Quinta,
As common as it apparently is, I am sure that I have seen Milkweed on occasions
but don't know what it looks like. Any chance of posting some pictures?
Fritz
From: Quinta Wilkinson [mailto:qui...@clearwire.net]
Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 7:28 AM
To: OT Texas Cavers
Subject: [ot_caving] FYI food and history of milkweed
By Sam Thayer
Director of the Wild Food Institute
Bruce, Wisconsin
Milkweed isn't your average weed; in fact, I feel guilty calling it a weed at
all. The common milkweed, Asclepias syriacqa, is one of the best known wild
plants in North America. Children love to play with the downy fluff in autumn,
while farmers despise it as a tenacious weed of hayfields and pastures.
Butterfly enthusiasts adore milkweed as the sustenance for their beloved
monarch. Hardly any country dweller can fail to notice this unique, elegant
plant so laden with fragrant, multi-colored blossoms in midsummer.
Milkweed has served humans in many ways. During World War II, American
schoolchildren collected milkweed floss to fill life preservers for the armed
forces. This same floss is being used today by a Nebraska company called
Ogallalla Down to stuff jackets, comforters, and pillows-and some people
believe that it will become an important fiber crop in the future. It has an
insulating effect surpassing that of goose down. Native Americans employed the
tough stalk fibers for making string and rope.
Not least among the uses of common milkweed, however, is its versatility as a
vegetable. Milkweed produces four different edible products, and all of them
are delicious. It was a regular food item for all Native American tribes within
its broad range.
Gathering and cooking milkweed
There is a beautiful patch of milkweed in an old hayfield near my house. I
treat it as an outpost of my garden-one I never have to tend. Because milkweed
is perennial, it appears every season in this same locality.
The milkweed season begins in late spring (just about the time that leaves are
coming out on the oak trees) when the shoots come up near the dead stalks of
last year's plants. These resemble asparagus spears, but have tiny leaves, in
opposing pairs, pressed up flat against the stem. Until they are about eight
inches tall, milkweed shoots make a delicious boiled vegetable. Their texture
and flavor suggest a cross between green beans and asparagus, but it is
distinct from either. As the plant grows taller, the bottom of the shoot
becomes tough. Until it attains a height of about two feet, however, you can
break off the top few inches (remove any large leaves) and use this portion
like the shoot.
Milkweed flower buds first appear in early summer and can be harvested for
about seven weeks. They look like immature heads of broccoli but have roughly
the same flavor as the shoots. These flower buds are wonderful in stir-fry,
soup, rice casseroles, and many other dishes. Just make sure to wash the bugs
out.
