It's coming . . . Japanese knotweed season! The winter season is still lingering here in southern New England, but early spring greens and shoots should start peeking up soon. Japanese knotweed is one of the invasive plants that naturalists dislike, but foragers can collect in great amounts without worrying about the plant population. When collecting, try not to accidentally discard any rhizomes of knotweed; it has amazing regenerative powers and the ability to spread quickly, especially near waterways.
Here's a line-up of past recipes we have made using Japanese knotweed. And here's looking forward to testing out a few new ones!
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| Ants on a Japanese knotweed log, with cream cheese |
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| Salted knotweed in the traditional Japanese manner, will preserve the crunch for a year |
If I wanted to harvest a bunch of these lovely young shoots can I freeze them until I can use them?
ReplyDeleteWhat do they taste like, do they have a flavor?
ReplyDeleteHmm... Japanese knotweed taste like Japanese knotweed! The shoots are a bit sour like green apples or rhubarb, but taste a bit like a green vegetable as well. They can work well in sweet or savory recipes. Try biting into a raw stalk to get an initial taste, then experiment from there. Some people just don't like the taste at all, you may have to add lots of sweeteners or sweeter fruit.
ReplyDeleteWe don't freeze raw knotweed, it gets a bit mushy. Try lightly cooking some chopped knotweed with sugar to make a stewed base, then add that to muffins or quick breads.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese knotweed is a dead ringer for asparagus. From the description though it seems it may have a sour taste to it? Interesting.
ReplyDeleteJapanese knotweed is definitely sour, tangy, sometimes weird and green tasting. It is often compared to green apples. Kids love sour things, though, so let them take a nibble!
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