Hostas are edible!

An often asked question is if Hostas are toxic? People with little children or pets want to know if eating Hostas can be harmful. The answer is absolutely not, the opposite is true. There are different recipes known to use Hostas in the kitchen. The most simple thing to try are the flowers. When you remove pistol and stamens (by simply twisting and pulling the lower part of the flower which will loosen them from the petals) you can use them as a lovely edible decoration on your green salads. The taste is similar to an average lettuce maybe a little sweeter. Also there are recipes for eating the leaves of Hostas. In Japan you find fresh cut, still closed Hosta shoots in the supermarkets that are used as asparagus. The young leaves can be eaten raw in a salad or blanched like sugar snaps.

The Fransen family has used the flowers for many years…often in combination with Hemerocallis flowers to add beautiful colors to a salad. The flowers need to be picked fresh as they are not easily conserved for a long period. Eating the leaves is something we are definitely going to try this year and will share our experience about it.