The edible bloom from the daylily plant can be used both fresh and dried. The flavor is comparable to that of green peas and asparagus.
Ingredients
- 1 cup white unbleached flour
- 1-tablespoon baking powder
- 14 teaspoon sea salt
- one cup of crisp hard apple cider (or bubbly drink of your choice such as beer or soda water)
- Grapeseed oil, 2 to 3 cups, for frying
- A pound to two pounds of fresh daylily buds
Directions
- Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small to medium-sized bowl. With a gentle whisk, add 1 cup of ice-cold apple cider (making sure it’s ice cold will help your batter crisp up nicely). Take care not to overmix. Since you don’t want the gluten to form, a few lumps in the batter are acceptable and preferable than a thoroughly blended batter.
- The grapeseed oil should be heated over medium heat in a small, sturdy skillet or saucepan. Just over an inch of oil should be present, and the temperature should be between 350 and 375 F. In most cases, I just test the temperature by dropping a small amount of batter into the hot oil. Oil is ready if it immediately begins to bubble and sizzle. The oil must be hot enough to prevent the batter from absorbing too much oil when it fries, so make sure it is.
- Grab your daylily buds by the stems and dip each one into the batter once your oil reaches the proper temperature. The green stem sticking out of the batter is acceptable because it will fry up and taste great when eaten. I’ve discovered that it’s better to work in small batches; for good monitoring, I never put more than 5 fritters in the oil at once. To prevent splashing, carefully lower each battered bud into the hot oil. Let it fry for about a minute, or until crisp and brown, then flip it over with tongs and let it cook for another minute. The fritter should be taken out of the oil and placed on a paper towel to absorb any extra oil.
- Eat warm with your preferred dipping sauce or a sprinkling of good salt.
Tips/Techniques
*Daylilies should not be mistaken for tiger lilies or other commercial lily kinds; some of them can be hazardous. Make sure you have correctly recognized them before consuming them. Always start with a modest amount of any new wild or foraged food to ensure that you don’t have any negative side effects, such as an allergy or an upset stomach.
Aube Giroux is a culinary journalist and videographer who blogs about farm-to-table cuisine at Kitchen Vignettes.
Aube enjoys telling the tales of how the food ends up on our dinner plates. She is an enthusiastic organic grower and home cook. International film festivals and television have both aired her films. She received a 2014 James Beard Award nomination for her web series. She won the Best Food Blog prize in the video category from Saveur Magazine in 2012.
Which daylilies can you eat?
You can eat a plant as long as you accurately identify it as a Hemerocallis. Hemerocallis fulva, a popular cultivar, is thought to have the best flavor. These yellow ones are so prevalent that they resemble a plague.
Due to careful breeding, there are about 60,000 different types of daylilies, and not all of them are supposed to be edible. Others just taste bad, while some may make stomachs unpleasant. Despite the claims of many foragers that all kinds of Hemerocallis are delicious, it is recommended to stick with the common type, which is both delicious and secure to consume. As with any new cuisine, try a tiny bit at first to see how you react to it and whether your palate would benefit from it.
What flavor do daylily shoots have?
Has your garden been overrun by daylilies? Why not eat them instead of weeding them out? Daylilies are more than just a gorgeous flower; they are a typical vegetable in China and Japan. Forager and author Marie Viljoen described their flavor as “green bean meets white asparagus by way of leek” in her book Forage, Harvest, Feast. The Braised Daylily Shoots recipe at the bottom of this page is just one of the amazing dishes she uses them in and includes a ton of advice for foraging them.
The following passage is taken from Marie Viljoen’s book Forage, Harvest, Feast. It’s been modified for the internet.
Daylily
Ditch lily, common orange daylily, tawny daylily, and more common names Hemerocallis fulva is the botanical name. Status: Vegetable in China and Japan, invasive perennial in North America Where: Open space, a forest, and gardens Winter, spring, and fall Vegetable parts are used. Tubers, tender shoots, buds, and blossoms are used. Grow? Only if you keep an eye out for their spread. Tastes similar to: Green bean mixed with leek and white asparagus.
