July 10, 2010

tiger lily flower buds

I remembered hearing somewhere that lily flowers are edible. My parents have a ton of tiger lilies in their yard, so I decided to try eating them. Most of the plant is edible including the small potato-like roots. When cultivated for the root, the unopened flower buds are removed to stimulate root growth[1]. This explains the presence of the flower buds aka "golden needles" in Chinese and Thai cuisine.

I battered and deep fried some of the flowers, and added the rest to a stir fry. When eaten raw, they have a slight peppery flavor.

On a side note, echinacea is growing everywhere in Illinois!

2 comments:

  1. A friend of mine posted about cooking lilies a couple weeks ago - interesting read if you're giving them a go: http://honest-food.net/2010/06/29/dining-on-daylilies/

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  2. Kevin, thanks for the link...it is definitely worth reading...and great photos. I'll have to try eating the tubers someday.

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