M.armellate, cocktails or desserts: in recent years i edible flowers they have become the protagonists of many gourmet recipes but not only. If until recently they were considered a ingredient present only in the kitchens of great chefs, today, you can buy them at supermarketedible flowers have arrived too on our tables.
Perfect for give character, taste and colors tod each recipecan be considered a healthy food? What science says about them nutritional properties and on those that pinstead it might be the health risks?
It was one who provided an answer study conducted byUniversity of Genoa and published in the journal Molecules. The research has particularly deepened the knowledge related to mineral composition of edible flowers. Here is what was discovered.
Mineral component in edible flowers
«The purpose of the research was to study some species of edible flowersfrom the point of view of the mineral composition, in particular to determine the trace elements present – says the Dr. Giuliana Drava del Department of Pharmacy of the University of Genoa – We know, in fact, that the mineral component is very important from a nutritional point of view: the trace elements have a peculiar feature that, as the name implies, they are present in very low concentrations. We are talking about micrograms (and sometimes even nanograms) per gram of sample ».
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Edible flowers: toxic or healthy?
Study the concentration of trace elements in edible flowers it was therefore necessary to assess whether their consumption could be beneficial to health or on the contrary, constitute a toxicological risk.
“Some trace elements they are toxic even at very low concentrations – explains Dr. Drava – For example the cadmium, lead, arsenic they are potentially carcinogenic and can expose you to severe acute and chronic toxicity risks. At the same time there are others elements that are essentialthat is fundamental for many processes that take place inside the organism, but which are only beneficial if they are kept within a certain concentration threshold. The boundary between toxicity and essentiality is rather critical. An example? Selenium, zinc, copper are essential for the body but they must be strictly regulated. To go to analyzing the concentration in a sample is of fundamental importance“.
Flowers at the table: yes or no?
The results of the study revealed that i edible flowers analyzed – about thirty species – can be considered a good source of essentials And they present no health risks of the consumer.
“As for the trace elements, we noticed that there are no toxicity risks – explains the doctor – In all cases cadmium and lead are indeed well below the maximum levels allowed in food. We have also noticed that each species of flower has its own set of elements that distinguishes it from the others. It was also very important to verify that there were no gods in the species examined hyperaccumulators“.
Some plants can accumulate toxic substances
“They exist in nature numerous plant species that have the ability to accumulate a certain element from the ground and this could be a problem for edible flowers – explains Dr. Drava – For example, there is one fern that hyperaccumulates arsenic and is able to extract this element at very high concentrations from contaminated soils, without being intoxicated by it. This means that if a plant has the characteristic of being a hyperaccumulator for some toxic element, that plant appears healthy to our eyes when its consumption represents a great danger to health. It was therefore very important to our research to evaluate that among the flower species examined there were no zinc hyperaccumulatorsrather than of nickel or manganese“.
The research thus made it possible to identify also the differences from the mineral point of view of the different flowers
“THE courgette flowers they are for example very rich in strontium – explains the doctor – those of cress of Brazil are rich in manganese, however, always in the context of non-worrying concentrations. Then there are flowers with a higher concentration of nickel, as the turkish lilya particularly interesting aspect considering that several people are allergic to this element ».
The project dedicated to edible flowers
The research conducted by the Department of Pharmacy of Genoa was born in the context of Antea, a broad cross-border European project Italy-France which he has been dealing with for over two years deepen the theme of edible flowers from different points of view.
«We evaluated the mineral component in 40 species of flowers – says Dr. Drava – and this is an important aspect of our research: previous scientific publications limited themselves to analyzing a few species and a few elements. The European cross-border project Antea then had the merit of involving multiple research groups who investigated many other interesting different aspects of edible flowers. The strong point was this work in synergy conducted by professionals with different research interests. Phytochemicals participated, botanists for the classification of flowers, agronomists for cultivation techniques, myocrobilogi, but also IT e engineers who have developed many optimization systems for greenhouse construction, innovative materials for packaging and platforms for sharing data between researchers and operators in the sector. And then there was also there culinary part“.
The flower recipe book
The book was also born from the Antea project Flowers, from the earth to the plate (downloadable for free from the site). A real recipe book that includes Italian and French dishes made with 40 edible flower species analyzed in the research. From P.anna cotta Viola Odorata to the Chocolate and geranium truffle until the cocktail Pink Begonia, the book contains 59 delicious and safe floral recipes for health but also info on the flowering calendar and some tips for cultivation.
Wildkräutersalat (wilde Rauke, Sauerampfer, Spitzwegerich, Vogelmiere, Fenchel, Malve, essbaren Wildkräuterblüten – Stiefmütterchen, Ringelblume), Gojibeeren, Cranberries, Studio
Edible flowers: guide to conscious consumption
Although edible flowers turn out to be a good source of essentials, the caution is always a must.
«A flower for food use it must be cultivated with that purpose – emphasizes Dr. Drava – for recipes based on edible flowers we cannot think of using the flowers grown in our gardens and balconies or purchased from the florist. In fact, it must be remembered that ornamental flowers can be treated with dangerous chemicals. Not only that, much caution must also be paid in the collection: even wild flowers that grow in a beautiful meadow are not without risks. A land, regardless of how it appears, can be rich in manganese or nickel and therefore hide pitfalls ».
In the gallery, here is everything you need to know about edible flowers
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