Tagetes are so omnipresent in our home gardens that we often hardly pay any attention to the cheerfully shining flowering plants. The marigold not only looks attractive. Many varieties of marigold are an edible exotic treat. After all, the eye eats with you, and the wonderful orange-red flowers are a nice splash of color in salads, desserts or on the plate.
Marigolds can not only add a splash of color to beds but also to delicious dishes
It depends on the species
While not poisonous, not all marigold varieties are aromatic. The flowers of the marigold often taste unpleasantly bitter. Tasty flowers possess:
- tagetes fenuifolia. Its aroma is reminiscent of fully ripe citrus fruits.
- tagetes lucida. This variety tasted extremely spicy of aniseed. In South America, this marigold is used like parsley.
- daily minutes. This species also has a pleasant aniseed aroma. The leaves are used in the South American home of the marigold as a salad and sauce seasoning.
- tagetes filifolia. Because of the intense sweet root aroma of this marigold species, which has small white flowers, this marigold is also known as liquorice marigold. You can nibble the leaves directly from the bush - an extremely healthy and figure-friendly treat. The parts of the plant can also be processed into tea or liquorice vinegar.
You can dig up all edible marigolds in autumn and overwinter them indoors, so you can enjoy the aromatic flowers and leaves even in the cold season.
The spice tagetes
Hobby cooks will love this plant, because the tagetes tenuifolia (narrow-leaved marigold) not only blooms tirelessly and smells very pleasant, but it is also edible. The pretty orange-red flowers and leaves have a subtle tangerine peel aroma that goes wonderfully with summery salads and desserts. Blossoms or leaves add an extraordinarily interesting flavor to hot dessert sauces with wine.
tips
In homeopathy, the marigold is used for depressive moods. South Americans say marigold brings the sun back to life with its sunny looks.