The custom of using flowers in different cuisines traces its roots back to the Roman Empire. Apart from being used in different cuisines as a major food element, edible flowers are used in abundance to garnish mouth-watering dishes. People who were hitherto aware only of the beautifying aspects of flowers and the mesmerizing fragrance must get informed about the food values of some flowers and different ways in which these can be consumed.

The main task before one decides to eat flowers is selecting edible flowers. It has often been seen that those who are not properly informed about edible flowers end up consuming poisonous flowers. Usage of pesticides not only lessens the nutrition value of edible flowers but, causes harm to the health of the consumer. Before eating edible flowers (whether cooked or raw) one must make sure that any part of the flower or the flowering plant must not have been in direct exposure to pesticides.

Dgreetings.com tries to unfurl a list of edible flowers, and lets its readers know what the ideal ways of cooking and consuming them are.

Alliums: This flower is also known as "flowering onion". This large family of edible flowers comprises almost 400 different species including onion, chives, garlic, shallots and ramps. All the species under the Alliums group are edible. Some of the flowers under this group have a mild onion smell. Some others have strong smell. These flowers are eaten both as salads and in soups.

Anise Hyssop: This flower has a soft anise or licorice fragrance. According to some wine lovers, the smell of this flower reminds them of beer root. The flowers are so nice that these are used in garnishing plates attractively.

Apple Blossoms: Apple Blossoms have a nice soft aroma. These flowers are best when taken with fruit salads. These blossoms are used in garnishing plates. These flowers must not be eaten in abundance as it can cause harm to the body, as these flowers contain a little amount of cyanide precursors.

Dgreetings.com has unfurled another list of some other edible flowers. Those are:

Broccoli Florets
Burnet
Calendula
Carnations
Dandelions
Dill
Gardenia
Gladiolas
Hollyhock
Lavender