Spiced Pickled Day-Lily Buds
Submitted by sunkiss50
Sweet and tangy pickled day lily buds spiced with allspice, cinnamon, and cloves. A unique foraging recipe that turns backyard flowers into 8 jars of crunchy, spiced preserves.
YIELD
8 jarsPREP
30 minCOOK
25 minREADY
1 minHere’s a recipe for the foragers, the backyard gardeners, and anyone who’s ever looked at a day lily and thought, “I bet I could eat that."
You absolutely can. And when you pickle them with brown sugar, vinegar, and whole spices, they transform into something tangy, sweet, and completely addictive.
Fresh day lily buds get a quick simmer, then packed into jars with a hot pickling brine of allspice, cinnamon sticks, and whole cloves.
Give them a few weeks to develop flavor and you’ve got a one-of-a-kind condiment that sparks conversation at every table.
Pro Tips
- Harvest only unopened buds from day lilies you’ve positively identified. Not all lilies are edible, so know your plants.
- Avoid buds from roadsides. The recipe wisely notes to stay at least 50 feet from roadways to avoid contamination from vehicle emissions.
- Let the jars rest for at least two weeks before cracking one open. The spicy-sweet flavor deepens considerably with time.
- Stuff leftover blanched buds with ricotta for a quick, elegant appetizer before pickling the rest.
Ingredients
Directions
Rinse and drain unopened day lily buds; clip off any stem remnants.
Put buds in a saucepan; add water barely to cover.
Bring quickly to a boil, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
Drain.
(At this point, the buds can also be served as a simple vegetable dish after adding salt, pepper, spices, etc.
Another thing I do with them is to stuff them with ricotta cheese and serve them that way).
Pack hot buds into 8 sterile half-pint canning jars.
Combine vinegar, brown sugar, salt, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves in a saucepan and bring to a boil; boil 3 minutes.
Pour pickling solution over buds, distributing spices equally.
Seal at once.
Let these stand for a few weeks before using, to further develop the spicy flavor.
Note: Don’t harvest day lilies within 50 feet of roadways due to automobile emissions.
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