Nasturtiums are always tucked into my vegetable garden. They are bountiful seed producers, and although I give away plenty, I still always have huge envelopes stuffed with seeds…so I’m a bit free with the sowing. I love how they bloom abundantly and beautifully right up until frost takes them.
You can eat the green seeds, if you’re so inclined – they are fabulous pickled if you’re into their unique peppery taste. The flowers have the same flavour, albeit milder, and are often used in green salads. This year, I was keen on making an infused vinegar with them, along the lines of the one I make from chive flowers.
All you need are two ingredients and a clean, sterilized jar with a tightly fitting lid and you’re good to go. Wash the nasturtium blossoms to get rid of all the insects and soil and other assorted things we don’t want to eat, then pack them tightly into a mason jar. Add white wine vinegar (my recommendation) or plain white vinegar and seal the jar. Place it in a cool, dark cupboard for about two weeks, then strain the flowers from the vinegar and discard them. Label the vinegar and keep it in the fridge. Aim to use it up within two to three months.
Do you grow nasturtiums in your garden? Do you eat them?
Flowery Prose 
The seeds are called “poor man’s capers”! I grow them every year for their color, vinegar and slight peppery taste in salads. I like the dark red kind as ithey makes a very pretty vinegar. They are bright and cheerful flowers, especially when the sun hits them 🙂
That is new to me and it sounds delicious. We grow nasturtiums in the winter here and I’ll be starting mine at the end of September.
We have grown nasturtiums before but not in the last few years. Never even Knew you could use them like that – I had no idea they were an “edible” flower. I will let hubby know this and see if he wants to try during next year’s growing season. Thank you for the interesting fact.
Ik zet ze alle jaren maar gebruik d bloemen niet laat ze gewoon hun gang gaan
I have always grown nasturtium, but no; I do not eat many of them.
I love them in my salads, and never thought about pickling the seeds, a must try this year