359953 Sat Jan 13 19:22:31 -0800 2007 27 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 2185528 ...at Le Petit Vatel in Paris' 5th. Their vegetable plate had these fantastic purple and yellow flowers sprinkled on top that gave off a wonderful aroma. I asked what they were, but the hostess didn't know in English. My butchered memory of what she called them in french was "bleuex" and "cioucix" or something like that. Thoughts? Sat Jan 13 19:22:31 -0800 2007 66659 tastytamarind 1 2186057 Hi, Would they look like this? http://images.google.com/images?&q=capucines&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi If so, here what I know about "capucines" (Nasturtium): "Capucines" were made popular in cooking with Alain Passard's "moules de bouchot à la fleur de capucine". The chef of l'Arpège created a dish where the commonly used saffron was replaced with Capucine flowers to flavour the mussels. Rgds J. Sat Jan 13 22:31:19 -0800 2007 2185528 61839 Theobroma 1 2186291 Purple and yellow flowers wouldn't be nasturtiums. (Though nasturtiums are good.) I think they may have been johnny-jump-ups, a sweet-smelling kind of viola, cousin to a pansy. Sat Jan 13 23:52:38 -0800 2007 2185528 11231 Glencora 2 2191348 I like to use nastutiums in salsa or bruschetta...just a side note! Mon Jan 15 20:20:50 -0800 2007 2186291 65434 Mermazon 1 2187091 They weren't nasturtiums. The flowers were tiny with very thin petals -- about the size of lavender. I have a picture of them....is there a way I can upload it? Sun Jan 14 05:46:39 -0800 2007 2185528 66659 tastytamarind 2 2189085 If you do a Google image search with "bleuet" (centaurea cyanus) http://www.pixiflore.com/pages/fiche_plante.asp?id_plante=8 and "souci" (calendula officinalis) http://www.aujardin.info/plantes/souci.php , you can check if the picture matches what you ate. If yes, a French-English dictionary should help you find the right flower. I'm sorry, I don't know the English names of these flowers. Otherwise, in French restaurants usually the edible flowers are "capucines". Don't know what it is in English, again. Hope this helps. Mon Jan 15 01:21:27 -0800 2007 2187091 19949 bad nono 2 2191005 Put the pictures on a site like Flicker and then provide a link to that site. Mon Jan 15 18:51:58 -0800 2007 2187091 10264 rworange 1 2189140 I have been thinking that this flower could be viola too Glencora. How about this picture: http://whatscookingamerica.net/EdibleFlowers/EdibleFlowersMain.htm Mon Jan 15 01:45:42 -0800 2007 2185528 50437 tartetatin 1 2189159 The bleuet looks like what we would call a batchlor button, and do not know about the other. Mon Jan 15 01:54:35 -0800 2007 2185528 61669 Quine 2 2192610 The other is calendula just like it's latin name, though it is often called pot marigold. It is a common edible flower, also used for color and teas. It does have a spicy, slightly bitter taste. Tue Jan 16 01:58:22 -0800 2007 2189159 17424 zebcook 1 2189183 I was thinking, re viola, that the waitress was saying "violet", meaning viola, instead of bleuet. Mon Jan 15 02:05:29 -0800 2007 2185528 50437 tartetatin 1 2190269 All the pictures I checked out have petals much broader than those served by the bistro. The flowers themselves were tiny, and the petals were thin and long (and again, tiny). However, the names "bleuet" and "souci" sound exactly like what she said... so I'm officially puzzled. I'll keep searching. Thanks, all, for the possibilities! Mon Jan 15 15:45:25 -0800 2007 2185528 66659 tastytamarind 1 2190823 A nasturtium has a very peppery bite, sort of like arugula and the petals, which are also edible, are a roundish shape and somewhat thick. So, if it bit you back it was nasturtium. Another edible flower is the geranium and the pansy and also violets. Mon Jan 15 18:04:31 -0800 2007 2185528 27101 bolivianita 1 2190890 If they were tiny and fragrant, they could be the flowers of an herb. Thyme, rosemary etc., have edible flowers. Not sure if they'd be in season though. A mystery. Mon Jan 15 18:22:58 -0800 2007 2185528 11231 Glencora 1 2191161 maybe it's chicory? http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/wildseed/23/23.1.html here's a couple lists of edible flowers with links to pics: http://whatscookingamerica.net/EdibleFlowers/EdibleFlowersMain.htm http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blflowers.htm Mon Jan 15 19:29:20 -0800 2007 2185528 56183 soypower 1 2191345 I bet they were violets. Were they kind of sweet and had a perfumed flavor to them? Other related flowers I thought of were Johnny jump-ups (they are purple, yellow or a combo of that). Or, the actual flower, Viola! Also, pansies come in a colorful variety of purples, yellows, apricots and pastel hues. All of these flowers fit the description you mentioned, tiny, long stem and delicate petals. All too, taste delicate, but pansies taste grassier than the other mentioned flowers. Mon Jan 15 20:18:54 -0800 2007 2185528 65434 Mermazon 1 2192509 What about borage? