Daylilies aren’t just eye candy for your flower beds; these low-maintenance beauties are actually a hidden gem in the kitchen! If you’ve ever wondered what to do with them besides admiring their color, I’ve got you covered. Here are some creative ways to bring daylilies into your cooking.
Edible and Delicious
You can actually start harvesting edible parts of the daylily as early as March or April. While some folks over here still worry they might be toxic, daylilies have been a culinary staple in East Asia for thousands of years. In fact, over there, they’re often grown specifically as a food crop rather than just a pretty garden ornament.
The best part? Every part of the daylily is edible! The most popular bits to eat are the buds, the blooms, and the young leaf shoots. Pro tip: when you’re prepping the flowers, go ahead and remove the stamens from the center—they can have a bit of an unpleasant taste. While the seeds and roots are edible too, they aren’t used quite as often in the kitchen.
What Do They Taste Like?
Daylilies offer a surprisingly wide range of flavors. The flowers and buds lean toward the sweet side, while the leaves add a nice little peppery kick to your plate. If you try the roots, you’ll notice they taste a bit like nuts or chestnuts, with a texture similar to a potato. Because they’re so versatile, you can use them in all sorts of dishes.
Depending on which part of the plant you’re using, different cooking methods work best. Here’s a quick cheat sheet:
- Roots: Great when grated and boiled.
- Seeds: Usually ground up or crushed before using.
- Flowers: Delicious raw, dried, or cooked.
- Buds: Super versatile! You can fry, bake, boil, sauté, or even pickle them. They’re also tasty raw.
- Leaf Shoots: Best enjoyed raw or lightly cooked.
- Leaves: These do well when gently steamed or boiled.
How to Use Them
Cooking is all about getting creative and trying new things. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Sauté the buds in a little oil for a quick, tasty snack.
- Use the bright flowers to dress up salads, soups, rice dishes, or even as a stunning garnish for cakes.
- Treat the young leaf shoots like asparagus—they’re fantastic in soups.
- Toss the leaves into salads or soups for a unique flavor profile.
- Use the roots as a potato substitute in casseroles or hearty salads.
- Crush the seeds and use them as a crunchy topping for your favorite soup.