Edible Flower Ice Cubes

Today’s Edible Flower Ice Cubes “recipe” is an easy way to add beauty and color to your table.

Our church has an annual Mother/Daughter event on the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend.  Because we don’t have our own church building I’m always searching for a place to have our event, which is often tough even when I start early.  This year I decided to do something a little different…and inexpensive.    

My parents moved here to Texas last summer and fortunately, my mother loves to entertain as much as I do.  They have a beautiful back yard with covered porch.  This was perfect for our Mother-Daughter Brunch!  

To keep things simple, I asked each lady to bring a brunch dish.  We ended up with some REALLY yummy food including my IRL friend, RaShell’s (from Mommy’s Apron) Hot Artichoke Dip.  I didn’t get any individual pictures of the food I brought…maybe next time.  

What I did get pictures of were these Edible Flower Ice Cubes!  My daughter got these from Pinterest…. because, well, isn’t that where we get most of our good (and sometimes not so good) ideas?  

They turned out better than I expected, were super simple and added a fun colorful pop to the teas being served.  I will confess, I didn’t make these.  My son was the only one home when I was preparing for the brunch so I enlisted his help.  He enjoyed it and everyone was impressed with his “skills”.  It’s so often the little details that make a big difference.

You really only need three things….ice trays, edible flowers and water.  Simple, right?  Yes, but what wasn’t so simple was knowing which flowers were edible.  To save you the trouble of standing in the store searching Google to see if the flower you’ve chosen is edible (like I had to do) I’m leaving a list below and a recommendation for what I’d do next time.    

Also, ice trays….I was beginning to think they were a thing of the past!  But, I finally found them at Big Lots.  The lady there told me they always carry them and they are very inexpensive.  I would recommend saving yourself a little time by calling around before running all over town looking for them.    

Here’s the Recipe:

List of edible flowers and tips below

• Small Edible Flowers or small fruit such as raspberries 
• Ice trays (try Big Lots or a dollar store)
• Water

Gently wash flowers thoroughly with cool water

Snip flower from stem as close as possible to blossom

Place 1-2 flowers in each section of ice tray 

Gently fill with water and freeze for several hours or overnight

I do have to mention, we didn’t actually eat the flowers.  However, whatever is being used with food, whether it will be eaten or not, needs to BE edible to avoid adding something harmful to what is being consumed.  

Common Edible Flowers:

• Lavender
• Thyme
• Basil
• Angelica
• Anise
• Lemon Verbena
• Honeysuckle
• Impatiens
• Lilac
• Marigold
• Pansy
• Peony
• Queen Anne’s Lace
• Roses
• Geraniums
• Snap Dragon
• Violets
• Carnations

My recommendation….

Go to a local garden center or Walmart and purchase inexpensive plants with several blooms.  Use the blooms and keep the plants.  Also, be careful when using flowers that are not in their natural color.  Check with the florist to make sure they haven’t been painted.  

Another option is using small pieces of fruit like berries or key lime slices.  Mint or other herb leaves look beautiful as well.  Use what goes best with the beverage you’re serving.

Make sure you choose small flowers.  Otherwise, they take up the whole ice tray section and there’s no room for water.  I tried mini carnations but they were too big.   

This post is linked up at Wake Up Wednesday Linky.