🧑‍🍳 Kudzu: Pest Or Nutritious Food?

 

[TerryP]

The taste would have to give it away, right? At a glance, it looks like a whole wheat noodle.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Used to have an elite poster here (and staff member) with the screen name Kudzu. I miss him.

 

[alabama mike]

Kudzu is the devil's vine. Crap grows everywhere and is almost impossible to kill once it gets going.

 

[rick4bama]

In our Alabama Living a magazine we get from our Electric Coop. It has a page of recipe for Kudzu.
Also that weed help kept my Dad of of WWII. He was hired to plant it, by the government. By the way, here how to cook it!

Safety note:
It is essential to forage kudzu from areas you know have not been treated with pesticides or herbicides, such as roadsides. You should also be able to correctly identify kudzu, as it can resemble poison ivy.


Preparation tips
Young, tender leaves are best, while older leaves can be boiled. Blanching young leaves in boiling water and then moving them to cold water helps remove their fine hairs. Kudzu flowers, which have a grape scent, are typically harvested when dry between July and September. The roots are best harvested in winter when the plant is dormant, requiring a heavy-duty tool to dig them up.

Recipes
Kudzu leaves can be deep-fried to create a crispy snack similar to kale chips. A basic recipe involves dipping small, young leaves in a thin batter and quickly frying them until golden brown, then seasoning with salt.

Kudzu blossom jelly has a subtle grape-like flavor. To make it, fresh blossoms are steeped in boiling water overnight. The strained liquid is then combined with lemon juice and pectin, brought to a boil with sugar, and processed in jars.

Kudzu leaves and stems can also be used in a savory quiche, substituting for spinach. This involves boiling the chopped kudzu briefly, then mixing it with cream, eggs, cheese, salt, and pepper before baking in a pie shell.

Kudzu root powder, known as kuzu in Japan, can be used to make a soothing tea called Kuzu-yu. To prepare, dissolve kudzu powder in cold water, optionally add sweeteners or spices, and heat until it thickens and becomes translucent.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...gQFnoECDUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2OrNI4aJ7Hett9FBIMiG5S
Just in case.

 

[sean]

HATE that shit!