In Asia, bamboo has been used as a traditional food for a very long time. More and more fans of Asian cuisine around the world are now appreciating bamboo as tea, bamboo water, vegetables, asparagus substitutes or sprouts in the kitchen and on the plate.
In what forms can you eat bamboo?
Bamboo as a food is used in various forms such as tea, water, vegetables or sprouts. Suitable bamboo varieties for consumption are Bäumea, Dendrocalamus, Phyllostachys edulis, Phyllostachys glauca and Phyllostachys nigra Boryana. Boiling neutralizes bitterness and toxins in raw bamboo plant parts.
Bamboo as a food plant is comparable to the coconut palm. Plant parts of the following types of bamboo are particularly suitable for consumption:
- Bambusa
- Dendrocalamus
- Phyllostachys edulis
- Phyllostachys glauca
- Phyllostachys nigra Boryana
Bamboo products packaged and pre-cooked or sold loose in Germany are imports from Asia and Latin America. In Europe, bamboo is currently only grown as a food in Italy near Genoa (Val Fontanabuona).
Bamboo as plant-based food and drink
Both seeds, grains, sprouts, shoots as well as young shoots of bamboo plants can contain bitter substances and the toxic hydrogen cyanide glycoside when raw. Cooking neutralizes the bitter and toxins. Freshly harvested bamboo shoots or bamboo tips have very firm, light yellow flesh.
Bamboo tea made from young bamboo leaves or the oat-like grain of bamboo is considered very he althy in Asia because of its high silica and silicon content. A herbal tea can also be made from young bamboo leaves of the Sasa palmata and Sasa kurilensis varieties. Bamboo tea contains no tea or caffeine and is therefore also suitable for children.
Bamboo as medicine
Energized bamboo water and bamboo extract are also used in traditional medicine for various ailments.
Bamboo leaves are also the panda bear's main source of food. It eats up to 20 kg of bamboo per day and is insensitive to the hydrogen cyanide contained in raw plants.
Tips & Tricks
In Japan, bamboo shoots are cooked with rice flour. You can also get them pickled from us as Achia or Atchia.