Foraging - Do You Recognize These?

Do you recognize these?  Yes, they are the milkweed pod.  Filled with little brown seeds and those seeds are attached to a soft fuzz.  Milkweeds are famous for being the most important breeding ground for monarch butterflies.  They are the only food that the monarch caterpillar can eat.  I have always loved butterflies and as a kid I used to catch a caterpillar once in a while and watch it cocoon into a beautiful butterfly.  I would love to give Journey that experience as well so I saved these milkweed pods and will plant a large area of milkweed plant in back corner of our backyard.

But I also have an ulterior motive.  I plan to compete a wee bit with those caterpillars for their food!  I know that sounds weird but from what I research, there are 3 edible uses for milkweed plants and one additional practical use.

First the practical use:  The white fuzz inside the pod that is intended to carry the seeds to their new location was used years ago for the lining of jackets, pillows, blankets, etc.  The "silk" of a milkweed pod is much warmer than down, softer, lighter weight, and can be stored for long periods of time.  I plan to store some of the silk for later use.

Edible you ask?  Yes, all except for the white sticky sap that is characteristic of a milkweed plant.  This sap is what makes you sure you have a milkweed and not a look-alike plant, but it is considered toxic to humans unless boiled away.  It is easily removed by 3 - 4 short boilings of the milkweed, as it is highly water soluble.

Early in the spring, the milkweed plant begins it's life as a little shoot that resembles an asparagus.  If you pinch these off when they are less than 8 inches tall, they cook up like asparagus and are tasty to eat.  I am going to eat some of those next spring.  I will fill you in on that later.  :)

When the plant starts to bud, it does so in little white "flower" clusters that resemble little white heads of broccoli.  It supposedly tastes a bit like broccoli too!  I intend to eat those too.

Lastly, when the pods begin to form and they are smaller than 1 inch long, they are tender and good to cook and eat.  I will try those too.

Now you may be beginning to wonder about my sanity.  Please don't worry.  I will follow all precautions for identifying and cooking the plants to ensure they are safe.  And I will leave some to share with the butterflies.

There are many reasons to open your eyes to other possibilities of food sources.  With my growing research on Genetically Modified Foods, I am very concerned about the potential consequences down the road of GMO... so I am seriously intending to remove wheat from our diet.  We have already removed soy and corn and will need to do some further research in removing all corn by-products, such as corn starch, baking powder, corn syrup, etc.  I even thought Canola oil was a healthy oil until I learned that it was developed completely by genetic engineering.  Even Papayas grown in Hawaii have been tampered with genetically and so I won't be including them in my family's diet either.

With the growing concern about pesticides and contaminants in our produce, and the growing price of organic fruits and vegetables, I am interested in any food source that may be inexpensive, nutritious, and free of toxins... so why not experiment?  Someday I may even try dandelion greens and flowers (best if picked in the early spring before they get bitter). 

At least I know that Milkweeds are not commercially grown with pesticides, or genetically modified to feed more butterflies.  Wish me luck!!