Used raw, the blossoms make lovely garnishes for salads, desserts, and drinks. Yucca is a natural substance long used in herbal medicine. I suppose you might find them at a market in NM or AZ or maybe Mexico, but your best bet is probably to forage for them yourself. People cultivate yucca as a source of food, medicine and in ornamental purposes. If you’re lucky enough to find yucca blossoms, either in the garden or in the wild, it’s time to give them a taste. If you want to learn more, like how to make a yucca flower soup, keep reading the article! You can find mesquite flour online or at some health food stores. Finely chopped yucca stamens and pistils with southwest seasoning prior to adding petals. Above - yucca flowers. Enter your email address and I'll send you notifications of new posts. When they start to turn green, add the onions and continue to cook over low heat until the onions are soft and translucent. The batter will be a little lumpy, but you should avoid mixing the batter too much or it will become tough. Separate the petals from the pistils and stamens. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Remove the fiberous “core” from the Yucca. Sauté until they just begin to soften, another 2 to 3 minutes. There are lots of recipes for yucca blossoms in eggs, soups, stews, and my favorite: yucca blossom quesadillas. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. Yucca flowers make an interesting and tasty addition to salads, soups, and other dishes. Yucca plants have spiky, sharp leaves, that grow out from a central point. HOME > Blog > Yucca Blossoms: a Savory Edible Flower. Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window). My first year in New Mexico, I was very excited to harvest yucca fruit. etc. And it's easy to make, too. % of people told us that this article helped them. I’ve also seen them sliced and tossed … Keep in mind that the texture of the dish may change and become softer. • Picadillo de Flor de Itabo, from Monte Azul. Most recipes for yucca flowers involve eggs. I’ve read that the pistils and stamens are bitter and/or toxic, and should be discarded, and I’ve also read that the entire flower and fruit are safe and flavorful. You could also add them to a quiche, soup, or stew. Almost four years later, I haven’t found a single one. Avoid frying all of the yucca petals at once or they may bring down the temperature of the oil too much. The pot should be at least 7 quarts (6.6 liters) in size. Add the salt, sumac powder, and whichever kind of pepper you prefer, and stir to combine, then remove from the heat. Vegetal, pleasant, soft. Learn how to manage anxiety like a therapist. To prepare yucca flowers for cooking, simply strip the petals from the pistil and stamen. Mar 26, 2011 - Get your own corner of the Web for less! Quarter the “peeled” yucca pieces and place them in boiling water for 20 minutes (or until fork tender). People describe it as resembling that of artichoke, but I don’t agree. This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Remove the individual yucca flowers from their stem, and remove the pod from the center of the flowers, soak in water for 10 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. Ants and other insects are quite fond of the flowers. https://mexicanjewish.com/2013/11/02/scrambled-eggs-with-yucca-flower-prepared-mexican-style/, https://honest-food.net/eating-yucca-flowers/, https://books.google.com/books?id=0tDiMBUJdboC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=yucca+flower+soup&source=bl&ots=zDKqM-clTg&sig=JCaqVEErbKQtqcBzW6v_uZ1sd0s&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwipwoTH7IDXAhXIj1QKHViIBs8Q6AEIhQEwEA#v=onepage&q=yucca%20flower%20soup&f=false, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. If you want to learn more, like how to make a yucca flower soup, keep reading the article! Pull out the long central threads and discard them. This can prevent the petals from crisping up. Pull out the long central threads and discard them. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Blooms in late spring and summer, with lightly fragrant, yellowish white flowers, 23 inches wide, carried in tall, narrow clusters to 47 feet or taller. Avoid rinsing the petals for this recipe because batter won't stick well to wet petals. Omelets, frittatas, huevos rancheros, eggs, yucca, tomatoes and chiles, etc. Your email address will not be published. Apr 6, 2016 - The flower petals of the various yucca species in North America are all edible. Depending on where you live, yuccas may be a wild plant in the landscape, a valued ornamental in the garden, or a traditional food. Yucca plants of Hesperoyucca whipplei only flower once in their lifetime and soon after blooming and fruiting the plant begins to die. Here are a few recipes we’ve found for cooked yucca petals: • Yucca Flower Omelet, from Cooking Sessions. Coat the petals in a batter made from rice flour There may or may not be a tiny bit of bitterness, depending on how sensitive you are to bitter flavors. Separate the flower petals and deep fry them in a batter. Fortunately, they’re easy to spot against the pale white blooms. Last Updated: June 13, 2020 This article has been viewed 4,861 times. That's probably where one variety of yucca is known as "spanish bayonet", because the leaves really do look like swords. I speak from experience when I say that the flowers of Y. filamentosa and Y. glauca are also edible and tasty. I nibbled on a blossom in the Rockaways recently, off a sandy path between beach plum and bayberries on the way to the sea. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. Refrigerate the leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Fingers crossed for a bountiful fall harvest! You should end up with 3 cups of yucca flower petals. You can also use them as a drink garnish or for cake decoration. "Similar to asparagus cream soup but a little more bitter. June 21, 2011 By Erica M. Davis 3 … Most people think of yuccas as denizens of the desert, and they are indeed drought tolerant and tough as nails. It’s possible that all species of yucca are edible, but I hesitate to make a sweeping generalization when I haven’t tried them all. You can refrigerate leftover scrambled eggs with yucca flowers in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. If you can't find it, just use another 1/4 cup (30 g) of all-purpose flour. Your email address will not be published. If you’d like to try the fruit, be sure to leave some flowers behind. Dress them up with a little cheese, if you like, maybe a smidge of fennel or bee balm, but don’t smother their delicate flavor with too many spices. Yucca flower possess excellent amount of dietary fiber. This is a beautiful flower when in full bloom. Besides the flowers, fruit, seed and stems can be also used in human diet. 2. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. Many of them are egg recipes such as huevos rancheros, omelets, and frittatas. Spruce Needle and Spruce Tip Ice Cream: Recipe. Yee ha! Coat the petals in a batter made from rice flour, mesquite flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, egg yolk, and sparkling water. • Sauteed Yucca Flowers with Chipotle, from Eat the Weeds. Thanks! Some blog posts here include links to products on Amazon. cut the stems off of the flowers and pull away all of the green base to release the petals. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Nutritional Value Yucca cactus buds have long provided a valuable source of carbohydrates and dietary fiber and helped sustain those living in the desert regions where it grows. Place the yucca flowers in the boiling water, allow to boil 4-5 minutes, and drain. Filed Under: edible, high altitude, medicinal Tagged With: Colorado, Denver, flowers, foraging, recipes, Rocky Mountains, yucca. They seem to like each other very much. Foraging: Stuffed Yucca Blossom Recipe ~ Laughing Lemon Pie Chef Jason Hill shows how to make a yucca flower omelet recipe in this episode of "Chef Tips." El Salvador flor de izote con huevos makes use of their national flower. Looks similar to Yucca flaccida and Yucca smalliana. But bear in mind that yucca blossoms are a traditional ingredient in many Central and South American cuisines, and there has been no report of yucca blossom-related, mass fatalities south of our border. Before I knew you could eat the flowers or fruit. I tried this a few times, and for me it worked best to cut the Yucca up into small sections first, and then remove the waxy skin. Good luck! Popular ways of preparing various parts of the plant include boiling the fleshy flowers and the seasoning them simply. They may or may not turn green. The Yucca is the state flower of New Mexico and is pollenated by a plant-specific moth…the nocturnal Yucca moth… Sauteed Yucca Flowers with chipotle (or a chili of your choice.) The pot should be at least 4 quarts (3.78 liters) in volume. How to prepare Yucca (for almost any recipe): Cut and peel the Yucca root. Ellen Zachos is a forager and horticulturist who is passionate about wild food and drink. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Traditionally, yucca petals are removed from their reproductive parts. Arugula, raddichio, and dandelions are all bitter greens you’d pay good money for in the supermarket. These take much less time to cook and will quickly become translucent. Heat the olive oil and add the chopped onion. The petals are blanched for 5 minutes, and then cooked a la mexicana (with tomato, onion, chile) or in tortitas … Traditionally, yucca flowers are also the base for a simply flavored soup. Besides preventing constipation, yucca flower is also able to avoid bloating, cramping, and flatulence. Yucca flowers make such a satisfying comfort food! But they’re also at home in containers and gardens in many different climates, and they’re lovely to look at all year round, with their stiff foliage and persistent architecture. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. This is Yucca filamentosa, growing at the Pier 44 garden, Red Hook. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Yucca flowers can cause throat irritation in some people if eaten raw, so it's likely best to use them in cooked preparations, particularly if you are new to the plant as a food. The wikiHow Video Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. The pistils and stamens may (or may not) turn green. Two friends report that eating raw flowers caused them to have an itchy throat, but neither my husband nor I experience that. Wash your yucca blossoms well when you get them home. If you want to cook yucca, try frying them in tempura batter then dipping the finished product in hot sauce. Carefully drop one petal at a time into the hot oil and fry them for 2-3 minutes, then remove the petals with a slotted spoon. wikiHow's. You can also boil the yucca flowers until they're soft and then stir them into scrambled eggs. Instead, you can look them over for insects and remove them. Serve the yucca flowers while they’re still hot and crunchy. The yucca in my garden is Y. baccata. I’m not sure where you live, but I grow them in PA, so maybe you can grow them in your garden. Yucca flowers are edible and taste like bitter artichoke. The Yucca baccatta (and a genus that used to be known as Yucca arizonica) are the Banana Yucca, also called Blue Yucca, Datil (not to be confused with the chile pepper) and Spanish Bayonnet (though at least two other species are called by this name as well). Yucca flowers bloom at night and emit a deeply sweet scent attracting the plants’ sole pollinator, the Yucca moth. Fortunately, they’re easy to spot against the pale white blooms. Learn more... You may have seen delicate yucca flowers in South American or Mexican recipes. Sautéed yucca blossoms make an excellent side dish. It makes yucca flower is good for digestion. Chop the pistils and stamens finely, and sauté them in olive oil. Sauté another 1 to 2 minutes. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. The flower petals are commonly eaten in Central America, but its reproductive organs (the anthers and ovaries) are first removed because of their bitterness. 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