July 27, 2010

“Eat the day lily in moderation as it is a mild laxative” says Delena Tull…

…in her book “Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest: A Practical Guide”

“In the spring the crisp white tuberous swellings on the roots yield a delicious succulent vegetable. After scrubbing them, eat the raw, boil for 15 minutes, or bake them like potatoes. (…) You can even eat the large showy flowers of the day lily. Add the fresh petals to a salad. In China and Japan the flowers are dried ad stored for year-round use as a thickener for soups. The petals also add a delicate flavor to clear soups. Add the fresh, withered, or dries flowers to soup in the last few minutes of cooking.”

Hemerocallis fulva

Read more in the book

8 comments:

Darla said...

I have never eaten a daylily before, have heard of this though.

Gail said...

Interesting info Ewa...I knew they were edible, but not that they were medicinal! gail

easygardener said...

It must be lovely to have so many Day Lilies that you can afford to eat them!

Victoria Cummings said...

I just read about this somewhere else and since we have an insane amount of daylilies, I really need to try them. Have you done it? How did it taste?

Ewa said...

Victoria, I've tried it - it's lil bit sweetish - taste like nothing else :)

Pam said...

Very interesting and I had no idea they were edible. We have a yard full so must check it out and see what they taste like. I'm new here and this is a great informative post and I really like your blog!

Lisa said...

I've heard of people stuffing daylilies and frying them like squash blossoms, but never as a laxative. Yikes. I've thought about frying them, but by the time they're blooming, I'm so greedy for color that I don’t want to “waste” any, my loss I think. I love seeing articles on less traditional ways to use ornamentals. Thanks for sharing.

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

Fabulous flowers. I love the moss rose (and also adore your bench!). I sowed nasturtiums here and thought they were so tough they would grow anywhere but only one show, and a sad one at that.

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