Edible flowers may not sound like they are true British food contenders. But if the recent interest and consumption of British flowers in British food is anything to go by, the proof is in the violet pudding.

I have to be honest I am not a hardcore forager.  I have been known to go out and gather elderflower because it was growing on the roadside and my Grandmother's cordial recipe is simple to make and heaven to drink.  I have also done a spot of Chanterelle hunting, because it seemed rather rustically glamorous.  That, and some wild garlic harvesting - the smell was so potent on a walk that I was almost hypnotised into collecting some leaves - is about the full extent of my efforts. 

I have always seen foragers as either enthusiastic outdoorsy types or fad fanatics.  The former category were foraging before they could say, “fend for ourselves” and every childhood birthday involved a tent, a couple of twigs and two pieces of flint.  The latter group are forever waiting for the next foodie fad for which they can buy all the equipment.  This type has cupboards filled with exotic gourmet specialities, such as pickled anchovy bottoms, which they are not quite sure how to use.  For a month or so they will eagerly serve plates of fruits-from-foraging before the desire for nettle tea begins to wane. 

Thanks to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, chefs such as Skye Gyngell from Petersham Nurseries and books such as Purple Citrus and Sweet Perfume by Silvana Rowe the faddists have been enjoying a foraging frenzy, of late, as the concept of edible flowers has seen a culinary renaissance.  Only this time I wonder if flower food is a fad or whether flora will actually become an integral ingredient in the next epoch of British cooking.

Back in the Middle Ages, flowers were the mainstay of the British dish.  Sorrel and lavender were key flavour contenders.  However, as flowers began to be used to scent our bodies rather than our meals, their use as an edible ingredient began to decline. By the time cookery books were easily accessible to the general public, flowers were only occasionally mentioned as garnish.  Mrs Beeton makes no mention of flowers whatsoever, as they were perceived as too rustic and old-fashioned at the time.  This was certainly the case in post-war Britain when the allure of processed food outshone everything.  In the 1970s there was a flowers-as-food fad with books such as Mary Norwak's From Garden to Table being published but it didn't really seem to stick.

Thirty years on, and the majority of British consumers have encountered jasmine-scented tea from China and the use of hibiscus, rose petals and saffron in Middle Eastern or North African cuisine.  As locally sourced British food becomes increasingly in demand, it is only natural that the use of British flowers, to infuse and marinade the produce, becomes ever more popular. Cooking With Flowers by Jekka McVicar and Supperclub by Kerstin Rodgers have some wonderful floral culinary suggestions from stuffed courgette flowers to marigold bread.

Foraging for flowers could not be more fun or easy because in theory it should just entail a walk into yours or a friend's garden.  If this doesn't yield anything, Secretts Farm in Surrey is one of a growing number of producers who offer a range of edible flowers.  That surely is a sign that flower food is here to stay. 

This month, The Sauce tests out Lavender Cream Meringues by Valentine Warner…

The Sauce

Lavender Cream Meringues by Valentine Warner

• What ingredients did you use and how readily available were they?
  4 stems of lavender from the garden
  2 large free-range eggs from the store cupboard
  100g of caster sugar from the store cupboard
  Blue and red food colouring from the store cupboard
  Local dairy double cream from the supermarket
  Icing sugar from the store cupboard


• What was the sum total cost of this meal
  To include the cost of the ingredients I already had £3.32


• How many people did it actually feed?
  It made 16 meringues


• How long did it take and how easy was it?
  Grinding the lavender flowers was a sheer joy and the smell was amazing.  I have made meringues before so I knew what consistency in the egg whites to look for and found it very straightforward and easy.  I did not follow the recipe and pipe the meringues onto the baking sheet.  Instead I shaped them with two pudding spoons.  The food colouring was a little bit of a fiddle but that is only because I was being specific on the shade of lilac I wanted.


• What did you do with the leftovers?
  There were none


• What did you and your guests think of the meal?
  Everyone thought the meringues were delicious and that the lavender flavour was just right - not too overpowering.


• Would you cook it again?
  Absolutely, it was a flavoursome twist on a fabulous summertime treat.

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