WriterByNature.com

In this recipe, I removed the immature seeds - the inner white part of the milkweed pod. I looked for young pods, which tend to be small, rough textured, and do not split open easily.

I wanted to see if cooking the insides of the pod would make it stringy, like cheese. In this case, I used white mushrooms, so I could focus on the milkweed.

Ingredients

• • 12-18 milkweed pods
  • 1/4 cup cooking oil or butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 2-3 cloves chopped garlic
  • 1/4 cup vegetable stock or water
  • 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

Preparation

1. Peel outer shell from milkweed pod and remove white center.
2. Discard any brown or discolored centers.
3. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add pod cores and boil for 2-3 minutes.
4. Remove pod cores from water, drain and set aside.
5. Coat skillet or cast iron pan with oil or butter.
6. Add onions and garlic, cook over medium high heat until golden.
7. Chop cooked pod cores.
8. Stir milkweed pod cores and mushrooms into mix.
9. Add liquid as needed until vegetables are cooked and pods are stringy.

I was amazed to discover that the texture of the immature seeds will get stringy, like mozzarella cheese, although the flavor is light and sweet.

The next time I cook the inner core of the pod, I am going to add herbs and spices to mushrooms, peppers or other veggies. I think these pods will work well in soup. I am also going to try to freeze them.

I did not cook and eat the outer pod, although many wild food cookbooks do have recipes.

The key to milkweed pods is to harvest them young. There was no bitterness, no need to change water or to struggle.