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Tasty Tulip Ideas

24th May 2016 By Urvashi Roe 24 Comments

Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

Have you noticed that tulips are everywhere at the moment?  I’ve been about and about today and noticed all sorts of different varieties.  They are about the only plants that have come up at my allotment too.

Copyright Urvashi Roe_amsterdam-22

Beautiful tulips blooming everywhere this Spring in London

Tulips

Hundreds of varieties at the flower markets

The first thought that has come to mind has been to wonder if they are an edible variety. Many varieties are edible.  There’s a great list in this article by a fellow Great British Bake Off Alumni, Lucy Bellamy.

Leaves or bulbs? 

Well the truth is they are both edible BUT you need to have the right variety and prepare them in the right way.  Otherwise you could get serious food poisoning!

The bulbs were a staple for the Dutch during the second world war as there were so many and Office for Food Supply  pronounced them fit for consumption and issued some leaflets to help with preparation.  This excerpt from the book “The Hunger Winter: Occupied Holland, 1944-1945” by Henrie A. van der Zee gives an interesting insight into the time:

“We were advised to peel them, cut them in half and remove the bitter little yellow core. Almost everybody tried it out and nobody liked them, but the Dutch saying ‘Hunger sweetens even raw beans’ was now more true than ever, and Dr. Mees discovered that the bulbs were ‘not too bad’ when boiled like potatoes… Rather better was tulip soup, the authorities had advised. ‘Take one litre of water, 1 onion, 4-6 tulip bulbs, some seasoning and salt… one teaspoon of oil and some curry-substitute. Cut up the onion and brown together with the oil and the curry. Add water and seasoning and bring to the boil, while grating the cleaned bulbs into the boiling liquid. Add salt to taste.’ It had virtually no nutritional value, but it filled the stomach. One had to be careful not to eat too many tulip bulbs as they could cause indigestion…”

Oh dear.  Luckily the petals are more tasty.  They are most definitely savoury versus sweet and the varieties I have tried vary from spring oniony in flavour to a crisp lettuce with radicchio undertones.

The petals lose their colour in cooking – even with light steaming.  I made a wonderful stuffed tulip recipe from the Great British Chefs website and was sure to use a dark coloured flower.

Copyright Urvasi Roe_Tulips-5

Tulip Primavera – Pascale Aussignac’s recipe recreated by me for Great British Chefs

So in this glorious sunny weather, I’d say the best way to experiment is to use the petals as a container for dips.  They then make the prettiest canapes! Here’s a really easy goat’s cheese dip that you can use to dollop onto your petals.

Tulip Canapes By Urvashi Roe

Tulip petals make the perfect vehicle for all sorts of dips

Print Recipe

Tulip and Goat's Cheese Canapes

Notes

You'll need
  • 100g soft goats cheese
  • 4 heaped tbsp plain yoghurt
  • 2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
To make the dip simply mix all the ingredients together and season to your taste.
To prepare the tulip petals, just trim the bottom of each one with a pair of scissors or a sharp knife.  I use a thai fruit carving knife as it's thin and you can angle it exactly as you want to. If you don't have one of those a paring knife would work just as well.
Once you have all your petals, pop them into a bowl of cold water til you are ready to serve and then dollop some of the goat's cheese mixture on top and decorate as you wish on a platter.

  • More ideas for dips from Maddocks Farm Organics
  • Tulips as ice cream bowls from a bridal magazine – I love this idea!
  • Great little video on preparing tulips – fast forward to about 50 seconds in

Why not pin this idea for later or take a look at my Pinterest board on edible flowers

Tulip Canapes by Urvashi Roe

Related

Filed Under: Light Bites Tagged With: edible flowers, tulips

Previous Post: « Wild Garlic Kichee
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Janice (@FarmersgirlCook) says

    24th May 2016 at 8:29 pm

    This is something I’ve wanted to try for a long time, but I do find it hard to pick my tulips as I prefer to see them blooming outside. Maybe if I had more I would be able to sacrifice a few. Nice idea to serve the dip in the petals.

