Rosemary is a woody perennial herb with fragrant evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers. It is native to the Mediterranean region but now grown worldwide. Both the leaves and flowers of rosemary are not only edible but delicious. So can you eat rosemary flowers? The short answer is yes!
Rosemary has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes since ancient times. The ancient Greeks and Romans considered it a sacred herb. In the Middle Ages it was used to ward off evil spirits and illnesses. Today rosemary remains a popular herb in the kitchen and in herbal medicine.
Why Eat Rosemary Flowers?
The needle-like leaves of rosemary have a bitter, astringent flavor with lemon and pine notes They are commonly used dried or fresh to flavor meats, vegetables, breads, and oils. The edible flowers have a milder, slightly sweeter taste than the leaves
Eating rosemary flowers allows you to enjoy the herb’s flavor in a new way. The flowers make a beautiful garnish for salads, soups, and entrees. They can also be used to make floral butters, syrups, sugars, vinegars, cocktails, and teas.
In addition to their culinary uses, rosemary flowers have some health benefits. Like the leaves, they contain antioxidants like rosmarinic acid as well as anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial compounds. Rosemary flowers may help boost memory and concentration.
Are All Rosemary Flowers Edible?
Most types of rosemary produce edible flowers, including common rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and creeping rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’). Avoid eating flowers from ornamental rosemary varieties like the Tuscan Blue and Blue Spires as they may have been treated with pesticides.
Only eat flowers that are freshly picked from plants you know have not been treated with chemicals. Do not eat flowers that are wilted or damaged. The white, pale blue, pink, or purple flowers are edible. Avoid the bitter, hard stems and leaves attached directly to the flowers.
When to Harvest Rosemary Flowers
The ideal time to harvest rosemary flowers for eating is just after they have fully bloomed but before they start to fade. This is usually in spring, but flowers may arise at other times in warm climates. Pick them in the morning when they are at their freshest.
Use scissors or gently pinch the flowers off their stems. Try to keep the petals intact. Only harvest as many flowers as you plan to eat within a day or two. Store freshly picked flowers in the refrigerator in a glass of water with a plastic bag loosely placed over the top.
How to Use Rosemary Flowers
There are many creative ways to enjoy rosemary flowers:
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Add them to green salads, pasta salads, or quinoa for color and flavor.
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Use them as a garnish for soups like chicken noodle or minestrone.
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Scatter over pizza, bruschetta, panini sandwiches, and Mediterranean entrees before serving.
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Mix into softened butter along with minced leaves. Spread on bread, muffins, or rolls.
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Include them in marinades and dressings for meats like lamb and pork.
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Infuse in vinegar or oil. Try a rosemary flower balsamic for greens.
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Make floral sugars and syrups to use in beverages, baked goods, and cocktails.
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Brew into herbal teas, lemonades, and cocktails. The flowers work well in gin drinks.
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Candy the flowers by coating in egg white and superfine sugar to use as cake decorations.
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Add to jams like lemon rosemary flower or peach rosemary jam.
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Stir whole flowers into batters and doughs for baked goods like cakes, muffins, and bread.
When using rosemary flowers in recipes, remember that they have a milder, more delicate taste than the leaves. Use them sparingly at first until you get a feel for how much rosemary flavor you prefer. The flowers are beautiful as a garnish, while the leaves often infuse more intense flavor during cooking.
Health Benefits of Rosemary Flowers
Both the leaves and flowers of rosemary contain beneficial plant compounds like rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, ursolic acid, betulinic acid, carnosic acid, and carnosol. These compounds make rosemary a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
Early research suggests rosemary may help:
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Boost memory, concentration, and prevent neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s
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Reduce inflammation and pain from conditions like arthritis
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Fight bacteria, viruses, and fungi
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Prevent cancer due to its high antioxidant content
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Lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels
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Relieve digestive issues like gas, bloating, and indigestion
More research is still needed, but the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds in rosemary flowers and leaves show promise for improving human health.
Are There Any Side Effects?
When consumed in normal culinary amounts, rosemary flowers do not cause negative side effects for most people. Some individuals may experience stomach upset or allergic reactions if they have sensitivities to rosemary or other mint family herbs.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid medicinal use of rosemary flowers as the herb can act as a stimulant and lead to menstruation. But normal amounts used in cooking are not a concern.
