Pot luck

Finding myself in a plant nursery specialising in old fashioned flower species in the wilds of Victoria, yet not needing any more flowers, I asked the young owner if he had any edibles. Sorry, he said, we don’t do veggies or herbs. Oh, pity, I said and continued wandering among the flowers. Hang on, he said after a while, I do have one. And led me to a large clump of yellow day lilies. These are edible, he said. Here, try a bud. 

I looked at them (and him) a bit askance, but admiring his salesmanship, I thought why not? And purchased a small pot.

Googling once I got home, it turns out he was absolutely spot on. Several Chinese recipes call for using hemerocallis flowers and buds (gum jum), either dried or fresh, and rate them delicious. It seems they have long been a common ingredient in Chinese cuisine.

So will my next summer’s salads be given a gum jum boost? Hope so. We’ll see.

March 2022