Edible Flower Garden (Edible Garden Series) (Paperback)

by Rosalind Creasy (Author) "It's incredible how many flowers or parts of flowers I've eaten in the past few years-lavender petals made into ice cream, zucchini blossoms stuffed with..." (more)
Key Phrases: edible flower garden, floral taste, candied flowers, Chez Panisse, Carole Saville, Encyclopedia of Edible Flowers (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Author Rosalind Creasy has written extensively on edible gardens: The Edible Herb Garden and The Edible French Garden are some of her past titles. The Edible Flower Garden focuses on plants that not only enhance recipes, but also turn the plate into a painting--a visual as well as gastronomic enterprise. For the reader who thinks such things are only for true gourmets or Metropolitan Home magazine aesthetes, one look at the photographs in this book will seduce you. The images are so beautiful and unusual as to be hypnotic: rose petals served as a bowl of ice cream (Rose Petal Sorbet); salads that look like wildflower meadows.

Creasy interviews Alice Waters of Chez Panisse about her use of flowers in meals at her famous Berkeley restaurant; Waters recounts the curious effect cooking with flowers has on diners. "The flowers are a fascination. People really focus on them and are curious." This curiosity stems from a cluster of superstitions: that all flowers are somehow poisonous, that beautiful things should not be touched or consumed, that vegetables are the sturdy, useful plants while flowers are "for show." Reading The Edible Flower Garden, I remembered the summer I forgot to pick my artichokes, and they basked in the sun long after they were ripe. One day I looked out and it was as if a spell had been cast: the ugly green artichoke scales were gone, transformed into blinding purple flowers. Color is always hiding somewhere, and it is wonderful to allow it to flourish, like Creasy does, in places where it is not expected. --Emily White

From The Washington Post
"The Edible Flower Garden, lists enough edible flowers to fill even a large garden and shares some tempting recipes."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Periplus Editions; 1st edition (March 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9625932933
• ISBN-13: 978-9625932934
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #262,326 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Edible Flower Garden, December 4, 1999

By	JUSAYHI "Robyn" (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews

I never thought I would crave flowers, but this book has made me turn a new leaf! Another great inspiration from the Edible Garden Series. This is a valuable reference book as it provides the essentials to a successful garden in a format that is consistent and easy to read. It includes a complete encyclopedia of edible flowers with beautifully detailed photos that are good enough to eat! The photos make it easy for the beginner to learn the names of edible flowers and to easily identify all varieties. The author takes great care in listing any poisonious varieties that might be mistaken as edible. This book also contains sections on Planting and Maintenance, and Pest and Disease Control. It's an all-in-one tool. I plan to order the entire Edible Garden series. As soon as I finish one book, I'm hungry for the next!

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Create a Garden full of Edible Flowers, January 23, 2001

By	V.J. Billings (Mountain Valley Growers Squaw Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Use what is fresh. In this case, that means the flowers too! In The Edible Flower Garden, Rosalind Creasy shares and explains the beautiful world of cooking with colorful and tasty flowers.

Emphasis is given to creating gardens that will supply those flowers. It takes a lot of flowers for most recipes, so it is good to know how many of each to plant and when to harvest. While traditional herbal flowers like lavender and borage are included, there are also selections on vegetable flowers, as well as, some more unusual flowers like lilacs, apple blossoms and begonias.

I particularly enjoyed Ms. Creasy's experiences with Alice Waters of Chez Panisse and the edible flower gardens they create to supply fresh flowers for their world renowned restaurant.

Of course, the beautiful photos of the Edible Flower Canapes, the Pineapple Sage Salsa and the Rose Petal Sorbet weren't bad either.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Edible Flower Garden by Rosalind Cresy, May 1, 2002

By A Customer

I found the book beautifully illustrated and for the most part interesting and informative. I also found the book a bit vague and by no means comprehensive. I am a chef trying to acquire a colorful palate for my presentation but I did not find enough variety. I wondered why at least a list of more flowers wasn't included somewhere. Overall a very enjoyable book, especially the recepies...