Foraging edible flowers in Quebec.

Who knew flowers could be an awesome addition to your salads and other dishes? Well they are, and there are plenty of beautiful edible flowers in Quebec. The only trick here is to keep on the look out as they come and go pretty quickly. Below is a short list of what we foraged from the wild fields of Quebec this month.

Red Clover Flowers.

Yep, the ones you might see in fields and meadows this time of year. Those pretty flowers are edible. The ones you'll find on the Marketplace are foraged from the fields of Green Barn Farm and are a favorite of the local pollinators. Although edible raw, it’s best to slightly steam, cook, or dip them in saltwater for better digestion. They have a nice light floral taste with some sweetness. It's important to note that they're only edible in the early summer and should only be eaten in small quantities in August or later, due to alkaloid compounds that develop.

Linden Flowers.

Just by smelling these fresh linden flowers, you can picture how awesome the tea will be. So what’s up with them apart from looking super cute and smelling just amazing? Well, linden flower tea is very good for getting rid of toxins - just put some in a teapot, add hot water, wait for about 5 minutes, and enjoy! For the summertime, you could also make red clover ice cubes and drop them into your linden flower tea.

Elderberry Flowers.

Being the oldest plant known to people, elderflower is known for helping fight allergies and having other healing powers (well sort of.) All this useful information aside though, these pretty little flowers are great for making tea as well. It’s recommended to use only the flowers for this.

Squash Blossoms.

One of the main reasons you don’t see a lot of publicity around this little star is due to the fact that they’re super delicate and perishable, so not even every farmers' market carries them. Fortunately, we're able to get them to you straight from the farm. These pretty orangey-yellow flowers can be eaten raw or used in a variety of recipes (most famously stuffed and deep fried).