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      24th May 2016 at 9:03 pm

      I am lucky enough to live near a flower wholesaler and retained my card from when I had my flower shops. That is where I kill off my tulip cravings buying the beautiful feathery or parrot varieties as a Friday treat. I tend to grow the edible ones in the garden so we can eat them! Have never been brave enough to cook a bulb though!

      Reply
  2. kellie anderson says

    24th May 2016 at 8:37 pm

    What a unique idea! My tulips are finished for the season but the fact that you an eat them is so astonishing to me that I know I will remember this for next year. Your perfect and simple recipe is a great way to show off those pretty petals. Consider me amazed!

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      24th May 2016 at 9:04 pm

      Wow! I am honoured to have amazeballed you my lovely x Do review the Guardian article by Lucy as that has the varities you can grow to eat. Maddocks also sell edible tulip bulbs. This isn’t a sponsored post but I LOVE them so plug them whenever I can

      Reply
  3. Heidi Roberts says

    24th May 2016 at 8:50 pm

    Wow I never knew you could eat tulips! I’ve never been keen on eating flowers but might have to re-think!

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      24th May 2016 at 9:04 pm

      And you have an allotment too so a perfect place to grow them!

      Reply
  4. Kavey says

    24th May 2016 at 9:17 pm

    How amazing! What a fascinating snippet of history and love the recipe ideas too!

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      24th May 2016 at 9:32 pm

      Thank you. It’s such a simple thing but so pretty. Worth growing the tulips indoors for nice little Xmas canapes!

      Reply
  5. Sarah says

    24th May 2016 at 11:26 pm

    How interesting to read! I’m intrigued. They look so pretty too.

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      25th May 2016 at 8:09 pm

      Thank you

      Reply
  6. Margot⚓C&V (@coffeenvanilla) says

    25th May 2016 at 8:51 am

    I’m loving those little canapes. I had not idea tulips are edible… thanks for sharing this, I did learn something new today! 🙂

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      25th May 2016 at 8:09 pm

      Thank you. It was a pleasure

      Reply
  7. recipesfromapantry says

    25th May 2016 at 10:50 pm

    I have about 6 tulips currently growing in the garden. I used to look at them as pretty flowers, now though I am thinking about them as food.

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      26th May 2016 at 10:35 pm

      Exactly! You see my problem with all the tulips this week?!

      Reply
  8. Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says

    26th May 2016 at 10:12 am

    This is all so beautifully presented, and I never knew that you could eat tulips. I will be giving that a go at our next dinner party.

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      26th May 2016 at 10:37 pm

      Just check with your doctor first! And the list of edible ones. Some people still have very bad reactions so I hear. I have never had any adverse effects but in your case I would def check!

      Reply
  9. Sarah Trivuncic, Maison Cupcake says

    27th May 2016 at 10:30 pm

    I had no idea tulips were edible! They look so pretty as canapes!

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      28th May 2016 at 8:51 pm

      Thank you. Not all varieties are edible do always check!

      Reply
  10. Cooksister says

    28th May 2016 at 5:41 pm

    OK so I have learnt something today! Never knew that tulips were edible (although given what I read above, I think I will stick to the flowers/petals and not the bulbs!!These canapés are so clever and so pretty – thanks for the inspiration 🙂

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      28th May 2016 at 8:51 pm

      A pleasure. And yes I’m not going near the bulbs either!

      Reply
  11. Kitchen-Counter-Culture says

    7th June 2016 at 11:50 am

    Reblogged this on Kitchen Counter Culture and commented:
    Tulips! Edible! A wonderful piece in the beautiful blog The Botanical Kitchen. Includes an excerpt from a book about eating and hunger in wartime Holland, and lots of lovely culinary inspiration…

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      9th June 2016 at 3:43 pm

      Thank you

      Reply
  12. Sumith Babu says

    21st July 2016 at 5:16 pm

    Wow this is an amazing presentation!!

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      2nd August 2016 at 11:12 pm

      Thank you

      Reply

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Hi I'm Urvashi!

I love food. This blog is a little glimpse into my foodie world which is an escape from two teenage girls, a busy job and my little cafe.

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