A guide to food safe florals
When it comes to decorating your wedding cake, a lot of couples opt for a floral theme, which is a great idea as it can totally coordinate your cake with your event florals such as bouquets and table styling.
Did you know however that a lot of flowers and foliage are toxic and that there are certain flowers you absolutely should not be putting anywhere near your food. Even non toxic flowers such as roses, lisianthus and peonies may well have been sprayed up to 9 times during the growing process, with anything from fertiliser, pesticides, fungicide and herbicide 😳
The best flowers to use are British grown organic blooms.
Let’s look at some popular flowers and foliage that you should NOT put on a cake
Gypsophelia or baby’s breath, a super cute cloud of white blossom – looks heavenly but should go nowhere near your cake. I know there are thousands of cakes on the internet decorated with this, but more recently it has been made clear by the UK Food Standards Agency that it contains a toxin in its sap which can cause breathing problems.
Hydrangeas – look amazing, come in a wide variety of colours, but again, toxic if consumed as they contain cyanide
Eucalyptus – contains an oil which is often used in soap, shower gel etc, but when eaten can cause vomiting and diarrhoea
Flowers that you CAN put on a cake include roses, peonies, dahlias, cornflowers, lisianthus, lavender, elderflower, sunflower, nasturtiums, camomile or wax flowers. Herbs also make great foliage so think about using olive leaves, bay, rosemary and sage.
Sugar flowers are 100% food safe, however they are mostly not edible due to containing internal support wires or polystyrene core. However, they can be made in any shade and all year round – want peonies in December?? No problem
What some customers may perceive as the downside to sugar flowers is the price – they do take many hours to create and many years of experience to create realistic ones
You can of course save the sugar flowers from your wedding cake and they will last for many years
However fresh flowers can be expensive too – the fresh florals on this cake were £90, mainly due to the wedding date coinciding with Mother’s Day in Europe which pushed the price up. Also, quality florals are not the same price as cheap supermarket bunches!!