How to Store Rosemary Flowers
To keep freshly picked rosemary flowers for a couple days, place the stems in a glass of water and loosely cover the blooms with plastic wrap or a plastic bag. Refrigerate and change the water daily. The flowers will wilt after one to two days.
For longer storage, air dry or freeze rosemary flowers:
Air Drying: Spread flowers out in a single layer on a screen or baking sheet. Place somewhere warm, dry, and well-ventilated for 1-2 weeks until thoroughly dried. Store the dried flowers in an airtight container.
Freezing: Lay flowers out on a baking sheet and freeze until solid, about 2 hours. Transfer to freezer bags or containers. Frozen rosemary flowers will keep for 6-12 months.
Dried or frozen rosemary flowers can be added to cooked dishes. They will rehydrate and soften when simmered in soups, stews, and sauces. Add dried flowers directly to doughs and batters.
Growing Rosemary for Flowers
Rosemary thrives in warm climates with well-drained soil and at least 6 hours of sunlight. Plant rosemary in the spring after the chance of frost has passed. Choose a sheltered site that protects the plant from harsh winds and the cold.
Most varieties of rosemary bloom in the spring. To encourage more flowers:
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Prune plants lightly in early spring to shape and remove dead wood.
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Provide extra water before and during the flowering period but avoid overwatering.
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Feed plants compost or organic fertilizer when new growth appears in spring.
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Don’t harvest more than 30% of the flowers and leaves to keep the plant healthy.
With optimal growing conditions, you can enjoy homegrown rosemary flowers through the spring. Cut back on watering in winter to harden off the plant and protect it from any winter frosts. A mulch around the base also helps insulate roots.
A Delicious, Versatile Herb
Rosemary is an elegant and aromatic herb. Both the pine-scented leaves and the lighter, floral tasting flowers are edible. The flowers make a unique addition to an array of sweet and savory dishes from salads to cocktails.
While rosemary leaves are readily available year-round, the small flowering tops offer seasonal variety. Learn how to identify, harvest, and use rosemary flowers in your cooking. Their sweet flavor and pop of color on the plate celebrates the change of season into spring.
So next time you spy rosemary blooming in your garden or at the market, don’t hesitate to pick a few flower sprigs. Get creative with these edible blooms in your recipes and as lovely garnishes. Just remember that moderation is key to enjoying their delicate taste.
Observations on food, travel, history & tradition
A while ago, I was in my garden taking pictures for the April part of my diary post called “Around My Edible Garden.” The new purple flowers on the rosemary bush were the first thing that made me think about the color purple.
But, I need to backtrack a little. Just before I took that picture, I started seeing posts about beautiful cakes made with rosemary flowers. The cakes often had beautiful pictures of the purple flowers decorating the snow-white icing. Also, lavender, another purple flower, was used in cakes. It stuck in the back of my mind. And yes, Diane Henry’s great book Crazy Water Pickled Lemons did have a recipe for lavender, orange, and almond cake. She even talks about making lavender sugar in the beginning of her chapter called Fragrance of the Earth. To do this, she says to use a coffee or spice grinder to mix the tiny flowers with granulated sugar to make what she calls a floral icing sugar. So, that immediately brought me back to rosemary and rosemary sugar.
Naturally, after the rosemary sugar was made, a cake was called for. Diana Henry saved the day again with her recipe for lemon and rosemary cake, which made me want to make a lemony cake with the rosemary sugar I had just made.
Rosemary Sugar Make this at least 2 weeks before use. When rosemary flowers dry, they don’t keep their color and shape like lavender flowers do. This is why I thought that Diane Henry’s lavender sugar method would make rosemary icing sugar have tiny brown spots in it, which would look awful and taste awful. Instead, I chose a simple infusion, like vanilla sugar, where the dried and browned flowers were sifted out.
- A handful of rosemary flowers, or about half a cup of loose flowers that are not packed
- 2 cups sugar
Pick flowers from the rosemary bush on a dry day. Place them in a bowl of the sugar and mix. Put the sugar into a jar with a lid that fits tightly, leaving some room at the top so that you can shake it every so often. Leave to infuse for at least 2 weeks or more for a stronger flavor. Over time the flowers will have lost their purple color and turn brown. Sift out the flowers.
