Eating Lilies

Eating Lilies

From time to time, we’ve had discussions about edible flowers, including lilies.

In the Prairie Fire kitchen a few weeks ago, I saw a big bowl of lilies ready for inclusion in some dish (not sure how Sarah Stegner planned to use them), and recently at Green City Market BBQ, Alex Cheswick of May Street Market had a similar bowlful of blooms and almost-blooms that he used for a very delicious vegan tamale-type roll, wrapped in potato and stuffed with, among other items, lilies.



Before the lily season is over (and it’s getting there), I need to try to make something with these abundant buds. Maybe just sauté them in a pan with butter. Like many flowers (e.g., squash blossoms), the flavor is very subtle but they look great.

Hi,

Dried lily buds are a classic ingredient in Moo Shoo Pork.

I have some of those orange daylilies everyone seems to have. I debate with myself about sacrificing the flower for the dish. So far the flower has always won.

Regards,

The excellent blog Hunter Angler Gardner Cook had a recent post about eating daylillies. He suggested a quick saute in butter for the buds and noted that the tubers are also edible and have a flavor like a potato, but sweet. I haven't managed to try any myself, but after his post I am very intrigued.

eli wrote:The excellent blog Hunter Angler Gardner Cook had a recent post about eating daylillies. He suggested a quick saute in butter for the buds and noted that the tubers are also edible and have a flavor like a potato, but sweet. I haven't managed to try any myself, but after his post I am very intrigued.

I have a weed daylily growing where I don't want it to be. When it finishes flowering, I might dig it for the tuber. I imagine this may be best in the fall once it has stored its energy for the winter.

Regards,

The flowers are always going to win out in our garden, but I do recall using dried day lily buds bought at an Asian market in hot and sour soup, and as I recall, they had a very nice flavor, mild but slightly tart.

The flower that would be endangered if I could persuade Mr. H to make space for it in the garden would be nasturtiums. My mother and I picked some to put in salad years ago, and after that it was always a contest between flowers and food. Kind of a peppery taste, like a mild watercress, IIRC, and of course, beautiful in a salad.