Pansies are edible flowers.

It’s pansy season.

They are everywhere and they are edible. I’m fascinated by edible flowers. OK, I’m fascinated by all flowers but especially edible ones. Not the kind made with cake frosting, the real deal. I think I’m one of three people on the planet that doesn’t normally like cake frosting. I’m about to find out if I like pansies.

I gave edible flowers an internet whirl. 343,000 possibilities to click on. Time to click!

Johnny Jump up is the name for the wild viola, pansy’s cousin. Pansies are violas. Also related to wild violets that grow in the woods and irritate you in your St. Augustine. Not everyone in that family is a pansy but they are all Violas. Pun intended.

You probably knew that but I learned that three seconds ago.

Plant pansies now, they like the cold weather and will bloom until it gets too hot in early summer. That’s a long winter of color and beauty in your landscape, window box or pot on the balcony of your apartment and the dinner table.

Click. Ohhhhhh. Pansies in a salad, I like that! Not the whole plant, just the flowers or you’ll get dirt in your salad. I won’t tell but the guests will notice.

Click. Pansies in an ice cube tray, covered in water, frozen and used as ice cubes in summer drinks. Hmmm another winner.

Click. Pansies on a wedding cake. Well, cake, we do not need to complicate things. Any cake. I might do that for one of my granddaughters’ birthdays. I can’t wait to see the look on their faces. The big question mark centered above their shoulders and neck.

“Seriously gramma?” “Did you make sure the dog didn’t potty on them?” “I would not have put them on the cake if he did.” “The middle one will lean in and say “I saw him do it” and feed it to the baby. I need to make sure I get pictures.

Click. Pansies pressed into cookies and baked. Pretty!

Click. Pansy garnishes. Next to a plate of little sandwiches, on the deviled egg plate, tossed on top of soup, floating on top of the punch in a punch bowl, an ice ring of ginger ale or lemon lime drink made with pansies. Love it.

Click. Cocktails with infused pansies in a glass floating in the liquid in between the ice cubes. Nice!

Click. Purple pansies on a glazed lemon cake. Delightful.

Click. Oils, vinaigrettes and marinades.

Click. Snip off your pansy flowers and sit in a saucer of water stem side in the water until ready to use. Probably that day not a month later.

Apparently, this has been going on for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Who knew?

Always when eating new edibles: If you’re not sure, don’t eat it. Always look up a plant’s toxicity possibility if you’re not sure. The internet is a valuable source of information but books still exist. Libraries are still here, for now, and librarians can be a valuable guide in there.

Never garnish with nonedibles. Assume if you put it on a plate, someone will eat it.

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/2008/jan08/EdibleFl.html