There’s been a fair amount written about trying different fruit veg to eat. Mark Diacono’s ‘a taste of the unexpected’ encourages us to eat Day Lily fritters and Fuchsia berries and James Wong is now working with Suttons, promoting seeds for Goji berries and Electric (mouth numbing) Daisies.
So yesterday, when a client asked me to dig up some Dahlias, we thought we’d have a go at cooking them to see if the tubers faired as well in the kitchen as they do in the herbaceous border.
I was baking potatoes last night, so popped a couple of tubers in the oven at the same time. I was quite curious to see how they’d cook, as they already seemed quite a bit more watery in texture than my Red Duke of Yorks. Well, although thoroughly cooked, they still had a crunchy bite but remained quite watery too. The nearest texture I can think of is rather akin to that of a cooked water chestnut. The flesh was fairly tasteless, but with a slightly flowery aftertaste, a bit like rose-water.
Not too convincing (my husband wouldn’t touch them!), but I’m going to persevere with a soup and possibly some bread. There isn’t too much written about eating the tubers, but some do suggest that heirloom varieties have a better flavour than more modern hybrids.
So do I want to grow these heirloom tubers to try out next year? I don’t think so. After my culinary experiments so far (and unless further experiments astound me), I think I’m going to stick to potatoes, and grow these watery tubers for their gorgeous blooms alone.
P.s My second attempt at eating Dahlia tubers was much more successful.
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Out of my shed 
Great article i do believe we can eat more than we think, no point me trying to get my family to eat more its hard enough eating normal veg.
Hi Steve, always worth trying something once-you never know!
Well day lily flowers are eaten extensively in the East and we eat stuffed and deep- fried courgette flowers here. But dahlia tubers have had every opportunity to delight us in the west and have thus far failed so maybe best left out of the kitchen.
I think you may be right Sue! I love deep fried courgette flowers and lots of other edible flowers, but these tubers didn’t quite do it for me. Might be an acquired taste though-that crunchy, watery texture is still lingering in my mind…..
[…] p.s. Naomi asks: Dahlia tubers-Edible or not? […]
[…] p.s. Are Dahlia tubers worth eating? […]
Hi! I’ve recently discovered your blog and I’m working my way through the back issues. Thanks for all the interesting and informative posts. I like your visits to Dixter, which i hope to visit someday. On the dahlias, surely you need to try the dinner plate varieties for the best taste!
Hi Rowland, would that Dahlia tubers were marketed as ‘best tasting’. Just trial and error as to which are the best tubers for eating at the moment (unless you know better?). Glad you’re enjoying the different posts. V.best Naomi
HI, I had the same thought the other digging up client’s dahlias for storing! (didn’t get chance to eat them though, they were for next year’s display). They look so much like Jerusalem Artichokes! One guy on allotment fries his JA’s like chips so maybe that’d work with the dahlias?
Hi Firehorsey (love the name), Might give the chips a go (after the smoked salmon rostis experiment via James Wong), and really like the idea of Jerusalem artichoke chips. Never occurred to me (and might tempt more the reluctant JA eaters to have a go?). Could you just nip off a couple of tubers and keep the rest for next year’s display? Thanks for great ideas. Naomi
[…] « Dahlia Tubers-Edible or not…? […]
what about paeony tubers? just had to dig some up and the ‘sweet potato’ sized tubers looked tempting
Blimey Hermoine, That’s a really good question, but one that I don’t have the answer to! I’m really not sure if these are edible or not. Sorry not to be of any use here. Might it be worth tweeting James Wong in case he’s tried these?
Hi Hermione, I’ve just come across this website http://scottishforestgarden.wordpress.com/ where Alan Carter is eating all sorts of plants. Might be worth having a look through? V.best Naomi
thanks
I have dug up my garden and I found three big bulbs that look similar to a large garlic bulb. They are light red in color and I think they may be dahlias. Can I store them over winter and how should I do this?