The other day when I posted a photo of kudzu about to overtake a downtown fence, a commenter gave some links to the better side of kudzu. While kudzu is notorious for choking forests, bogging down U.S. Army tanks, sneaking up on vehicles and providing shelter for copperhead snakes, this vine that "eats the South" really does have a nicer, sweeter reputation of sorts.Many people have begun kudzu enterprises...weaving the vine into baskets, producing bales of kudzu hay, deep-frying the edible leaves, using the root to treat alcoholism and even making kudzu blossom jelly!
Here is a photo of the hands of a lady who lives nearby, and she is holding kudzu blossoms, the main ingredient of her kudzu blossom jelly. She gathers the blossoms from vines that drape the roadsides near her home.
The blooms resemble miniature wisteria and smell a lot like grapes. Kudzu usually doesn't bloom until August in these parts, so this is a photo I took several years ago for an article about her Central Alabama Fair prize-winning kudzu jelly. She recommends serving the jelly with homemade biscuits, and a kudzu website recommends melting it and pouring over waffles or ice cream.
Sorry, I can't share her prize recipe, but here is a link to one on the Internet.
Tomorrow: August Theme Day: What's for Breakfast?
I promise it won't be deep-fried kudzu leaves!
7 comments:
This reminds me of Mayhall jelly ... a real delicacy in Texas and Louisiana... from the Mayhall tree.
I had no idea...goes to show how folks can make a good thing out of a pest.
One person's weed can be another person's treasure! A similar story with water hyacinth.
I had never heard of that plant. I just read it was called kudzu or puéraire in French.
I think there is always a positive side to everything. Your post about kudzu gives evidence of this.
What a wonderful story to remind us that there are uses and purposes for all things - we just sometimes have to find them. Thanks for link to the recipe, too. It might be fun to make and give kudzu jelly this Christmas - do you think my recipients would appreciate it?
Thank you for visiting!
Steve, you will have to tell us all about Mayhall jelly. Never heard of it!
LL, until I tasted this lady's jelly, I thought kudzu was nothing but a pest, too. And Z, what is the story about the water hyacinth?
Annie, I am sure that anyone who likes jelly will like this. The woman who makes it sells out of it at our town's annual Holiday House at Christmas. I have never made the jelly, although I have done muscadine and plum, but I have bought it and given as gifts. I think the thought of meeting a snake in the kudzu vines scares me away from picking the blossoms! It is recommended not to wade in the kudzu, just choose the blossoms closest to you.
It has been found that extract of the roots from the kudzu creeper had a potential to curtail unfavourable signs of metabolic syndrome. It has been experimented on rats and no side-effects has been found. But since it still not been experimented on humans, scientists have not yet recommended it for people. For kore details on it, refer Metabolic syndrome
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