You’ll find the yucca plant in the Southern and Western parts of the United States, including New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and California. It also grows in Central and South America. When the flowers are first starting to bloom, there may be a greenish tint to their petals. The flowers also produce a light, sweet fragrance that can attract insects.
When you pick yucca flowers at their freshest, they usually have a mild, sweet taste that is similar to asparagus or artichokes. It’s a good idea to taste the petals of one of the yucca before you begin harvesting a large number of flowers. That way, you won’t waste your time picking a bunch of blooms that are too bitter to be eaten.
You can use garden shears to clip the flowers off the plant, but the stems aren’t usually that thick so regular scissors can work well too. If you’re harvesting a large number of yucca blooms, it helps to have a bag that you can cut the flowers directly into it so you don’t drop any.
If you want to keep the petals intact and are concerned about the washing process damaging them, you can also set them in a strainer inside a large bowl of water and let them soak. After washing the flowers, make sure to drain them carefully. Place them on paper towel to dry, so it can absorb any excess moisture.
You can leave the yucca flowers in tact as a garnish for the top of the salad, or toss the petals with the rest of the greens and herbs. A light salad dressing, such as a simple vinaigrette, works best with this type of salad. Mixing in other edible wild flowers, such as violets or dandelion petals, can add more color to your salad. Other garden herbs you may want to consider for the salad include cilantro, basil, chamomile, and chives.
If you don’t want to use the yucca as a garnish but still want to give your beverages a more decorative look, you can also freeze the petals inside ice cubes, and use them to keep your drinks cold.
The yucca flowers will look best on a cake with frosting that is a different color, so there’s some contrast between the white blooms and the icing. If you’re using a vanilla or cream frosting, consider adding food coloring to tint it. While you can obviously place the flowers on the top of the cake, don’t overlook the sides. You can create a striking look by pressing them all along the edges. You can also use the yucca flowers to decorate cupcakes. In most cases, a single bloom will be enough to decorate each cupcake.
Once you’ve boiled the flowers, you can use them as you would raw yucca, such as in salads, or incorporate them in other recipes that call for edible flowers, such as soups and stews.
For a basic tempura batter, combine ½ cup flour, ½ cup cornstarch, ⅛ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix in 1 cup sparkling water and 1 egg yolk, and you’ll have enough batter for the petals from 12 to 15 yucca flowers. When you remove the fried flowers from the oil, place them on a plate or tray that’s lined with paper towel. It will absorb the excess oil, so the yucca isn’t too greasy. Hot sauce makes an ideal dipping sauce for deep fried yucca. If you aren’t a fan of deep fried foods, you can also add yucca petals to your favorite stir fry recipe.
In Mexico and Central America, it’s common to mix yucca petals into scrambled eggs or fried eggs dishes, such as huevos rancheros.
