MAKE A SPLASH with blooms you can munch

Ask a professional chef and he or she may tell you that no ingredient should appear in a dish unless it also adds flavour. Many will also tell you that edible flowers can do just that. Of course, they also add beauty.

In my own experiments, with a few exceptions, I'd describe most flowers as subtle or 'floral'. Rarely unpleasant. They certainly add vibrant colour, and smaller blooms also lend themselves to other uses: such as freezing in ice cubes for adding to long summer drinks to give them a hint of floral flavour and finesse. The classic blossoms for this are borage and violas, although of course the petals of any edible blooms can be separated and used in this way.

As well as for use as decorative garnishes for any dishes or for salads, edible flowers have been used to add flavour and interest to soups, also for decorating cakes, flavouring sugars or in baking.

Of course, as we