Foragers reveal delicious recipe using surprising ingredient found in nature: 'Tastes just like potatoes'

In a recent TikTok video, a pair of foragers (@homegrown_handgathered) shared a surprising springtime recipe that turns an invasive garden flower into a hearty side dish.

The creators filmed themselves pulling daylily tubers from the ground, scrubbing off the dirt, and frying them in deer tallow. Interestingly, this resulted in a starchy, golden-brown dish that one forager claimed "honestly tastes just like potatoes."

@homegrown_handgathered Foraging Spring daylily tubers. Tastes just like potatoes! #foraging #foragingtiktok #offgridliving #wildfood ♬ Jesus, Etc. - Wilco

Daylilies are a common sight in U.S. gardens, often admired for their bright, trumpet-shaped flowers. However, they aren't native to North America. 

In the wild, escaped daylilies have become invasive in many regions, crowding out local plants and disrupting ecosystems. 

In the summer, the TikTokers harvest unopened flowers, which they say taste like a mix between green beans and okra. But early spring is prime time for daylily tubers, which store all the plant's energy and can be cooked just like potatoes. 

While this might sound niche, the trend is tapping into a much broader movement: foraging as a way to support biodiversity and reclaim forgotten food knowledge. It's also helpful for many Americans to combat the impacts of rising food costs due to higher temperatures.

Invasive species like daylilies can threaten biodiversity by outcompeting native plants for space, nutrients, and sunlight. Managing them helps restore balance to local ecosystems, and, in this case, makes for a delicious meal.

Controlling these invasive plant species is typically handled through the use of chemicals or manual removal, but this is an excellent — and tasty — alternative.

Commenters expressed their excitement at this interesting use case:

One was shocked, stating, "Somehow I had no idea daylilies were edible!!"

"It's so exciting to learn about food around us," another expressed.

Highlighting just how important education around invasive species can be, one commenter admitted they didn't even realize that daylilies were invasive: "My favorite flower is invasive..."

Should we be actively working to kill invasive species? Absolutely 💯 It depends on the species 🤔 I don't know 🤷 No — leave nature alone 🙅 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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