Thousands, if not millions, of humans have long consumed the delectable and simple-to-prepare orange daylily tubers, shoots, buds, and flowers: In China, they are a popular food. The availability of the shoots and buds, which are foraged and supplied by seasoned as well as newly minted professional foragers, is increasing (if you count in very small increments). When cooked gently, like leeks, the delicate spring shoots are meltingly delicious. The blooming blossoms in early summer lend drama to any dish, while the crisp salad buds have a hint of scallion breath. The little tubers make for excellent starchy vegetables.
Hemerocallis fulva is edible, but there is still some mystery and doubt around it. At the risk of being verbose and annoyingly inconclusive, I feel it is vital to clarify the situation.
Many people who consume daylilies report experiencing gastrointestinal trouble, according to discerning foraging writers. It is real. I am aware of four people who became ill after eating Hemerocallis fulva flowers; the symptoms include diarrhea and occasionally vomiting. Author of Edible Wild Plants and an expert on wild foods, Dr. John Kallas is one of them. He and a friend became sick after consuming six raw buds and a flower. This hasn’t occurred to me or the countless others who have consumed them without experiencing any negative consequences. Understanding why it occurs is a big puzzle. It is important to consider it in a larger context. Before you sit down to supper, there are a number of things to think about because not all toxins are created equal.
First: It happens frequently that a common name is shared by numerous different plants. That can get complicated when discussing consuming plants. Tiger lilies are a moniker for daylilies. Tiger lilies are actually members of the distinct genus Lilium lancifolium, whose blossoms are reputed to be poisonous, at least to cats. (Inconveniently, cooked liium species bulbs can be eaten. But that is an other tale.) So, there you go. Clearly identify your Hemerocallis fulva.
Then, diploids, tetraploids, and triploids are introduced. Put your seatbelts on.
The majority of daylily poisonings—both human and animal—that have been recorded (an essential distinction) have been linked to consuming daylilies that are native to Asia and not cultivars or hybrids. Hemerocallin, a neurotoxic, appears to be the poison that caused these poisonings. The tubers and roots of particular species are linked to the poisonings, some of which are fatal. One of these is not Hemerocallis fulva. The fact that the daylilies in question are a diploid species seems to be important. Two sets of chromosomes make up diploids: one set comes from the egg cell and the other set comes from the sperm in the pollen. In other words, they produce seeds and are fruitful.
Our common orange daylily, Hemerocallis fulva, is a triploid. It contains three sets of chromosomes and rarely bears children because it rarely produces viable seed (its invasive nature is due to its spreading rhizomes).
In the enormously profitable daylily breeding industry, many of the thousands of cultivars (the word is short for “Tetraploids are developed cultivars; their names are usually enclosed in single quotation quotes. Tetraploids have four sets of chromosomes. Tetraploids are prized for their decorative qualities, including their bigger blooms and more robust leaves and stalks. Tetraploidy does not happen by wishful thinking. Colchicine, a poisonous alkaloid (not all alkaloids are harmful to us), is used to induce polyploidy and is derived from meadow crocus (Colchicum autumnale) (more than two sets of chromosomes). It is hypothesized that some foragers may experience discomfort from consuming daylily cultivars (developed for the horticultural trade) subjected to colchicine rather than the traditional orange ditch lily Hemerocallis fulva. However, it is also quite unlikely that the colchicine survives in a plant that was grown from tissue culture. These conclusions are not backed by sound science (at least not yet).
Then there are the negative responses to daylilies that have been positively identified as H. fulva. According to Dr. Kallas, the only pattern he has noticed is that bad plants are to blame. “That is, it is not a result of a particular food sensitivity. Anybody who consumes the rogue plants will have symptoms. I had eaten a lot of daylilies in the past and have continued to do so without any problems. Nevertheless, I have not reverted to the problematic patch. It is a strong hypothesis. However, I am aware of two foragers that have consumed raw daylily flowers and stems from various patches in various conditions, each time experiencing gastrointestinal discomfort. Were all those plants running amok? Are those individuals merely delicate to daylilies? Would the plants become safe for them after cooking?
