Chinese Lillies

[sandynva]

 I just had fresh lily bulb in a dish for the first time and loved it.    Does anyone know where to find these locally? Or have any tips on  preparing them? And I’d also be very interested to hear if anyone has tried to grow them— I grow a lot of lilies anyway, so I’m wondering if I could grow these and get a twofer of  a gorgeous flower plus delicious bulb   

[ktmoomau]

The buds are also commonly dried and eaten on some lily varieties.  If you google, there is some information on species (not uncommon) and recipes.  I will pay attention the next time I am at an Asian grocery and see if I see them.  Going to China was really eye opening how much of a plant they eat compared to what plants and what parts of plants we eat.  We seem to be wasting a lot of plants...

[DonRocks]

See also our thread on Lilly Bulbs.

(It's moments like this when I really like this community.)

[astrid]

I don't recall ever seeing them for sale in the US, but obviously they are available per the older thread.  The prep work is fussy, you break the "petals" up, rub away the dirt, peel the outer membrane, and soak it in water for couple hours to make it less bitter and crisp.  It's slightly glutinous and cooling, so usually eaten in the summer.  Stirfried, added to sweet porridge, or cooked byself to make a cooling porridge.

I believe most lily species originating from the Orient had been used for food at some point.  Trumpet lilies seem like the best option as they grow fast and are relatively unfussy compared to tiger lily species, and are less likely to be silent carriers of the mosaic virus.

The lily buds come from daylilies.  Typically you want to aim for species or lightly hybridized varieties with yellow or orange color blossoms, the more hybridized varieties may not taste good or even sicken eaters.  They're easy to find as dried goods in Asian grocery stores.  I don't like them, they taste musty to me, but they are probably quite nutritious and full of fiber.