Friday, May 20, 2011

Surprisingly Edible Plants

by Kelly

In honor of the heavy-duty gardening that I suspect is going on  outside Dawn and Donna's homes today, i thought I'd share something surprising that I found on Modish.

Everyone knows some of the standard edible flowers - dandelions, clover, violets, nasturtiums, roses and the like. Here's a list I found at Wikipedia.

I was surprised to see Lilacs and Sunflowers (yes, the flower, not just the seeds) on the list. However, I was even more surprised to find out that this common garden plant is also edible - Hostas!


Here's the article, if you're interested. In one recipe, you boil the leaves for one and a half minutes, rinse them, and serve them with salad dressing.


I would imagine you would have to be very careful as to exactly which Hostas you decide to eat, and probably the young leaves would taste the best.

Also. no one volunteers exactly what the leaves taste like. It might be an acquired taste, like spinach, or so bland that you can't describe it, like iceberg lettuce. So it might be best to sample them (carefully) first, before you dish some up for your next garden party.

I always found Hostas pretty boring compared to ferns or actual flowering garden plants, but maybe I'll have some in my garden in the future.

2 comments:

  1. Interesting. My mom is a huge hosta fan and I've had them forcibly planted in my garden for years. Funny thing is - I've become a convert. My only issue with them is that they are so lush and gorgeous in the early summer and then mine seem to tire and fade - getting that burned out look - much like me on a Friday afternoon.

    Yesterday we had a landscaper out to look at the backyard and do some re-landscaping and we acutally decided to put in a border of hosta. So the next time we have a family party - I'm bringing the salad.

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  2. Hmmm...there's an idea. Maybe I should suggest this to my husband, so that he's not always plagued by requests for his famous taco salad!

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