Admire Their Beauty, Then Savor Their Taste : Mini carnations, daisies, pansies and rose petals are making their way to gourmet shops, grocery stores and farmers’ stands.

The next time you’re out dining and a sunburst-colored marigold shows up on yoursalad plate, don’t flick it aside. Go ahead, eat it.

Really, it’s eatable. And it just might surprise your taste buds.

No longer just a restaurateur’s culinary embellishment, edible flowers are now available year-round for your dining pleasure at home. In Ventura County you’ll find a variety at the gourmet markets, upscale grocery stores and area farmers’ markets.

A flower’s chief culinary contribution is, of course, decorative. The bright hues and varied shapes can add an elegant touch to numerous dishes--namely salads--but also to soups, desserts and entrees, according to local growers.

Some common varieties are mini carnations, daisies, pansies and rose petals.

Brilliant colors are great, but you’ll also want to be sure edible flowers are flavorful. Many varieties are bland, but there are plenty of sweet and floral-tasting flowers, and these are commonly used for desserts and fruit dishes. The more zesty varieties are best suited to top soups or blend in to salads.

“The guidelines to follow? Let your imagination run wild,” said Donna Greenbush, director of marketing for The Green House, the nation’s largest supplier of edible flowers.

Based in Encinitas, The Green House products may be found locally at Vons, Mrs. Gooch’s and Gelson’s markets.

Although a common site in upscale restaurants, edible flowers are not taking the local retail marketplace by storm.

Ruben Mondargon, produce manager at the Thousand Oaks Mrs. Gooch’s Natural Foods Market, said he stocks them from time to time, though his customers have yet to show a great deal of interest.

“They just don’t know what they are for,” Mondargon said. “Once in a while I mix them in with our pre-cut salad mix. The flowers give it a beautiful color and people will buy it, but I just don’t make any money off of it that way.”

Despite their poor sales, Mondargon said floral fanciers will be able to purchase a variety of edible flowers at Mrs. Gooch’s beginning next week.

“I’m going to try it again through the holidays,” he said.

Edible flowers are not cheap. Mixing in a rainbow of color to an otherwise uni-color green salad is a luxury of sorts.

Vons sells a one-ounce package of mixed edibles for $1.99; another containing 12 dainty snapdragon blooms also goes for $1.99.

Karen Wetzel, manager of the Ventura County Farmers’ Markets, said springtime is high time for local edible flowers, although a few varieties are available through the winter months at area markets.

Emily Thomson attends the Ventura and Thousand Oaks markets. Her blend of greens, herbs and edible flowers sells for about $2 an ounce, she said. The “Emily Thomson Epicurean Specialties” edible flower offerings include marigolds, evening primrose, violets, pansies and others.

Currently, at the farmers’ markets, Thomson is bringing nasturtium blooms from her growing site near Ojai.

Writer and eater Rodney Bosch contributes a bimonthly column to Ventura County Life. You can write to him at 5200 Valentine Road, Suite 140, Ventura 93003, or send faxes to 658-5576.

Details

* A number of local markets, including some Vons stores, carry edible flowers on a limited basis. Some other locations around the county that offer edible flowers include:

THOUSAND OAKS: Mrs. Gooch’s Natural Foods Market, 451 Avenida de los Arboles, and at the Thursday Thousand Oaks Farmers’ Market at Janss Mall, Hillcrest Drive and Moorpark Road, from 4 to 7 p.m.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE: At Gelson’s, 2734 Townsgate Road.

VENTURA: The Saturday Ventura Farmers’ Market at the corner of Santa Clara and California streets; 8:30 a.m. to noon

OJAI VALLEY: “Cheryl’s Occasional Produce Stand,” 8950 Ojai-Santa Paula Road (California 150). The stand is open from noon to 6 p.m. some Wednesdays and on Saturdays and Sundays.