Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Edible Flowers guide to Violets along with all the Violets containing recipes presented on this site, with 11 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Violets as a major edible flower.

The Violet Viola spp is a genus of about 400–500 flowering plants of the Violaceae (violet) family. Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, however viola species (commonly called violets, pansies or heartsease) are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes in South America. Most Viola species are tiny perennial plants, some are annual plants, and a few are small shrubs.

Viola species typically have heart-shaped, scalloped leaves, though a number have palmate leaves or other shapes. The flowers of the vast majority of the species are zygomorphic with bilateral symmetry. The flowers are formed from five petals; four are upswept or fan-shaped petals with two per side, and there is one broad, lobed lower petal pointing downward. The shape of the petals and placement defines many species, for example, some Viola species have a 'spur' on the end of each petal while most have a spur on the lower petal. Solitary flowers end long stalks with a pair of bracteoles. The flowers have 5 sepals that persistent after blooming, and in some species the sepals enlarge after blooming. The flowers have five free stamens with short filaments that are oppressed against the ovary, only the lower two stamens have nectary spurs that are inserted on the lowest petal into the spur or a pouch. The flower styles are thickened near the top and the stigmas are head-like, narrowed or often beaked. The flowers have a superior ovary with one cell, which has three placentae, containing many ovules. Flower colours vary in the genus, ranging from violet, as their common name suggests, through various shades of blue, yellow, white, and cream, whilst some types are bicoloured, often blue and yellow. Many cultivars and hybrids have been bred in a greater spectrum of colours.

The most commonly consumed violet flowers are sweet violets Voila odorata and Johnyy Jump Ups Viola cornuta which are compact annual or short-lived perennials, native to Spain and the Pyrenees Mountains. This variety has been used extensively in floral gardens and has escaped from cultivation to roadsides, fields and waste areas throughout much of northern Europe and the United States. The vibrant blooms are deep purple and yellow, creating a solid carpet of colour for weeks.

When newly opened, Viola flowers may be used to decorate salads or in stuffings for poultry or fish. Soufflés, cream and similar desserts can be flavoured with essence of Viola flowers. A candied violet or crystallized violet is a flower, usually of Viola odorata (sweet violet), preserved by a coating of egg white and crystallised sugar. Alternately, hot syrup is poured over the fresh flower (or the flower is immersed in the syrup) and stirred until the sugar recrystallizes and has dried. Candied violets are still made commercially at Toulouse, France, where they are known as violettes de Toulouse. Violet flowers make decorative garnishes to salads (both savoury and fruit salads) they are also excellent decorations for desserts. Candied violets, of course, are typically used for cakes, but also work well in punches, fruit soups and chilled desserts. They can also be frozen in ice as petal ice cubes. In Medieval and Elizabethan times violets (most commonly, Voila odorata were used both candied, crystallized and fresh in a range of dishes (many of these recipes are given below).