Make gorgeous edible flower ice cubes at home

I think vibrant food is beautiful, and one of my favorite ways to add color and flavor is by adding edible flowers to my foods and drinks. I like to throw the blooms onto salads, bake them into cookies and use them to decorate cakes. The flowers are beautiful when they’re fresh, but they start to fade pretty quickly. One way to stretch their vibrancy and enjoy them longer is by freezing them into ice cubes. I like to make a few batches before a party so friends can add color to their cocktails. They look particularly nice in clear cocktails — like my favorite, a gin and tonic.

Here are a few edible flowers and herbs to consider for your ice cubes:

Brighten up your beverages with the prettiest ice cubes, that are easy enough to make. Here is a step-by-step guide:

1. Your first step will be tracking down some edible flowers. You can sometimes find small packages at the Dane County Farmers’ Market, but if you have the space, you can grow your own. If you plant some violas or nasturtiums now, you’ll have flowers to enjoy (and eat!) all summer long. Here are a few places you might be able to find edible flowers (when in season and after COVID-19 passes):

• Willy Street Co-op (small boxes of edible varieties are sometimes sold during warm months)
• Carpenters Farm at the DCFM
• Garden To Be at the DCFM
• Luna Circle Farm at the DCFM
• Knapp’s Fresh Veggies at the DCFM

2. Find an ice cube tray. A large square cubed silicone tray works well because it can hold larger blooms. Plus, larger cube size means your ice will melt more slowly.

3. A note on water: If you use tap water, your cubes will be cloudy. For clearer ice, boil then cool distilled water before pouring them into your mold.

4. To suspend a bloom in the middle of a cube, fill each compartment of the tray halfway with water, place a flower face down, submerging it into the water, and freeze until solid. Then fill up each compartment with more water and freeze again. Alternatively, you could fill each ice cube mold with many flowers, then fill with water and freeze it all at once.

5. Once frozen, pop the cubes out of the tray and into your drink or store in the freezer until you’re ready to add some beauty to your beverage.

(Photo by Heather Lynch)

Bonus tip: Try the same thing, but sub the water for fruit juice or spirits (and add some fruit pieces, too) in a popsicle mold to make beauties like these: