This year I am experimenting more with edible flowers. Some look pretty as a garnish or mixed into a salad. Some are good for making herbal teas, cleaning products or medicinal salves. For me, daylilies have some unique edible qualities and stand out as something special. I bought three different varieties, Nile Crane and Pink Damask arrived as planned. The third was sold as Stella De Oro, but looks nothing like pictures of this on internet searches. It is a delicate peach colour rather than vibrant yellow.
Out of the three, Nile Crane is my favourite. An open flower is about 10cm diameter; far too large to be considered a garnish, demanding to be a centre piece on your plate. Take a bite from the end that was attached to the stalk and you will be rewarded with a rush of subtle sweet nectar. As you take further bites, you find that the flower petals are crunchy like an iceberg lettuce but with a slighly aromatic flavour. You can eat the whole flower, stamens and all.
As well as eating the flowers, you can pick the buds before they open. You can slice and fry them rather like onions. I have added sliced buds to an omlette or a stir fry. Dried buds are sold in Asian supermarkets and there are recipes for rehydrating and cooking them online. I may experiment more with my two smaller varieties. However, while my Nile Crane is still a small plant, I can’t wait for each bud to flower so that I can tuck into it, either while tending my garden, or maybe it will last long enough to reach my lunchtime plate!
If you eat daylilies, what is your favourite variety?