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borage That's "bourrache" in French... not quite "bleuet" or "souci" but... well... Tue Jan 16 01:32:44 -0800 2007 2185528 10811 Das Ubergeek 1 2193311 http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=147533509/PictureID=2871244425/a=33210215_33210215/t_=33210215 this is the best picture I could get of the flowers, as served on my dish. hope this helps... Tue Jan 16 09:30:11 -0800 2007 2185528 66659 tastytamarind 2 2193386 Could it be lavender - I don't quite think it is, but another guess! Tue Jan 16 12:15:59 -0800 2007 2193311 10985 MMRuth 2 2193621 Those blue ones are definitely borage. Borage smells better than it tastes -- the scent is more powerful, though the flowers taste kind of like a bizarre cucumber. It's all over my garden -- one of the few plants to survive the first hard freezes in 40 years. Tue Jan 16 14:49:28 -0800 2007 2193311 10811 Das Ubergeek 3 2193998 Sorry about your garden, mine's full of dead plants too. Borage would make sense because it would still be blooming at this time of year. I don't think it tastes particularly good, though. Tue Jan 16 16:28:40 -0800 2007 2193621 11231 Glencora 4 2194524 I like it, it just doesn't taste as strong as it smells. Tue Jan 16 18:34:11 -0800 2007 2193998 10811 Das Ubergeek 3 2195286 Well, if it was a US salad I'd say cornflowers and marigolds ... but neigther has a particularily wonderful aroma. The flowers of rosemary don't particularily have a strong aroma either. Sure it was the flowers and not something in the dressing? Did the flowers taste any particular way? Marigold has a spicy taste. English / French Borage = bourrache Rosemary = romarin Lavender = lavande This has a few more herbs, but the only thing even romotely close was chives ... which do flower. http://www.syvum.com/cgi/online/mult.cgi/learn/languages/English_French/herbs.html What's the orange stuff on the plate? Looks like carrots. Tue Jan 16 21:31:26 -0800 2007 2193621 10264 rworange 2 2197045 Can you recall the flavors these flowers held? (And the fragrance they gave off?) At glance, it looks like a lot of stemins mixed with petals. The orangy-yellow looks almost like saffron??? And I would agree that the purple resembles lavender. Which would make sense since it is widely used in French foods. Hmmm, you've really stumped us all, I think!?!? But, now, I have GOT to know! LOL! O=:) Now that I SEE the actual pic of the salad with flowers, I would say... Yep, I am gonna go with saffron and lavender! Wed Jan 17 09:00:08 -0800 2007 2193311 65434 Mermazon 1 2193542 It could be rosemary. The flavor is very honey like and perfumy. The flowers range from deep purple to light pink. They are white too I think depending on variety. The shape of the flower reminds me of a trumpet or a very small snap dragon. Tue Jan 16 14:12:37 -0800 2007 2185528 27101 bolivianita 1 2193762 I would say the yellow are definitely calendula. Judging by your picture, description and name, I'd guess the other is cornflower which has a spicy light clove flavor. The petals of both are rather thin when stripped from the flower itself. Tue Jan 16 15:26:32 -0800 2007 2185528 17424 zebcook 1 2195357 Hmm ... could be cornflower after all ... in French Bleuet des champs (I think) http://www.babylon.com/definition/cornflower/French Tue Jan 16 21:44:27 -0800 2007 2185528 10264 rworange 1 2241731 Oh boy! So many guesses! The orange is carrots -- fyi. I thought the purple may have been lavender, but the french for it sounds nothing like what I recall her saying. It's hard to remember a particular flavor, but the dish was served with jasmine rice, and the flowers really blended into the jasmine aroma. They weren't particularly pungent, or strong-tasting, for that matter. I also couldn't discern the flowers' individual scents. Goodness! I wish I could be of more help! I wonder if Le Petit Vatel has an email address... I'm going to have to do some more research. Tue Jan 30 10:02:54 -0800 2007 2185528 66659 tastytamarind