Cooks Illustrated Unframed Print: Edible Flowers

Over the past 20 years, renowned illustrator John Burgoyne has produced more than 150 intricate, hand-drawn illustrations for Cook’s Illustrated magazine. Now, for the first time ever, America’s Test Kitchen is proud to partner with Mr. Burgoyne and offer a select number of fine art prints featuring this iconic artwork.

Not all flowers are edible, and those that are should be bought with care to avoid the risk of ingesting pesticides. These are some of our favorites. Calendula flowers are mildly bitter and good in salads. Nasturtiums have a peppery flavor and are a colorful addition to salads. Johnny-jump-ups and pansies can be eaten whole and have a wintergreen flavor; use them to garnish soups and salads and to decorate cakes. Tuberous begonias have a tart citrus flavor and a juicy crunch that makes them a nice addition to salads. Miniature rose petals are used to perfume syrups and jellies and can also be candied. Edible herb blossoms do not have exactly the same flavor profile as their parents. The flowers of anise hyssop and lavender are sweet and perfumed and work well in desserts. Delicate lemon-scented thyme flowers can be scattered over salads, as can the flowers of the calamint, whose flavor signals its membership in the mint family. Potent garlic chive blossoms are well suited to omelets and stir-fries. Large squash blossoms taste like raw zucchini. They hold up well to being stuffed and then steamed or fried, of they can simply be minced and added to salads.