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Simple Spring Make: How to Crystallize Primroses and other Edible Flowers
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April 2, 2019 · 20 Comments

Simple Spring Make: How to Crystallize Primroses and other Edible Flowers

Dessert Recipes· Gardening· Preserving· Recipes· Videos

Make sugar coated edible flowers for spring desserts

Tips on how to crystallize primroses and other edible flowers. A simple activity that involves painting them with an egg wash and sugar to transform them into beautifully sweet decorations for desserts and cakes

Though most people think of flowers as ornaments for the home or garden, many of them are in fact edible. Lavender buds can be pressed into cookies, the essence of roses is used to make Turkish Delight, and Nasturtiums brighten up a summer salad with their peppery orange blossoms. Primroses are another great edible flower. You can use them fresh but to preserve them for longer, you can crystallize primroses in sugar.

Paint primroses and other edible flowers with sugar to transform them into beautifully sweet decorations for desserts and cakes #lovelygreens #edibleflowers

All primroses are edible, no matter the color

Primrose flowers are Edible

Primroses are one of the most common and beautiful spring flowers and they also happen to fall into the edible category. Though personally I don’t think they taste like much on their own, when coated with sugar they transform into a beautifully sweet and natural decoration that can be used on desserts and cakes.

Primroses come in a range of Colors

Primroses are low-growing plants with rough, tongue-like leaves. The color of the flowers may vary but they’ll likely be a creamy yellow with a darker yellow centre if you find them growing wild in the countryside. You may well have them growing in your garden as well and in that case they can be pink, purple, white, or a range of other colors. All colors of primrose are edible.

Paint primroses and other edible flowers with sugar to transform them into beautifully sweet decorations for desserts and cakes #lovelygreens #edibleflowers

Crystallize primroses to use as cake decorations

How to Crystallize Primroses

What you’ll need…

  • Egg wash – lightly beat the white of one egg with a teaspoon of cold water
  • Edible flowers and leaves – I’m using Primrose flowers and Peppermint leaves Sugar – fine textured white or brown granulated sugar will do. Icing/powdered sugar is not suitable. 
Paint primroses and other edible flowers with sugar to transform them into beautifully sweet decorations for desserts and cakes #lovelygreens #edibleflowers

All you’ll need are fresh flowers, caster sugar, and beaten egg whites

Instructions

1. If you’re sure the flowers are clean then you don’t need to wash them. If you do rinse them, you must let the flowers dry completely before continuing.

2. Using a clean paintbrush that has never been in contact with potentially toxic substances (think oil paint), paint the egg wash on a flower. Make sure to coat the entire surface, both front and back.

3. Pour 1/4 cup of sugar into a bowl and once the flower is coated in egg wash, place the flower in with the sugar. Coat as much of the flower’s surface as you can then take it out and place the flower face-down on a tray lined with baking/kitchen paper. Leave to try for between 1-2 days; primroses take about a day to stiffen up but some of the thicker flowers and leaves will take longer.

Paint primroses and other edible flowers with sugar to transform them into beautifully sweet decorations for desserts and cakes #lovelygreens #edibleflowers

Paint a flower with the egg wash then dip it in sugar

4. Once hardened, use the flowers to decorate cakes, cupcakes, and desserts. They can last for up to a year if stored in a dark, dry place. These flowers are also so pretty that they’re perfect for decorating a spring cake or even being packaged up in tissue paper and given to a friend as a gift.

If you’ve used light colored icing, like I have on my cake, edible leaves, such as Peppermint, create a nice backdrop for the flowers. You could even use them to recreate a rosette of Primroses like you’d find growing outside in the spring sunshine.

Enroll in the Botanical Skin Care Course with the Herbal Academy
Crystallize edible flowers with sugar to transform them into pretty decorations for desserts #lovelygreens #edibleflowers

Decorate a spring cake with pretty crystallized primroses and peppermint leaves

Other Edible Flowers

This is not a comprehensive list and if you have experience with another flower please let us know about it in the comments section below

  • Angelica – celery flavored
  • Borage (Starflower) – cucumber flavored
  • Burnet – lightly flavored like cucumber
  • Calendula (Pot marigold) – lightly peppery
  • Carnation (Pink) – spicy and anise-like
  • Chamomile – light apple flavor. Use only the flowers.
  • Chives – onion flavor
  • Gladioli – lettuce flavor
  • Hollyhock – no definable flavor
  • Impatiens – no definable flavor
  • Jasmine – sweet and floral
  • Lavender – fragrant and floral
  • Lilac – lemony and floral
  • Nasturtium – peppery
  • Pansy – lightly sweet to tart
  • Primrose – lightly sweet to no flavor
  • Rose – sweet and aromatic. Use only the colored parts of the petals
  • Runner and Climbing Beans – crisp and bean-like
  • Scented Geraniums – faintly citrusy
  • Snapdragon – no flavor to bitter
  • Squash & Pumpkin Flowers – sweet
  • Sunflower – may be slightly bitter but adds a lot of color
  • Violet – sweet and floral

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Heather L Evans-Marin says

    February 21, 2021 at 8:49 pm

    Dandelion and chicory are both edible, and day lily buds are a key ingredient in traditional hot and sour soup recipes. The roots of all of these can be eaten, though day lily (and sunflower!) tubers make some people gassy. Bachelor’s button (or cornflower) is another one I didn’t see mentioned. Not sure the flavors of these.

