With rising food costs and tighter household budgets across the country, more and more Americans are looking to cut costs and one way to do that is to plant their own gardens. According to the Garden Writers Association Foundation, vegetable gardening is a “significant new trend” in the United States, based on a national survey completed in February 2008.
If bamboo is already growing rampant in your garden and you are lacking a way to make it into luxurious bamboo sheets or bamboo clothes (as are most of us), stop considering it a nuisance and look at it as a healthy addition to your garden. As David Fairchild once said, “The best way to control bamboo is to eat it.” Bamboo shoots, when cultivated correctly, have the look of a raw potato with a crisp texture, and taste slightly sweet like young field corn. In eastern countries, bamboo is eaten as commonly as we Westerners eat lettuce. In Taiwan and Japan alone, they consume 8,000 tons a year and in Korea, they cultivate nearly 9,000 pounds of bamboo per acre (Farrelly, 1984).
To properly cultivate bamboo, harvest the shoot when it is about 1 foot tall by carefully severing it at the point where it joins the rhizone bearing it. Using a sharp paring knife, cut through the sheath lengthwise and if there is a grayish layer, pare it off. Cut the core portion diagonally into rather thin slices while the lower, firmer portion should be cut across the grain into thinner strips but the more tender middle and upper parts may be sliced thicker and/or cut into different shapes. Peel the outer leaves and remove the tough flesh before preparing. Any tender leaves can be left attached and eaten. (If there is no bamboo in your garden to cultivate, check out local Asian supermarkets or specialty food stores.)
It’s important to note that you should not eat bamboo shoots raw as they can be very difficult to digest and not as tasty as they could be. To cook the bamboo shoots, boil them in fresh water in an uncovered pan for 20 minutes. They can also be microwaved in an uncovered shallow pan of water for four minutes. After cooking, the shoots should be crisp and crunchy. Sprouts can be eaten alone, drained, with melted butter on them or they can be used in a variety of ways ranging from vegetable soup to curry. Check out some inspiring bamboo recipes and delicious dishes to try in your own home.
We’ve long heard that Eastern cultures have healthier diets than Westerners. The CDC estimates that there are 26.6 Americans currently living with heart disease. The good news about using bamboo as an ingredient is that it is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. While it’s low in those unhealthy facets, it remains high in dietary fiber, Vitamin C and Potassium among other things (Caitlin Blethen, 2001).
If you’re still hesitant to grow/use bamboo as food, just remember that it’s no crazier than planting lettuce and carrots in your garden in terms of versatility and nutritional value. Consider that bamboo grows without use of fertilizer or pesticides making it the ultimate organic food. Bon Appétit!
Take a look at our bamboo remedies section for more great articles on all of the healthy, healing wonders of bamboo!
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This is awesome! I had no idea you could eat it! I mean, I guess animals do…so why can’t we? But I guess I just assumed it would be too tough! Thanks for enlightening!