Edible flowers du jour at annual South Park fest

By Emma Deihle

Published: Friday, July 12, 2013, 7:20 p.m.
Updated 3 hours ago

This year's 13th annual Edible Flowers Food Fest is set to pack its own punch.

Strawberry-lavender punch, to be precise.

At 7 p.m. July 18, guests will enjoy bites garnished with the créme de la créme of edible eats — roses, lavender and nasturtiums.

Denise Schreiber, a horticulturalist at Allegheny County Parks and owner of Schreiber Horticultural Consulting, arranges the dinner every year. She prepares by hand all the floral-flavored dishes with the help of Penn State Master Gardeners, friends and family.

The idea for the event took root when Schreiber went to visit the gardens of England, where she tasted a tea-time treat blossoming with savory sweetness — rose-petal ice cream.

“I put it in my mouth, and it was the flavor of a rose. You know the phrase, ‘It smells good enough to eat'? That's exactly what happened,” Schreiber says.

Her inspiration blossomed from there, surfing the web for recipes and planning the first-ever Edible Flowers Food Fest.

Expecting a turnout of 30 or 40, she was shocked when about 200 people came to sample the flowery foods.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Nasturtiums and Spring Greens with Lavender-Blueberry Vinegar headlines the appetizer portion of this year's menu, while Chicken with Lavender and Honey, Beef with a Cherry-Rose Chutney, and Shrimp with Orange Ginger Sauce and edible flowers round out the entrees.

A glass of crisp Basil Lemonade pairs nicely with the Russian Teacakes with Lavender or a scoop of that signature Rose Petal Ice Cream. The majority of offerings this year are gluten-free.

The edible flowers give all of the items on the menu a distinctive flavor, but they also brighten the plate aesthetically, giving each dish a unique floral flare.

“Most of the flowers we use are fresh, so there's a crunchiness to (the dishes),” Schreiber says. “Visually, they are beautiful — you've got pretty much every color under the rainbow.”

Edible flowers and edible flower additives can be purchased at area supermarkets such as Giant Eagle, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and East End Co-op, Schreiber says.

Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. in the Strip District sells floral accoutrements, such as rose-petal jam.

Several online vendors, such as the Village Herb Shop, offer safe, pesticide-free seasonings and dry flowers for cooking.

While it can be convenient to purchase these items, as Schreiber points out, you can grow some of your own ingredients, like lavender or rosemary. She cautions people to “make sure they're are not contaminated by pesticides. And never pick from the side of the road.”

Emma Deihle is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-320-7834 or edeihle@tribweb.com.

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