Eat Your Flowers Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

Before you start gnawing through that wildflower meadow or anniversary bouquet, be aware that some flowers, bulbs, seeds, and/or leaves can be highly toxic. Before eating, check several reliable sources and use only fresh, clean, and most of all, EDIBLE flowers that are free of soil, insects, and pesticides.

Answer: Waratah

Making your own crystallized flowers and leaves is easy with egg white and superfine sugar. Violets are most often crystallized, but other plants such as bachelor's buttons, chive blossoms, mint leaves, geraniums, lavender, pansies, roses and squash blossoms may be used as well.

The waratah, or Telopea speciosissima, is a large Australian shrub whose blooms can be 10 cm across. While the flower's huge size makes it impractical as a confectionery topping, its sweet nectar is safe to drink.

Answer: Carnations

Not surprisingly, carnations have a spicy/sweet taste to go with their spicy smell. Try them in vinegar, wine, salads or desserts. The famous French liqueur, Chartreuse, has carnation petals as one of its many ingredients.

Answer: Crystals of Lilac

Finally, a use for that enormous lilac bush in your back yard.

I think this yummy treat sounds Victorian, and indeed it is believed that the Victorians were huge flower eaters.

Answer: Earl Grey tea

"Earl Grey, hot." It remains to be seen if Captain Picard of the "Enterprise" would enjoy a steaming cup of bee balm blossoms, but bergamot is the main flavoring in Earl Grey tea.

Answer: Squash blossoms

Dok Fugtong Tod is crunchy squash blossoms. In the Italian dish, squash blossoms are cooked with arborio rice to make a wonderful risotto.

Answer: Doris Day and David Niven

"Please Don't Eat the Daisies" starred Mr. Niven as Ms. Day's college professor-turned-theater-critic husband. The book was also adapted into a TV series starring Pat Crowley and Mark Miller, which aired in the USA from 1965-67.

Answer: Medicinal

Papaver somniferum is mankind's friend and sometime nemesis, the opium poppy. From one plant we get heroin, codeine, morphine...AND the poppy seeds on our bagels.

Answer: Only dandelion leaves are edible; the flowers and root are not.

All parts of dandelions are edible. The roots are chicory-like (chicory, used to flavor coffee, is a dandelion relative), and the flowers can be eaten in salads or used to make wine. Raw dandelion greens, which have a bitter, interesting taste, are among the most nutritious foods you can eat, as they contain at least 19 vitamins and minerals.
(For a wonderful article about eating dandelions, see http://www.living-foods.com/articles/dandelion.html)

Answer: False

Actually, these two are among the most poisonous and toxic plants around. Foxglove is used to make the heart medication digitalis...not exactly something you'd want on your buffet table!

Answer: Nasturtium

Nasturtiums are one of the more commonly eaten flowers.

Answer: All of them

They even look like flowers, and broccoli is called "florets".

Answer: True

If free of pesticides, all roses are edible. They have a fruity/flowery taste and are used to make honey, syrup, jellies, butters, and in salads. Try freezing small rosebuds in ice to make a beautiful punch bowl float. Rosewater is often used in Middle Eastern and Northern African cuisine.

Answer: Yes

Cornflowers, also known as Bachelor's Buttons, have a sweet-spicy, clovelike flavor. Lemon verbena, not surprisingly, is citrusy in teas, custards and flans. Mallows are edible, although their use is more medicinal because they are sort of gummy and not as tasty as other flowers. Most cultivated (ornamental garden) honeysuckle is no longer edible, but wild honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica or Japanese honeysuckle) contains a sweet nectar that's just like...you guessed it...honey.

Answer: Marigold

All the choices may be yellow, but marigolds are the only flower listed that can be eaten. The others are beautiful, but not edible.

I hope you were pleased with my little floral repast and will sample some of my other quiz delicacies as well.