until I tried these. They’re a great delicate garnish for a simple plate.

Tasting Notes: Tastes just like broccoli stems!

Micro Princess

These little lavender cuties are perfect for a springtime cheese plate. This is a delicate flavor and texture, with thin petals that almost dissolve in the mouth.

Flavor Notes: Mildly sweet, not bitter

Some other common edible flowers are hibiscus, nasturtium, roses, dandelions + borage! Have you tried using edible flowers? Comment below!