Chinese arrowhead: chestnut and artichoke in one vegetable!

Nothing like the promised “giant” 5-10 cm tubers, I was nevertheless surprised to get maybe 3 times the yield of what I planted of chinese arrowhead tubers – Sagittaria trifolia subsp. leucopeta (syn. S. trifolia var. edulis)…a much bigger yield than when I tried North American wapato (Sagittaria latifolia).
211018: I finally got round to trying some. I didn’t peel them and didn’t trim away the edible shoots and started steaming them (as I usually cook potatoes).  Then halfway through I remembered a post by Alison Tindale (see https://backyardlarder.co.uk/2017/11/ducks-eat-duck-potatoes )  where she mentions that they were slightly bitter after boiling,  I therefore boiled them (to reduce bitterness for the second half).  The verdict: one of the tastiest tubers I’ve ever eaten…the texture is like floury potato, but the taste not unlike chestnuts and yes a slight bitterness of the good sort, adding to the overall taste experience…and to cap it, the shoots taste like artichoke hearts!!
I think I will just steam them the next time!
I hope I will manage to overwinter them as I really need to grow more next year! I’m trying to overwinter in the cellar (about 3C and dark), on a window sill in a cool room and in my pond about 10 cm deep to protect  from the worst frost…maybe also covered with spruce branches!

3 thoughts on “Chinese arrowhead: chestnut and artichoke in one vegetable!”

  1. Hi
    It looks great!

    I grow sagittaria in Denmark but can only find latifolia and sagittifolia so far.

    Any tips on how to find trifoliata va. edulis ??

  2. Hi Stephen

    Sure we can trade some tubers. :-)
    Can we email about details ?

    I subscribe to your blogs now with me emailadress – can you see the subscribes emailaddress ?

    Heine

Leave a Reply to Heine Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *