In food or just in seasoning, the flowers are more and more present in our plates. Today there are nearly 250 edible flowers that can be cooked in any sauce. They decorate our plates first and foremost, but can also enhance the taste of any dish . A touch of freshness, originality, and aesthetics, flowers are also attributed many nutritional qualities. Nasturtium is antibacterial, pink garlic flower is good for the immune system and borage rich in vitamins and aphrodisiac. The greatest chefs have adopted the flowers in their kitchen, why not us?

3 tips for cooking with flowers

This summer, to sublimate our dishes, we replace traditional salt, pepper and other herbs with pretty flowers. Here are the 3 tips of Angèle Ferreux-Maeght , passionate about flowers and author of "Deliciously Green", to cook well with flowers.

Edible flowers are grown at home

To cook with flowers, Angèle Ferreux-Maeght warns: "We must not go pick the flowers anywhere because we do not know what's on it. So for those lucky enough to have a garden or small balcony , it's best to grow the edible flowers yourself. This helps to avoid unpleasant surprises, such as pesticides and other chemical fertilizers not great for health. We take care to plant its edible flowers in a pot at home. The seeds are easily found in organic stores, some market gardeners or specialized sites (€ 3.50 per 100 seeds on average). It's fun and always fun to reap the fruits of his efforts!

Edible flowers are used in decoration

The flowers, it can be very good but be careful, it can not be eaten like a plate of pasta . Edible flowers are not consumed in quantity. Although they are not excessively expensive, they are used rather in decoration by distilling them on the plate. "Otherwise it's a mess! "Continues Angèle Ferreux-Maeght. To impress guests by cooking with flowers in an efficient way, the idea is simple: put edible flowers in the ice cube mold before they are taken, on a soup, on a cake or in salads ... The flowers always make their little effect.

We consume the edible flowers quickly

Edible flowers are particularly fragile foods. After extracting them from the soil, they are kept only between 2 and 4 days. After this time, the edible flowers fade. Angèle Ferreux-Maeght's good advice for optimizing the preservation of edible flowers: wrap them in a sheet of paper before putting them in the refrigerator. Or let them dry for a few days in the open air. If with this second technique, we lose the nutritional qualities of some edible flowers, we take advantage of their beauty a little longer.

Thanks to Angèle Ferreux-Maeght author of the book "Délicieusement Green" published by Marabout. More information on laguinguettedangele.com .