Flowers are an easy way to add a pop of color and creativity to your drinks. Whether it’s water, lemonade or a cocktail, chilling the beverage with flower ice cubes couldn’t be easier. But not all flowers should be floating around in your drinks.
Choose edible flowers
Not every flower is safe for consumption. Even though the flowers will be encased in ice initially, as the ice melts, the flowers will come in contact with the beverage. A flower like crocus may look perfect for ice cubes with bright colors and small size, but the flower that’s one of spring’s first harbingers doesn’t belong in your drink. (It can cause vomiting.)
Even if a flower is edible, the way its grown needs to be considered. If the source of the flowers is unknown, then so is the use of types of pesticides and fertilizers on them. Choose organically grown flowers, find a local grower and ask how the flowers are grown, or grow flowers to use in ice cubes or other culinary uses. For ice cubes, try one of these nine flowers.
Lavender
Lavender ice cubes don’t have to go in lavender-flavored drinks. They can go in any drink, but they would certainly add a nice touch to Iced Chamomile Lavender Tea.
Marigolds
Marigolds are easy to grow, so these may be where to start if you’re planning to grow edible flowers for ice cubes. They’re workhorses in the garden, attracting pollinators and repelling insects that can attack some vegetables so they’re useful outside and inside.
Hibiscus
These pretty flowers need the stamens and insides removed before going into the ice cube tray. Use the ice cubes in Jamaican Hibiscus Tea or put them in a glass pitcher full of water so the color is visible.
Pansies
Pansies can be blue, orange, yellow, purple, various shades of red and white. Imagine the colorful ice cubes a variety of pansies would make.
Dandelion
Just another reason why dandelions are not weeds — they’re completely edible. Put them in ice cubes whole or pull individual petals off and sprinkle them in the cube trays before adding the water.
Cornflowers
Like hibiscus, pull the insides out of these flowers before using them in ice cubes. They bloom in late spring and early summer, so think ice cubes for a 4th of July celebration, pairing them with white and red flowers.
Begonias grow well in containers. A hanging basket or a pot by the back door mean flowers for ice cubes are always in reach during their growing season.
Common daisies
Also known as English daisies, the whole flower can go into the cube tray. Play “she loves me, she loves me not,” and pluck each individual petal off and scatter them in the tray.
Roses
Miniature roses are just as edible as full size roses, so either can be used in ice cubes. The mini roses can fit whole into an ice cube tray. Pluck the petals from full size roses and use a few in each ice cube.
How to add flowers to ice cube trays is pretty self-explanatory, but if you’d like a few tips — like using distilled water instead of straight tap — take a look at this video tutorial.
