Eat Daylilies

Daylilies are originally from Asia, and are now commonly found throughout North America. People living in Asian cultures have incorporated daylilies into their cuisine; however, it has not become common in mainstream North American cuisine. You can cook with a variety of different components of the daylily plant and there are a variety of different dishes that can be made from the daylily. For instance, you can eat the shoots, cook the tubers, or eat and fry the buds and flowers.

Steps

Eating Daylily Shoots

1. Eat them raw. You can harvest the small shoots that begin to grow in early spring. Simply cut them off at the soil before they reach 8 inches (20 cm) tall. Any taller than this and they will become fibrous and tough. Cut off the outer leaves and eat the tender inner portion. You can eat daylily shoots raw on their own, or dip them into a veggie dip, such as ranch, to give more flavour.
   • Cutting back daylily shoots will not prevent the plant from growing. The roots will continue producing new shoots.
2. Put daylily shoots into a salad. This will help to mask their strong aftertaste. Chop up the daylily shoots and then mix together a variety of vegetables, such as mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, and celery. Add daylily shoots to the salad and then top with your favourite dressing, such as oil and vinegar or balsamic vinaigrette.
3. Add daylily shoots to a stir fry. Daylily shoots are very tasty when sautéed in oil with other vegetables. You could try adding daylily shoots to your next stir fry. Cook the daylilies in olive oil with tamari and garlic. Then add other vegetables, such as broccoli, squash, peppers, and onions and serve them over a bed of rice or noodles.
   • You could also try adding a protein source, such as chicken, beef, or shrimp.

Cooking with Daylily Tubers

1. Remove the roots and rhizomes. Tubers are small pea-sized roots that look similar to a fingerling potato. Before you begin cooking the tubers, you should remove the tubers from the rest of the roots and rhizomes of the daylily plant. This can be done by clipping the tubers off of the root.
   • Daylily tubers should be harvested between late fall and early spring.
   • When you harvest daylily tubers, leave a few tubers attached to the roots. These can be replanted and will continue to grow.
2. Wash the tubers. After you have removed the tubers from the root, wash and scrub them in warm water. This will clean off any soil and dirt that may remain on the tuber. You can also peel the tubers before cooking them, but this is not necessary.
3. Cook the tubers in boiling water. Place the tubers in a medium-sized pot over medium heat on the stove. Bring the water to a boil and cook the tubers for 15 minutes, or until they are tender.
   • Once you have finished cooking them, toss the tubers with butter and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Fry the tubers in butter. It is also possible to fry the tubers in butter. Cook them in a frying pan over medium heat on the stove top. They will likely take approximately 10-15 minutes to cook. You could also add some garlic and onion to give extra flavour to the dish.

Enjoying Daylily Flowers and Buds

1. Pick daylily buds and flowers during the summer. During the summer months daylilies will flower. The flowers will bloom for one day only, hence the name. That being said, the plant will continue flowering with new buds each day. Pick the buds the day before they bloom. The flowers should be harvested during the day while they are in bloom.
2. Fry daylily buds. You can eat daylily buds by frying them in a pan with a bit of butter, garlic, and salt. This simple recipe will allow you to really get a sense of the taste without overpowering them with too much additional seasoning.
   • Daylily buds taste like a cross between asparagus and green peas.
   • Fried daylilies can be served as a side dish.
3. Deep fry the buds. Try deep frying daylily buds by dipping the buds into a simple batter, deep frying them, and then sprinkling them with salt. This will give you a delicious summer treat that is sure to impress all of your friends at your next backyard grill.
   • In order to make a simple batter, mix together 1 cup (236 ml) of flour, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt.
   • Dip the buds into the batter and then fry in oil for approximately one minute, or until the buds are crisp.
4. Eat the flowers raw. Daylily flowers have a sweet flavour and can actually be enjoyed raw. When you pick a daylily flower, make sure to include the bulb near the base of the flower.
   • You can add raw daylily flowers to your favourite salad recipe to add some colour and summer freshness!

Tips

• Daylily flowers and tubers are high in protein, and the flower buds are high in beta carotene and vitamin C.

Warnings

• Daylilies can give some people an upset stomach. Sample a small amount to see how your body reacts before indulging in a large portion.
• Always be make sure you are 100% sure you have correctly identified a plant species before eating it.
• Rinse daylilies with water before cooking. This will help remove any insects that may be inside the leaves or petals.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Make Vanilla Sugar
• Make Oregano Olive Oil
• Make Italian Seasoned Chicken
• Chop Basil Leaves
• Eat Wood Sorrel
• Eat Chicory
• Use Ginseng Root
• Eat Purslane
• Eat Kudzu
• Eat Heartsease

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