ever heard of using lily of the valley for culinary purposes?

[grasswire]

A poster in the lounge, responding to my OP about flower fragrances, reports eating just yesterday some lily of the valley macarons at the Charles de Gaulle airport.

Huh? I've never heard of using muguet de bois for culinary purposes. So I googled. And every citation says the stuff is poisonous.

Interesting, interesting.

[beac]

1. Poisonous french macaroons???

To DIE for!!!

;)

[kestrel91316]

2. POISONOUS. DO NOT USE FOR CULINARY PURPOSES. PERIOD.

[grasswire]

3. the person telling about the macarons thinks it could have...

...been an artificial flavor, except for the fact that ths 160 year old patissier company is known for natural flavors.

[Sentath]

4. Day lily maybe?

Those are mostly edible, some are reputed to be bitter. Wouldn't know, haven't knowingly eaten one.

[Warpy]

5. I did find a bit about the essential oil

that lists it as a potential skin and mucus membrane irritant but states that oral toxicity is unknown. I would imagine that a drop of essential oil at your lips would burn you sufficiently that you'd wipe it off, that no one has ever managed to get it down to find out how poisonous it might be.

What I imagine scented the macaroons was a combination of rose oil and other fragrances that approximated the lily of the valley scent.

Bottom line: Using the real thing is a bad idea! Find something else to flavor those macaroons. Orange is nice.

Here's the poison control sheet on it: http://www.thegoodscentscompany.com/data/fr1384942.html