Keep the sugar sealed in a clean jar until use. The sugar produced has a delicate hint of rosemary, more floral than piney. As an example, it can be sprinkled on fruit or used in any kind of sweet, like cakes, cookies, ice cream, and sorbets. One option is the following Lemon, Polenta & Rosemary Sugar Cake.
Was it worth it to pick all those little flowers, let the sugar soak, and then sift out all the browned flowers that didn’t look good? See my answer below the cake recipe.
Lemon and polenta It is not a unique recipe as many other cooks have produced similar cakes. But, I have modified it by substituting the oil normally used for a mixture of butter and yoghurt. Because it does not contain wheat flour, it has the benefit of being gluten free. To make a simple Lemon Polenta cake, you can also use castor sugar instead of the rosemary sugar.
- 1/4 cup polenta
- 1-1/4 cups ground almonds
- 1 cup rosemary sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup thick Greek yoghurt
- 2 oz. (1/2 stick) butter
- 4 eggs
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of an 8-inch springform baking pan with baking paper and butter the sides and bottom of the pan. Dust with a little extra polenta. Set aside while you make the batter.
Mix the butter and sugar together in a bowl or with a mixer that has a paddle attachment until the mixture is smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time – incorporating after each addition. Add the yoghurt. Measure out the polenta, ground almonds and baking powder. Zest and juice the lemon, setting the juice aside for use in the syrup. Finely chop the zest. Add these dry ingredients and the zest to the liquid mixture and process until incorporated. The batter will be slightly grainy due to the nature of the polenta and almonds. Pour this into the prepared pan.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile make the syrup.
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup rosemary sugar
Put all of the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let gently simmer for about 5 minutes to create a light syrup. Take off heat and let it cool slightly.
Take the cake out of the oven when done – test by inserting a knife into the center. If it comes out clean, it is done. Let it cool on a rack while still in its tin for about 10 minutes.
Remove the cake from the tin and place it on a serving plate. With a skewer, pierce the top of the cake all over. Pour over the syrup while the cake is still warm. Let cool completely before cutting. Dust with confectioner’s sugar just before serving.
Was it worth picking all those little flowers?
I would have to say, a provisional yes. It was easy enough to collect the rosemary flowers. It produced a lovely scented sugar, but it was very subtle – almost too subtle when baked. The flavor of the rosemary in the lemon polenta cake was mild, but the lemon was more prominent.
Since the cake was mostly ground almonds and soaked in syrup, it kept its moisture very well and got better after sitting for a while. If you want to save time, you can make this cake the day before. It tastes good with or without the rosemary sugar. Peaches cooked in a rosemary sugar syrup will be the next thing to try to see if the herb flavor comes through.
I will probably make rosemary sugar again, but this time I will add a sprig or two of rosemary to make the flavor of the herb stronger. Or, if I’m really feeling lazy, I might just cheat and give the sprigs instead of the flowers, no matter how pretty and seductive they look. They can be saved for decoration.
Edible Flowers: Rosemary Flowers Benefits
FAQ
What do you do with rosemary blossoms?
What are the uses of rosemary flowers?
Is it okay to let rosemary flower?
Are all parts of rosemary edible?
Can you eat Rosemary leaves?
Stems, leaves, flowers, and roots are technically safe for human consumption. Not all of these parts are quite as tasty as the leaves, though, and some of them are better suited for uses outside the kitchen. Rosemary has many health benefits, too; it works as an anti-inflammatory and may improve brain function and cognition.
What can you do with Rosemary flowers?
Rosemary flowers can be used in cooking in a variety of ways. As mentioned earlier, they make a beautiful and tasty addition to salads, soups, and other dishes as a garnish. You can also infuse oils, vinegars, and spirits with rosemary flowers for a fragrant and flavorful twist.
Are Rosemary flowers safe to eat?
Yes, rosemary flowers are safe to eat and are considered non-toxic. However, as with any edible flower or herb, it’s important to ensure that the plant has not been treated with any pesticides or chemicals that may be harmful if ingested. Always harvest rosemary flowers from plants that have been grown organically and are safe for consumption.
Can you eat a sprig of Rosemary?
Traditionally there are two parts of rosemary you can harvest, the tender new tips (sprigs) or the leaves. But all parts of the plant are technically edible. The leaves contain the most flavor and aromatic oils, and are great for cooking, teas, and many other uses. You can also use the tender new tips of the stems.
