I grew up in Georgia, where it was common to see groves of trees and even utility poles and barnhouses covered with kudzu, the "vine that ate the South." What few people know is that the plant is edible, and delicious.
Did You Know You Can Eat Kudzu?
Originally brought to the US from Japan in 1876 to be used as forage food for livestock and to help reduce soil erosion, the plant took a real liking to the warm, humid Southeastern climate and got out of control. There are urban myths about how people have returned from vacations to find their homes and cars covered with kudzu. It does have pretty aggressive growth in the summer, with some reports of it growing a foot a day.
As with any foraged food, make sure the plant has not been sprayed with any chemicals and is not growing anywhere that toxic waste is dumped. Try to avoid plants grown too close to the roadways as they tend to contain too much dust and automotive exhaust. Since the vine patches are thick, wear boots and watch out for critters and insects. Also, kudzu looks very similar to poison ivy - be sure you know how to distinguish between the two plants!
Kudzu grows from Florida to New Jersey, and as far west as West Virginia and East Texas. However, a small patch of it has been found in Clackamas County, Oregon. No one is sure where it came from.
The leaves, vine tips, flowers, and roots are edible; the vines are not. The leaves can be used like spinach and eaten raw, chopped up and baked in quiches, cooked like collards, or deep fried. Young kudzu shoots are tender and taste similar to snow peas.
Kudzu also produces beautiful, purple-colored, grape-smelling blossoms that make delicious jelly, candy, and syrup. Some people have used these to make homemade wine. The large potato-like roots are full of protein, iron, fiber, and other nutrients. They are dried and then ground into a powder which is used to coat foods before frying or to thicken sauces.
Kudzu recipes to try:
Click here for some recipes for kudzu jelly, kudzu quiche, and kudzu collard greens.
More kudzu recipes
More recipes, including kudzu wine
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I grew up in east Texas and am very familiar with Kudzu! I can't believe it's edible! Maybe on my next trip home, I'll round some up and throw it in a pot! Thanks for this article!
view misplacedtexan's profile
You just pretty much blew my mind.
view mandarinmarie's profile
This is a good reminder to gardeners and landscapers to know what you plant and always plant native.
view pbelardo's profile
I believe it's also used in powdered, starch form as a thickener aka kuzu.
view Kakugori's profile
Kudzu is used as a medicinal herb in Asian herbal medicine. It appears in both ancient and modern formulas.
That said, I agree with @pbelardo, best to plant native species to avoid the sort of Kudzu disaster that plagues the South.
view laila's profile
OMG. I grew up in South Carolina, where they kept us moving, otherwise we would have disappeared under this stuff after a couple of minutes.
If this is true, we have solved world hunger.
view Charlotte's profile
Whatttt? I never knew this. I'm from Georgia also, it's all over the place!
view Hannah - Honey & Jam's profile
So how DO you distinguish kudzu from poison ivy?
view kelleyk's profile
kellleyk, kudzu looks nothing like poison ivy. But if one goes into a field to pick kudzu one is likely to get poison ivy (if one is allergic).
view Charlotte's profile
@kellyk, it's easy for people new to plants to confuse them, both plants have 3 leaves on their own stem. Here's what I found on the internet to help distinguish b/w them:
(http://www.backyardnature.net/n/03/030629.htm)
"To distinguish them, the main thing to remember is that the running stems and leaf petioles of Kudzu are hairy, but those of Poison Ivy are hairless. Kudzu hairs are relatively long (1/16th-inch), stiff and brown so they're hard to miss. Kudzu is in the Bean Family and pretty closely related to Green Bean vines, so just visualize a Green Bean vine on steroids.
If that's not enough, then remember that Kudzu vines are only semi-woody, looking like really tough Green Bean vines, but Poison Ivy Vines are fully woody. Also, note that at the base of the Kudzu leaf's petiole there are conspicuous (1/2-inch long) green "stipules." Stipules are slenderly triangular items that protect the immature leaf during the early stages of its expansion from the bud, and later either fall off or else remain like little "ears" at leaf and leaflet bases."
view Kathryn Hill's profile
I've heard that kudzu vines make good paper, too (suitably pulped, of course).
view RebeccaCT's profile