Hmm! Garlic and lilies. You can eat young, wild lily buds (and roots)--They would probably be good sauteed with a bit of garlic. (Before anyone does this, check you have the right plant) Does this mean that the elephant garlic is natural, and not tampered with in any way? I was thinking I might have to research its *pedigree*. Would love to save myself the time.

C


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Hemerocallis is the daylily family that is edible. There are literally thousands, however, the wild ones along roadsides were the original etibles. I enjoy Lemon Lilies (Hemerocallis) and old strain that is light yellow in color and smells like lemon and has a pungent lemon taste. I would not use dark colored ones only because the color bleeds and dyes finers and hands plus any other food that might be cooked with it.


As for choices, I recommend a reblooming variety (so that it can produce repeatedly and supply lots of flower/food. i've been known to chomp a few raw while working in the garden without cooking them at all.
The little plug on the end of daylily buds may or may not be bitter, as may the buds themselves, depending on variety. We don't take them off, and generally don't notice any bitterness, with the Stella d'oro (yellow flowered daylilies) which we prefer in cooking. Rule of thumb is that yellow flowers are the sweetest and tastiest, with the flowers/buds getting more bitter as one moves toward the red end of the spectum. The red pigments are the bitter ones.

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Tempura, anyone?

(I would use rice flour, and coconut oil, if I had lots)

Daylily Bud Sauté
Daylilies (Hemerocallis) open for just a day. Hemerocallis is a Greek word translating to: "beautiful for a day."
Ingredients:
2 dozen daylily buds 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup olive oil 3 eggs
dash of nutmeg salt and pepper
I clove garlic, finely minced
Cut the base off the buds. Sauté the garlic in a small amount of olive oil. Beat eggs and mix enough flower to make a thin batter. To this add the sautéed garlic, 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and the dash of nutmeg. Add a teaspoon of milk if the batter is too thick. dip the buds in the batter and sauté until a golden brown consistency.

The online instruction, to use "a handful" of yucca powder sounds like a lot. (I suppose if it grew all around it wouldn't be an issue) I'd like to try this.

Think I'll skip the elphant garlic shampoo! The funny thing is, however, that a piece I crushed and let sit, had almost no smell, after about an hour. Still had the lather though.