What Kudzu is and *IS NOT* good for

Kudzu is known as the "vine that ate the south" yet we seem to fear it more than is warranted. If you've never heard of Kudzu, you need to see how expansive it really grows (we took that footage). At the same time, there are tons of bloggers who would rather us see it as a ready food source - much as it is used in Japan. At first I thought this would make a great video showing the uses. I found the story wasn't that simple though, as you'll see.

I set out here to find the truth about Kudzu. If you have more recipes or things I should know, leave it below. I'm sure we'd all benefit from reading it.

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[cherylsxavier]

We used the vines straight from the plant to make chair bottoms, hammocks, swing chairs, re bottom the couch. You just have to use your vines when they are green and when you are finished let ot dry in the sun. We also weaved baskets with it.

[alanbeam]

There's a lady in Western NC who went by the moniker "Kudzu Queen" and was known for deep frying the leaves in a tempura batter making chips. She was known to attend fairs and carnivals giving demonstrations. She was quoted to say most recipes were terrible because people did not soak the leaves in ice water before use. I'm guessing it leaches out some of the bitterness but still tastes similar to kale chips.

[nininoona]

As someone who has lived her entire life in the south, near a huge patch, I can honestly say that you've not smelled anything as perfect as blooming Kudzu. The scent is heavenly.

[roysuggs]

First fence in the kudzu. Put in some Cows, sheep, and goats. When they have eaten the kudzu you eat them.

[mikegrey]

i grew up in, and still live in Georgia, and we've cooked it up like any other greens. pretty simple, throw in a ham hock in a pot of water, or pressure cooker, and throw in your salt, kudzu leaves, and boil until tender or the point you wanna eat it. if you do it right, it takes on the type of greens and ham you get from other southern cooking. my grandmother ate this during the great depression when they had nothing else.

[rickershomesteadahobbyfarm]

When she jumped into that I was thinking about all the snakes that could be hiding in it.

[adamblackman]

My friends mom, used to make an amazing jelly from kudzu… and I believe it’s juice is used for treating alcoholism, in Japan. Wish I had her recipe

[noxot]

and when they introduced kudzu bugs they said oopsie because kudzu is related to soy and the bugs like soy too. guess kudzu has weaving potential. famine food is not about it tasting good. it will taste better once you have not ate in 4 days :)

[mgeller]

I have no experience with kudzu but I want to say two things in my experience with other plants: 1. The furry tips might be tastier fire roasted( burns the fine hairs) 2. As with some alternative preparation techniques you might’ve overlooked adding a vinegar to the leaves might completely change its taste profile( arugula for example is pretty bitter without vinegar) I personally have a purslane(a common weed)which isn’t very tasty but you chop it up with some vinegar/spices it’s delicious

[mkennedy]

I really like that you're trying everything and not just passing on other's information. A lot of herbal remedy books are just copies of copies.

[cherigreen]

When I lived in GA. I bought 3 beautiful baskets made from kudzu. They were large vines that were woven like grape vines. The lady that made them soaked the vines to make them pliable before weaving because the vines were very woody. I just got rid of them this year, they were over 20 yrs old.

[Squentinquentin]

I think the young leaves pair really well with chicken ! Get you a whole chicken and chop up some young leaves with an onion and some pepper and stuff it in that bird ! Roast and enjoy ! I also use the older vine as a fuel in my gasifier camp stove . You have to use a pruning tool to cut it into one inch rounds and dry them in the sun . Once completely dry they burn pretty good ! Great video and hello from the kudzu fields of north Georgia !!

[angelalewis]

I dehydrate the leaves while they are in season and store them for winter to mix in my chicken feed to give my flocks greens during winter and to stretch my feed further which gives my birds another source of protein. Hope that helps giving other ideas for using it. I have also seen videos of people using the vines for basket weaving as well.

[twothreebravo]

Some of the aromatic compounds that smelled good in the flowers but didn't come out in the tea might not be water-soluble and might be better in alcohol or even an oil infusion.

[JamesSimpsonOnGoogle]

everywhere i have seen kudzu grow it has killed off the trees - it covers them to the point that they can't get enough light to survive :-(

[woodycavenaugh]

I've eaten Kudzu jelly made from the flowers. The flowers were steeped like a tea and that tea water (which is dishwater gray) was made into the jelly. Tasted like grape jelly. It was a pleasant surprise.

[lawrencee]

I grew up beside a large Kudzu patch like this, and loved it! My siblings and I enjoyed playing in it, but also at night you could see thousands of lightning bugs hovering over it. Real pretty! The fragrance it gives off is nice too.

[samanthasurovec]

Careful jumping into kudzu, I've seen whole junk yards absorbed by it in Mississippi. You have no idea what's under there!

[cannolibear]

We would make starch from the roots and use the leaves to make tamales. You can also fry the shoots/ leaves for a tasty snack.

[FidelityElectric]

Ok well...here goes. The shoot tips are best if you cook them in oil like maybe the first foot or less basically it should snap off of the vines those are tender enough to use. Grill it like you would asparagus or in a pan with cooking oil. Not too bad that way. I also use a Champion Juicer with young kudzu leaves and shoots. You can use the older ones to juice as well but it is best to cut out the fiber strands basically the main stems in the leaves use a pair of scissors or a knife. There is very little water in the leaves so I use peeled oranges to add moisture, flavor and to help push it through the juicer. On the roots I have only used the powdered root I order from Eden foods. If you mix the powder in cold ice water and then whisk it as you heat it the kudzu makes a very nice thick translucent thickener. I am not 100% sure but it reminds me of egg drop soup. Whisk in a beaten egg and some soy sauce to flavor very good. I also make a porridge out of it or mix the powder in cold ice water and drink it for stomach issues, intestinal issues etc. My rabbits loved to eat it. The plant has loads of natural bioflavenoids and everything is edible. Feed your animals then eat the animals so they can deal with the hairyness and you can feed them for free. Kudzu bugs can be trapped (youtube video) and fed to chickens. Pretty amazing plant and you can use it in mulch as a green manure due to the huge amounts of nitrogen in the plant. The world record holder for tomatoes uses it as the secret ingredient. I can say from using it with chicken and rabbit manure it makes a very nice fertilizer. Look at the soil under an established patch will be blacker than your mother in laws heart.