Daylilies (Was SC - Birthdays and Daffy Dills)

[RANDALL DIAMOND]

Marian Rosenberg asks:
>>>The yellow flower with the raised center bit thingy that also comes in
miniatures that you see in the grocery store is a daffodil.  However,
I've got the wrong name.  I'm thinking of the orange/yellow flower with
the streaks of color down the center of the petal, saffron colored
pollen.  Tastes like fresh lettuce.  Anyone have any clue what I'm
talking about?<<<

I can't imagine your mystery flower being anything but a member 
of the genus Hemerocallis, probably species fulva, variety 'Europa'.
This is the common wild or Tawny Daylily.  The other period variety
is Hemerocallis flava, the Lemon daylily (named for the colour, not the
taste incidently). These varieties are completely edible and most 
delish (as are ALL daylilies, but most are too beautiful to eat).  
They are even period, being introduced from the Russias to western 
Europe in the mid 16th century.  Also they were certainly a food 
source in the wild state in their native Trans-Caucus regions by farm 
dwellers (though not likely the nobility, such as there existed then after
Ghengis Khan and his boys trashed the place several times over).

These plants are a veritable grocery produce department by 
themselves.   The orientals prefer the fresh blossoms; likely
you encountered these in some oriental salad or cookery to be
asking.   The spent flowers (they DO only last a single day you
know) are also quite edible; even though closed and limp, they
impart a wonderful flavour to soups and make it slightly gelatinus
like okra.

Try this if you can get a quantity of withered blooms this spring
(the extra fancy blooms will be ok too):
Saute 1/2 pound fresh pork cut into bite size pieces, until nicely
browned.  Add 1 quart water, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 
1 teaspoon salt.  Cover and simmer slowly for an hour until the
pork is very tender.  Replenish water as it boils away to the original
level.  Add 1 tightly packed cup of withered (yesterday's) blossoms
and 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate.  Cook a few minutes
more until the blossoms are tender.  Serve with steamed rice and
green tea; the pork and blossoms with the rice.  Serve the liquid
as a soup with fresh petals for garnish.  Elegant!

This recipe comes from Euell Gibbons (the wild foods guru who
died of stomach cancer ironically enough).  I would very much
suggest that  cooks experienced in oriental cuisine can greatly
improve this recipe with there own versions.  MSG.  Uggh!
You can probably cut down the salt a lot too.  Gibbons was
not renowned as a great chef; he just ate a lot of unusual things.

The blossoms may be dried and stored for later use also if
you like them. The unopened buds are IMO the best phase of 
this vegetable. Boil them for about as long as you would some
large asparagus shoots, drain and saute lightly in butter; or just 
butter them drained directly  from the boiling water.  They are 
better than the finest french greenbeans.   Even more 
recommended (by Gibbons) are the young and crisp flower
stalks as they shoot up about a foot high or so.  They are
reputed to be better than asparagus and are prepared the 
same way.  I have never had the will to do this as it forfeits
a month of lovely flowers renewed every day from each stalk
sacrificed from the garden.  However, if I come across a
hidden wild patch sometimes, that is another matter.
Tawny daylilies are sterile triploids and reproduce by 
underground runners which may be dug and  prepared as if  
they were costly blanched white asparagus shoots.  The 
plant roots have many small tubers from 1/2" to 3/4" in diameter
which may be harvested in any season; washed, pared of 
small rootlets (but not peeled); then boiled in salt water for 
15 minutes.  Season as you would potatos or hominy.
The lemon daylily tubers are better than the tawny (I have
this on authority of my gophers who regard the Lemon root
system as the finest delicaces). In spring, daylily tubers are 
very crisp and snowy white and can be put in salads as a raw
 vegetablelike water chestnuts.  Don't feel like a vandal in the 
garden when eating them though; enough will be left in the 
ground to actually increase the number of plants you will have
 next season. The older plants benefit from a good thinning 
and bloom all the more heavily for it too.  A last suggestion 
I offer is to dip the fresh blossoms in a rich egg batter and 
serve them piping hot as flower fritters.  A splash of good
Vermont maple syrup and you have a fine breakfast sweet dish.

Anyone have any Asian or eastern European documentation
on period comsumption of daylilies?  They were first listed in
Lobel and Pena (HISTORIA) in 1570 under the name Asphodelus
luteus liliflorus (Lemon daylily) and by Lobel in 1576 as 
Liriosphodelus phoeniceus (Tawny daylily).

Akim Yaroslavich
"No glory comes without pain"