Dill is a common herb used in Asian and European cooking. It also goes by the name dill weed as it comes with a tender stem and light leaves that resemble weeds.
But the herb is much more than just its leaves. You can make the most of this special herb by using all parts of the plant.
Can you eat dill flowers?
You can eat dill flowers. Just like dill leaves and seeds, the flowers are also edible. Dill flowers have a beautiful yellow color. The spiny flowers hold a stronger taste than the leaves but are quite milder than the seeds. Dill flowers are quite sturdy and they are better to be consumed fresh.
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Dill weed flowers are also known as dill blossoms. Which is also edible. But if they are safe or not let’s get to know them.
Dill blossoms:
Dill weed flowers are just as flavorful as dill leaves and sometimes more than that. The flavor of dill blossoms is somewhere in between parsley and lemon. They also have a light anise note that works great for various dishes.
The flowers are so beautiful that they are often used in flower arrangements to make them prettier. The gorgeous yellow blends well with any color to complete the arrangement.
Apart from the beauty, the flowers can be an active element in enhancing the taste of several dishes. When added to recipes, they add an amazing herby freshness to the food.
Dill seeds are also quite popular and you will need to dry the flowers to get the seeds. Dill weed flowers need to be used fresh as they soon lose their flavors and wither away.
So you need to harvest them when you need some for your recipes or you must store and preserve them in the right way to use later.
Dill flower’s clean and natural flavor complements earthy vegetables wonderfully. Hence they can be eaten with mushrooms, potatoes, beets, and cabbages. The flowers work greatly with salmon, yogurt, cucumber, onions, tomatoes, and eggs.
You can infuse the flowers with other herbs like fennel, lemon, and anise to prepare homemade beverages.
They enhance the taste of any pickle brine and you can use dill flowers to make pickles as well. So the spectrum for using dill flowers is broader than you’d think as you can create so many beautiful recipes with them.
Is it safe to eat dill flowers?
It is safe to eat dill flowers. The flowers have a similar and sometimes even stronger taste than the leaves.
Just like the leaves, you can add the flowers in many recipes to add flavors to them. The flowers hold nutritional values similar to the leaves.
The antioxidants of dill flowers make them a very good element for your health. Dill flowers have no side effects on your body. Rather they are quite beneficial as they help combat free radicals and boost your immune system.
You should never consume too much of anything. The same goes for dill flowers. The flowers have a sour taste that is stronger than the leaves so adding too much to your food can ruin its taste.
So include the flowers in your recipes in moderation and enjoy the goodness.
Is dill ok to eat after it flowers?
It is okay to eat dill after it flowers. You can easily cut the fronds after their flowers and add them to your recipes. It is a good idea to pinch off leaves and flowers to keep the plant tidy. This helps the plant to get bushier so you can get more leaves.
You can’t stop your dill plant from going to seeds and flowering. But if you want more leaves, just sow more seeds so you can grow more dill plants. They grow so fast that you won’t even realize the time it takes.
Dill is a friendly plant that attracts beneficial insects to your garden. These insects help keep the harmony and keep harmful pests like aphids out of your garden.
You may also find caterpillars in your dill plants. They love to feed on the plants. Don’t harm them rather check for them when you pluck the fronds.
4 reasons why you can eat dill flowers
Following are the reasons why you can and should eat dill flowers.
Nutritional benefits:
The nutritional values of dill weeds are already known to many. They have been long used for medicinal purposes in many places of the world.
The culinary inclusion of dill leaves is no joke as they are a staple in many cuisines. The flowers of the plant are no less than the leaves.
They not only carry the same flavors but also the nutritional elements. Dill flowers are quite rich in carotene. They are full of antioxidants beneficial for your health. They help to combat the free radicals in your body. The antimicrobial and antibacterial properties of dill flowers help to boost your immune system and make it stronger.
Great flavors:
You can get the same herby flavor of dill leaves from dill flowers. The flowers often taste stronger than the leaves so you can add strong flavors to your recipes with a very little amount of dill flowers.
Dill flowers have a pleasantly sour flavor that tastes similar to parsley and lemon with a hint of anise.
They leave a sweet almost honeyed finishing that enhances all the other flavors of your food. The slightly crunchy texture of the flowers is like cherries on top.
Fresh taste:
Dill flowers add a fresh taste to your food. The flavors are clean what makes these flowers a great addition to many recipes to include aromatic goodness in them.
If you love salads you can just throw some diced dill flowers to add some fresh crunchiness to your food.
Dill flowers complement a lot of vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbages, potatoes, beets, and mushrooms. They combine well with eggs and yogurt. You can also use them for roasted vegetables, meat, and some fish like salmon.
Beautiful color:
Dill flowers have a gorgeous yellow that is pleasant to watch. The color along with the crunchy taste makes them a good element for garnishing.
The beautiful spiny yellow flowers add a great appeal to the food. You can add some dill flowers to your food to make it look good while enhancing its flavors.
What do dill flowers taste like?
Dill flowers taste like a cross between lemon and parsley. The sour taste is what makes them an incredible option for salads, soups, and most importantly pickles. Dill pickles are famous for their fresh taste and health benefits.
They are full of antioxidants, important vitamins, and many other nutritional benefits that are good for gut health, blood sugar regulation, strong bones, above all, a strong immune system.
Dill flowers add an even stronger flavor than the leaves. Their level of fresh sourness is unmatched. Hence you need a very little amount of dill flowers to get the same taste as the leaves.
How to eat dill flowers?
You can use dill flowers in various ways to include them in your recipes. Following are some easy ways to eat dill flowers.
As a garnish:
You can use dill flowers as a garnish for baked or roasted vegetables and soups. The pretty yellow flowers give a new appeal to the food, so they work great for garnishing.
You can also include it in baked meat to add flavor as well as color. Dill flowers add an extra touch of aromatic freshness to soups.
Adding to pickles:
In any pickle recipes where it is required to use dill leaves, you can use dill flowers as well. Since the flowers are stronger in flavor, you can reduce the amount. Dill flowers work great for pickles and add great taste to them.
With salads:
You can also eat dill flowers by including them in your favorite salad recipes. It gives a fresh aromatic touch to your salad bowls.
Since most salads represent freshness, dill flowers incorporate well with them. The flowers blend well with tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers. You can include some diced flowers in your potato salad as well.
With dips and sauce:
Dill leaves are commonly used in dips and sauces to incorporate the aromatic herby flavors. You can use dill flowers in the same way.
To add it to your recipes, you can just dice some flowers up and mix them with the dips and sauces. They taste really good and look quite appealing.
Final Thoughts
You can eat dill flowers as they are as flavorful as the leaves. The flowers sometimes add an even stronger flavor than the leaves. They possess a beautiful yellow color that adds beauty to any dish. The sour and fresh taste of dill flowers works great in various recipes, especially pickles.