Recipe
Young milkweed shoots boiled in several waters
- Herb:
- Common milkweed Asclepias syriaca
- Method:
- Culinary use
- Plant part:
- Leaf
About 25 minAdvancedRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Wash young shoots (under 20 cm) or soft pods and remove wilted parts; white latex flows when snapped — keep it away from your eyes.
- Drop into a large pot of boiling salted water and boil for 3 minutes; drain and discard the water.
- Cover with fresh boiling water and boil another 5–10 minutes until tender; repeat with a third water to taste.
- Drain, season with butter, salt and pepper like asparagus, or bake with cheese. Small portions, and taste only a little the first time.
Extraction
- Herb:
- a handful of young shoots or pods per portion
- Solvent:
- boil in plenty of water for 3 minutes, drain and repeat; use 2–3 changes of water in total
- Shelf life:
- eat the same day
- Target compounds:
- boiling and draining carry some of the cardenolides and latex into the broth, which is discarded
Notes
A wild food for experienced foragers. Milkweed contains cardenolides (cardiac glycosides) and is poisonous raw; only young shoots, buds and soft pods are eaten, after boiling in changed water. The cooking water is discarded. With any doubt about identification (dogbane!), leave the plant alone.
Why it works
Cardenolides and latex are partly water-soluble, so boiling with a change of water lowers their content — exactly how the Prairie and Eastern Woodland peoples prepared milkweed, as Gonella & Kindscher document. It does not guarantee zero, hence small portions and young parts only.
Literature
- Gonella MP, Kindscher K (2024): Native Food Uses of Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Ethnobiology Letters 15(1) — Ethnobotanical review: how and which parts Indigenous peoples ate and why they are cooked.
Related
Common milkweed — Herb card
Culinary use — Processing method detail