It is important to note that daylilies are traditionally cooked in China by soaking and blanching. Tradition is very important. And Shell Yu, a Chinese Canadian forager with a background in biochemistry, meticulously soaks buds and fresh flowers before removing their anthers and pistils. These preparation techniques have been investigated in China, and even if the toxin that was studied there may not be the correct one, the soaking process may still leach the plant of another toxin.
In conclusion, daylilies have been consumed as food for a very long time. You might not have a good time if you don’t choose your daylilies carefully. The delicious variety is the triploid Hemerocallis fulva (for most people). Steer clear of wild diploid species. Horticultural cultivars should be avoided. And take new foods, including daylilies, in moderation.
How to Collect and Prepare
When the first daylily branches emerge from the ground in the early spring, dig the tubers. When they have regained weight in the early to late fall, you can also dig them in. Although they will always be there to greet you, they may appear more lethargic during the summer. Utilizing the rough side of a sponge, thoroughly wash and scrub. They do not require peeling. Before beginning the recipes, soak or parboil the ingredients.
Shoots: The tastiest edible shoots are young, fragile ones that I harvest at a height of 3 to 8 inches. The most significant aspect is how sensitive they are. As you would a leek, trim: Cut them in half, stopping just before the whitest end. In order to remove any soil, soak in water.
Before consuming the buds raw or cooked, traditional Chinese ways advise soaking them in water. To be on the safe side, they also advise removing the anthers and pistil from open flowers.
Caution
If you’re trying daylilies for the first time, double-check that you have Hemerocallis fulva identified correctly. Eat a little bit. If you are searching online for additional information, exercise caution when selecting your sources, stick to academic and scientific publications (and read between the lines too), and take in what seasoned foragers have to say.
Braised Daylily Shoots
The tender flavor of daylily spring shoots is similar to the sweetness of slow-cooked leeks. Eat them as an appetizer or side dish hot or cold, add them to complex broths like Wild Roast Salmon with Spring Forages, layer them with thin sheets of fresh pasta, or—my personal favorite—simply spread the meltingly soft shoots over sturdy toast with a pinch of Ramp Leaf Salt, a sprinkling of snipped field garlic greens, and a few peppery brassica flowers.
Are daylilies poisonous to people?
The blossoms of daylilies, which vary in color and shape depending on the type, are highly coveted. They are a well-liked landscaping plant that returns every year. Hemerocallis or daylilies are harmless to people and dogs but dangerous to cats. Daylilies can be lethal for cats to consume.
Do daylilies cause hallucinations?
Foragers today are significantly seduced by the daylily, which for the past century or more has been a staple plant in foraging. Why is this: They are too numerous. Although it could seem like a good thing, there is now doubt regarding the food’s suitability, thus it is not.
Asia is where the daylily is native, and it has been consumed there for a very long time. The 1500s saw the first appearance of it in writing from Europe. The only kind of daylily that was available when it was brought to North America in the 1600s was Hemerocallis fulva (hee-mer-o-KAL-is FUL-va), which was completely edible. For at least 200 years, H. Fulva was the only daylily in North America. Breeders started developing new daylilies in the 1930s. There are currently 60,000 different daylily varieties. They have been bred for things like color, size, height, and the number of petals. As a result, not all of them are edible. In truth, whether the cultivars are edible or not is anyone’s guess. Therefore, while it is relatively simple to recognize the original daylily and a daylily cultivar, determining whether the latter is edible is difficult. Of course, this is the reason why one should speak with a local specialist or the daylily’s owner. While the original daylily is edible—with a few caveats, which I will get to—all others should be taken with a grain of salt, regardless of what your handbook advises. Ask someone to show you their daylily if they claim it is edible. I refer to that as the “Dick Deuerling Method.” I’ll explain:
I spent a lot of time in the woods with Dick Deuerling, a bearded forager who sported suspenders. Florida’s Incredible Wild Edibles, a book he co-authored with a woman named Peggy Lantz, is still on the market. If someone informed Dick that a plant he was unaware was edible or if they
He would tell them to invite him over if they said a plant they thought wasn’t edible was edible. I’d like to observe you harvest the plant. As you prepare the plant for cooking, I’ll watch. I’ll watch as you prepare the plant. I’ll watch as you consume the herb. If you’re not sick or dead when I return the following day, I might try it. You must do that with every daylily on the market right now, aside from the original. Within a genus, there can be both edible and poisonous plants since plants are chemical factories. Genetic selection that results in a lovely bloom might also result in an unpalatable one. So look for the original, but require evidence that it is edible for everything else.
