Page 121 - The Lost Ways
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Bulrush (Scirpus acutus, Scirpus validus)
Perennial herb; harvest all year
Every plant in the Scirpus family is edible, so it doesn’t really matter if you have an acutus
or a validus on your table. The bulrush grows in the shallow water of marshlands or along
the shorelines of any body of water. It starts at a tough underground rhizome that can be
red or brown and grows straight up to a long, unbranched stem with one or no leaves and
a flowering head.
Young shoots are edible raw. Older growth can still be eaten raw by peeling the stalks to
reveal the tender core. These cores can be eaten like a salad, boiled, or sautéed like any
other vegetable.
The roots of the bulrush are a nice treat. The young roots can be eaten like slender sweet
potatoes, or you can boil them for several hours to make a sugary sweet syrup. The older
roots can be used as a starchy flour substitute by cutting and drying them then grinding
them.
Remove fibers before storing the dry flour. The pollen and the ground seeds are excellent
when added to dishes, including when using the roots as a flour substitute.
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