Flowers have traditionally been used in many types of cooking: European, Asian, East Indian, Victorian English, and Middle Eastern. Early American settlers also used flowers as food.
Today, there is a renewed interest in edible flowers for their taste, color, and fragrance.
Edible flowers can be used fresh as a garnish or as an integral part of a dish, such as a salad. Squash flowers can be fried in light batter or cornmeal.
Some flowers can be stuffed or used in stir-fry dishes.
Edible flowers can be candied; frozen in ice cubes and added to beverages; made into jellies and jams; used to make teas or wines; minced and added to cheese spreads, herbal butters, pancakes, crepes, and waffles.
Many flowers can be used to make vinegars for cooking, marinades, or dressings for salad. Herbal flowers normally have the same flavor as their leaves, with the exceptions of chamomile and lavender blossoms, where the flavor is usually more subtle.
Additional flowers that have been reported to be edible include:
Black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia;
Cattails, Typha spp.; Clary sage, Salvia sclarea; Common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca; Coriander, Coriander sarivum;
Fuchsia, Fushia x hybrida;
Gardenia, Gardenia jasminoides; Garlic, Allium sativum; Garlic chives, Allium tuberosum; Gladiolus, Gladiolus hortulanus;
Hyssop, Hyssopus officalis;
Leek, Allium porrum; Lemon, Citrus limon;
Marjoram, Origanum vulgare; Marsh mallow, Althaea officinalis; Mustard, Brassica spp.;
Nodding onion, Allium cernuum;
Peony, Paeonia lactiflora;
Orange, Citrus sinensis; Oregano, Origanum vulgar;
Pineapple guava, Acca sellowiana; Plum, Prunus spp.;
Radish, Raphanus sativus; Redbud, Cercis canadensis; Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus;
Safflower, Carthamus tinctorius; Spiderwort, Tradescantia virginia; Strawberry, Fragaria ananassa;
Water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes; Water lily, Nymphaea odorata; Winter savory, Satureja montana;
Yucca, Yucca spp.