Except for the dry southwest of the United States and northwest Canada, much of North America has been colonized by H. fulva. Unexpectedly, it has not become a citizen of California. (I believe it to be the case; it hasn’t been publicized. Although the state of Florida claims it is not here, I am aware that it grows in the county where I reside and in one to the north.) The only other daylily that has substantially naturalized in North America is Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus, which is the yellow variety and mistakenly known as H. Flava (lil-ee-oh-as-foh-DEL-us). H. ilioasphodelus is reportedly edible, according to the Michigan State University Department of Horticulture. If it’s not me, blame them. According to one investigation, H. ilioasphodelus causes an unpleasant mouth taste similar to sweaty armpits in half of the women who consume it. There are no reports that men are bothered in the same way. Additionally, Hemerocallis minor is reportedly edible. I have no personal knowledge of that.
H. Fulva, the original, is still alive. In reality, it’s a copy. It can practically grow everywhere there is water and sunlight. It frequently outlasts the structures it was installed around. It is regarded as an invasive weed in many well-fed places (read: countries with obesity issues). Since it is sterile, it spreads by way of underground rhizomes. Dayflowers grown in cultivation remain in clumps and are not regarded as invasive. Additionally, daylilies only bloom for one day, as their name suggests.
Regarding edibility… When fried in butter, young spring shoots and leaves that are under five inches long have a slight onion flavor. Additionally, they have a modest analgesic effect and are psychedelic in big doses. Only young leaves can be eaten since they quickly turn fibrous (but you can make cordage out of the older leaves.) The interior layering of the flower buds, a rich source of iron, sets them apart from the plant’s inedible fruits. The flowers can be consumed either raw or cooked (as are seeds if you find any.) About 9.3% of the dried flower is protein, 25% is fat, 60% is carbohydrates, and 0.9 percent is ash. Vitamin A is abundant in it. The closed flower buds and edible pods are delicious cooked with other vegetables or served raw in salads. The blossoms can be stuffed like squash blossoms and add sweetness to soups and vegetable dishes. Blossoms that have partially or fully opened can be dipped in a light batter and fried tempura-style (which by the way was a Portuguese way of cooking introduced to Japan.) Many Chinese and Japanese recipes contain dried daylily petals (they usually use H. graminea). The nutty, crisp roots can be gathered almost any time of year, but October is when they taste the best. You can eat them either raw or cooked. To be harvested are fresh, white tubers. Older brown ones cannot be eaten.
Here are some cautions to appease the lawyers: Don’t assume any daylily other than the original is edible, despite the fact that they are described as edible in almost every foraging book. Many are, but don’t assume that all are. Make it credible. They can also cause severe allergic reactions in certain people. In fact, some individuals can consume them without issue for years before developing an allergy. Additionally, be careful not to use too much of any one portion of the plant or you’ll end up making a lot of your own fertilizer. They are the natural diuretic. In addition, the pollen from the plant is poisonous to cats.
Although the blossoms don’t draw hummingbirds or butterflies, rabbits and white-tailed deer consume the fragile spring foliage. The original daylily is regarded as outdated and outside the scope of daylily growers. Different daylily societies sporadically offer it. Hemerocallis, the name of the species, is derived from the Greek words I mera, which means “day,” and kalos, which means “beautiful.” The Latin word for tawny yellow brown is fulva. A hybrid of Latin and Greek, Liliosphodelus means “a lily with roots that appear to have been eaten away.” Minor and graminea both imply “grassy,” while
Oh, and in 2004 studies on H. fulva revealed significant antioxidant activity. Imagine a weed that is invasive and has significant antioxidant capacity. I occasionally believe that botanists are clueless.
Bring the water and petals to a boil, then turn off the heat. Once covered, allow to sit for ten to fifteen minutes. Then pour into a stainer or a jelly bag or two layers of cheesecloth. When all the liquid is in the bowl, let it drip there overnight if necessary.