Can I use Basil Flowers

[levamssg]

My basil is flowering like crazy. I regularly use the leaves in my salad dressings and recipes, but am not sure if I can go ahead and throw in the flowers as well. Anyone ever do that???

thanks

[rawpriestess]

YES,

We often use basil flowers in our salads, dips, recipes etc.

All herb flowers can be eaten, plus
radish flowers and pods
mustard flowers
arugula flowers
day lily flowers

but not tomato, pepper or potato flowers (no nightshade flowers)

[levamssg]

Thanks for the feedback Rawpriestess. I put daylily flowers in my salads (to decorate and eat), but had never worked the herbs before.

[RawTruth]

Are the flowers from when you pinch them off so the plant will continue leaf-ing? Or are you letting the flowers grow?

(I'm saying that because I just found out about doing that last year -- it made a huge difference in my basil crop!!)

I do love edible flowers in salads, but now I'm pinching these off before they fully flower -- though I do toss the little pinched off ends into my blender with the leaves for pesto.

[CAdreamer]

When the basil flowers (or 'bolts') it won't be long before the plant ceases to produce any more leaves...you'll see the same with cilantro, spinach, lettuce, etc. As Raw Truth discovered, it will stop the bolting process if you pinch off the flowering before it has a chance to mature, and you'll get a lot more out of your plant. Mine are bnolting early this year, even thought the weather has been unseasonably cool. The plants have only grown a fraction of the size that I normally experience.

[levamssg]

I plan on pinching off all the flowers and using them in my salad dressing and salad so the plant doesn't go to seed. In fact, that was today's project except I ended up at work too long ... so now it is a tomorrow morning project.

Thanks for all the input.