Edible flowers in New Zealand: what to use, how to use them, and where to buy

Edible flowers turn an ordinary drink or a plain iced cake into something people photograph before they touch it. They are also one of the most misunderstood ingredients in a New Zealand kitchen, mostly because half the flowers sold in this country are not meant to be eaten at all.

This guide covers which flowers are safe, how to use them without wasting them, and the difference between fresh and dried.

What counts as an edible flower

An edible flower is one grown as food: raised without sprays that are not approved for food crops, harvested for eating, and handled like produce rather than like a bouquet. That last part matters more than people expect. Flowers from a florist or a garden centre are grown to look good for a week in a vase, and they are routinely treated with chemicals that are perfectly legal for ornamentals and not safe to swallow.

The flowers most often eaten in New Zealand are:

• Cornflower in blue and purple. Mild, faintly sweet, and the most reliable colour in the group. It holds its blue when dried, which almost nothing else does.
• Calendula, sometimes sold as pot marigold. Bright yellow and orange petals with a slightly peppery edge.
• Rose petals. Floral and a little sweet. Best in small pieces rather than whole petals.
• Viola and pansy. Very mild, mostly used for looks, and lovely pressed onto icing.
• Nasturtium. Peppery, almost like watercress. Grows like a weed in most New Zealand gardens, which is why so many people search for it.

Lavender, borage and elderflower also get eaten, though all three are strong enough to take over a drink if you are heavy handed.

Fresh or dried?

Fresh flowers look beautiful for about a day. They bruise when you touch them, they wilt in a warm room, and they are only available when they are in season, which in New Zealand means a narrow window in late spring and summer. If you are catering a wedding in January and you have a grower supplying you, fresh is wonderful.

For everyone else, dried is the practical choice:

• They keep for up to 24 months when they are stored properly, so a single pouch covers a summer of entertaining rather than one afternoon.
• They do not wilt on a cake that has to sit out during speeches.
• You use a pinch at a time. Our pouches work out at roughly 54 to 63 servings each, so the cost per drink is a few cents.
• They are available in July, when nothing is flowering.

Our dried edible flower florets are gently dried in small batches so the petals keep their colour, and they come in four blends: Simply Blush, Summer Bloom, Solar and Stellar.

How to use them on drinks

The trick with flowers on a cocktail is restraint. Three or four petals floating on the surface reads as intentional. A whole handful reads as a mistake.

• Float a pinch on a gin and tonic, a spritz or anything clear, where the colour has somewhere to sit.
• Freeze them into ice. Half fill the tray, freeze, add petals and top up. They suspend in the middle instead of floating to the top.
• Press them into a sugar rim. Wet the rim, dip it in rim sugar, then press a few petals into the sugar while it is still damp.
• Pair them with citrus. A dried lime slice on the glass and petals on the surface gives you height and colour in one go.

How to use them on cakes and desserts

This is where flowers earn their keep, and it is the quickest way to make a home-baked cake look like it came from a bakery.

• Scatter petals around the top edge of a buttercream cake while the icing is still soft, so they stick without glue.
• Press them onto the sides of a semi-naked cake. The crumb coat holds them.
• Use them on individual cupcakes rather than one big cake if you are nervous. Three petals per cupcake is plenty.
• Add them last. Petals soften if they sit on wet icing for hours, so decorate close to serving.

They also work on pavlova, panna cotta, cheesecake and anything with a pale surface. Chocolate is the hard one, because most petals disappear against dark brown.

Keeping them

Dried petals want three things: an airtight container, a dark cupboard and no steam. Keep the pouch sealed, keep it away from the kettle and the stovetop, and do not store them in the fridge, where condensation will soften them. Handled like that, they hold their colour for up to two years.

A note on safety

Only eat flowers that were grown to be eaten. Do not eat flowers from a florist, a garden centre, a roadside verge or a bunch someone gave you, no matter how pretty they are, because you have no way of knowing what was sprayed on them. If you grow your own, leave them unsprayed and wash them before use. And as with any new food, go carefully if you have hay fever or allergies to related plants.

Where to buy edible flowers in New Zealand

Fresh edible flowers are usually ordered through specialist growers, often with a few days' notice and a minimum order, which suits caterers more than home cooks. Some supermarkets carry small punnets in summer.

Dried petals are easier. Ours are made here in the Waikato, packed in resealable pouches, and shipped New Zealand wide, with free shipping over $100. You can see the range in our dried edible florets collection, or browse the whole garnish range if you want citrus and rim dusts to go with them.

If you are decorating a cake and a drink for the same occasion, one pouch of florets usually covers both, with plenty left over.