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1. Do not eat flowers from florists or garden centers; use only organic ones. Double-check that any flower you want to eat is edible, even if it's just a garnish.

2. Remove pistils and stamens before eating flowers; consume only the petals.

3. To keep flowers fresh for a day or two, treat them like all flowers and stand them in a pitcher of water on the counter.

4. To keep flowers fresh for up to three days, keep them wrapped in damp paper towels in a resealable plastic bag in the refrigerator's vegetable crisper.

5. Steep small flowers, like lavender, honeysuckle and elderflowers, in milk or cream to flavor ice creams and custards, or use them to make flavored syrups.

6. Use larger flowers to hold fillings. In addition to zucchini blossoms, try tulips, hollyhocks, daylilies and gladioli.

--research by Shanti L. Kleiman