    I know some orchids have edible flowers as well-I’ve had these and find them to mainly taste grassy.

    Reply
  2. Krasi Peneva says

    April 15, 2020 at 8:46 am

    I just love you! This is the blog I follow the most and the place is just inbeliaveble beautiful!

    Reply
  3. Sarah Packer says

    July 31, 2019 at 3:11 pm

    My husband and I love trying new unconventional desserts. I didn’t know chamomile had an apple flavor to them, as long as you only eat the flowers. I’ll keep that in mind and find a good flower supplier!

    Reply
  4. Susanne says

    April 3, 2019 at 11:40 am

    What about cowslip, are they edible flowers as well?

    Reply
    • lovelygreens says

      April 5, 2019 at 8:11 am

      Good call, both cowslip’s leaves and flowers are edible

      Reply
  5. Jilly says

    March 17, 2019 at 2:46 am

    How wonderful. Thank you. I’ve just bought lots of primroses for my English cottage garden and will now be combining my love of gardening with cooking. How inspiring. Having just enjoyed your video as a bedtime treat I’ll now be falling to sleep happily relaxed thinking of your beautiful ideas and cakes….

    Reply
  6. Florence says

    February 11, 2019 at 12:49 am

    Sweet pea flowers are also edible and taste great in green salads 🙂

    Reply
    • lovelygreens says

      February 11, 2019 at 7:55 pm

      Sweet pea flowers, Lathyrus odoratus, are poisonous. Do not eat!

      Reply
  7. Boston BB says

    December 27, 2018 at 10:11 am

    Honeysuckle, elder (floral and sweet), and tiger lily (faint onion flavor) are a few. *Asiatic day flower (small intensely blue, considered a pest weed) is pretty in salad and can be used to make dye.

    Reply
  8. hoa tang le says

    October 10, 2018 at 8:52 am

    It is surprising to know that primrose flowers are edible. Thank you for providing this useful information to me and everyone.

    Reply
  9. Cheryl says

    March 27, 2018 at 12:38 pm

    Thanks for the information. I am definitely going to try this. Also adding a few of the flowers to my garden.

    Reply
  10. Rael Zieve says

    January 12, 2018 at 1:00 pm

    Hi Tanya
    Are the flowers just left on the shelf to dry or in the fridge?

    Reply
    • lovelygreens says

      January 12, 2018 at 6:48 pm

      Hi Rael — you dry them at room temperature.

      Reply
  11. Jennifer @ Town and Country Living says

    June 13, 2014 at 12:10 pm

    These are so pretty! Now I want to bake something just so I can add these pretty, edible flowers to it! 🙂

    Reply
  12. Sarah Krouse says

    June 13, 2014 at 11:56 am

    So pretty! Sadly, my cakes don't always turn out so well. But if I added these, they'd at least make a good impression sitting on the counter!

    Reply
  13. TheChickenChick says

    April 27, 2014 at 3:02 am

    What an elegant touch! Thank you for the tutorial and for sharing at the Clever Chicks Blog Hop!

    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick

    Reply
  14. Endah Murniyati says

    April 17, 2014 at 2:17 am

    Thanks for sharing! A great lesson!

    Reply
    • Tanya @ Lovely Greens says

      April 17, 2014 at 9:17 am

      You're very welcome Endah 🙂

      Reply
  15. [email protected] says

    April 16, 2014 at 7:21 pm

    Hi Tanya,
    Thank you for the tutorial. I am growing many of the flowers on your list this year, as well as violas which will be perfect for crystallizing.

    Reply
    • Tanya @ Lovely Greens says

      April 17, 2014 at 9:17 am

      Violas and Pansies are beautiful little flowers that would be perfect for crystallizing. They'd look lovely arranged on a cake with a few of the other edible flower types don't you think? 🙂

      Reply

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Tanya Anderson Lovely Greens Welcome to Lovely Greens. I'm Tanya and I share ideas on growing organic herbs, vegetables, and fruit and then creatively using them in the home, beauty, and kitchen. Learn more about Lovely Greens

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A Woman’s Garden, a new book from Tanya Anderson of Lovely Greens, covers eight categories of useful plants, over thirty-five plant-based projects and recipes, and features women gardeners from around the world
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