Water Hyacinth Foraging With Monkey-B 💜 Purple Power Protein 💪
Many of you are probably aware of our coconut piracy foraging adventures here in Suriname, but we also forage for water hyacinth about once a week.
🐊 The Only Rule ⚠️ Don't Fall In 🐍
The aptly-named water hyacinth is water-loving, and foraging can be quite a delicate task if you don't plan on swimming with snakes and caimans. Even in our neighborhood here in Suriname, there are several caimans around the corner from our apartment in a ditch, just living their best reptilian lives.
Water hyacinth used to be a big part of our diet in Cambodia, and having discovered them after living here for two years, we are grateful to have this wild edible in our lives again, although foraging for it comes with a calculated risk.
I can't recall ever being concerned for mini crocodiles in Cambodia when seeking out these delicious flowers, but then again we always bought our water hyacinth at the market. Surinamers don't have a wide variety of plants they like to consume, so if you want to eat water hyacinth here, you have to get it yourself.
KISS 😗 Keep It Simple Stupid
It's hard to explain the joy such simple things bring me, but after being stranded for two years, simple things like a bike ride and some flower picking with Monkey-B can easily be the highlight of my day. I am constantly reminded of an acronym I used to embrace in my former life as a mountaineer and climber: KISS, "Keep It Simple Stupid." This acronym still serves me well in many aspects of life to this day.
It's hard to explain the joy such simple things bring me, but after being stranded for two years, simple things like a bike ride and some flower picking with Monkey-B can easily be the highlight of my day, and most importantly it is a huge morale booster. Gotta keep the troops happy right?
💜 Purple Power With Monkey-B 💪
I think Monkey-B and I have a similar take on life, and you may have noticed she is more often than not the family member that goes with me on adventures our tiny apartment. She particularly enjoys water hyacinth harvesting because it's something she can reach and pick all by herself.
As you might be able to notice in the photos, this is an activity that Monkey-B quite enjoys, and it's far less stressful than coconut piracy, because coconuts are heavy and awkward to transport, leaving Monkey-B with little ability to help beyond being a lookout.
Believe it or not, this is another food that Monkey-B likes to eat raw more than cooked. They are very brittle however, and the flowers quickly begin falling off if not cooked within a few hours after picking. Although they are 90% water weight, the dried matter contains anywhere between 10% to 26% protein, quite amazing for a humble swamp flower.
Reference
United Nations Universty
Possible utilization of the water hyacinth in nutrition and industry
⋆ https://archive.unu.edu/unupress/food/8F044e/8F044E0c.htm
🙏 THANKS FOR READING 🙏
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These flowers are people's favorite in Cambodia love to eat a lot and I too love them. 💕
I think you and me know the best ways to cook them, but pakora is definitely my favorite.
!ENGAGE 10
ENGAGEtokens.I have never experience these beauties before and most likely never will. I can't believe such a beautiful flower can taste good.
Foraging is so exciting. We have nothing to forage here in the city except dandelions but we have to wait a couple of months for that.
Funny you say that because I saw an old friend in Oregon growing an individual one in her room for ornamental purposes. Because of this, I assume there is a market for them near you, but likely as an expensive ornamental. Maybe buy one and turn your bathtub into a mini Southeast Asian swamp to propagate it!!!
!ENGAGE 25
Bwaaahahaha yeah I will start the bathtub swamp immediately!
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!ENGAGE 10
ENGAGEtokens.Isn't it awesome when you can go across the world and forage your favorites. I found three-cornered leek today, something that I hadn't seen since I lived in Sark.
I've never tried water Hyacinths but they look amazing, I'd love to see @sryepov share one of her wonderful recipes for this. :-). 💚🙏
Had to quickly google Sark, and you'll have to refresh my memory as to whether you're in OZ or the UK these days. I can't remember if @sreypov has shared a recipe yet, I'll check. I know I shared some water hyacinth pakoras not long ago, but the post didn't hit big.
!ENGAGE 30
Haha, that's ok, it's such a tiny island, not many people have heard of it.
I'm in the UK at the moment.😊
Those pakoras look yummy! Thank you for sharing,
🤗💚
ENGAGEtokens.Hahaha because we didn't/don't even know most of the foods that are growing in the wild here haha, but I guess that's partly because our diets are indeed very restricted. Thanks to you guys a whole new world opened up for me 😉
I never knew it was native to the Amazon until I moved here, but it's much more visible in Cambodia, where I assume people don't clear it from the canals every once in a while like they do here. I think it's seen as a waste plant here. The locals don't shout at us when we pick like they do when we pick coconuts.
!ENGAGE 25
True, I'm also wondering if the native Americans know it and if the rest of the Amazon does. I should ask a few friends, who regularly come into contact with the native tribes thanks to their job, if they know it.
ENGAGEtokens.You know you are the luckiest man alive right, having discovered the key to happiness? I remember KISS. It's so true.. simple is the best..
Is there anything KISS doesn't apply to in life? Foraging with Monkey-B is bliss, and we also get an adrenaline rush because the locals sometimes shoo us away. The coconut game is way riskier without question, but from a human standpoint. The water hyacinth game is risky too, but only because this is the Amazon and you never know what's in the water.
!ENGAGE 15
ENGAGEtokens.Nice, I think it is crazy the amount wild flowers we can eat yet don't🤔 is this cause the health benefits are not told to us due to just that?
It is great your daughter likes to go on the adventures with you and teaches her how to find food.
She is a master forager, and even has a better eye for spotting noni trees than anyone else in the family. I think something got perverted in the west when we thought it was a good idea to grow only ornamental things. It makes for a beautiful space, but you can't eat anything. If you visit a working class Cambodian home, you'll likely not find anything growing that's not edible. Utilitarian is the way to go. Thanks for stopping by.
!ENGAGE 25
Yeah I can't agree more, The west is messed, The way we think is pills pills pills they fix everything and if not we got more pills. Yes plants will do all the same if not better with no side-effects 🤣
ENGAGEtokens.Hahaha Monkey-B, what a cute nickname. I love that you upload your adventures in Suriname and that your little ones are with you. It's fun. xd
There are lot of good reasons for that nickname, we can say she certainly earned it. Life is a bit boring here for us, but we actively choose to make adventures out of the smallest things. Blessings to you over Guyana and into Venezuela brother.
!ENGAGE 15
Amen. Thank you for the blessings, I receive them with love.
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I didn't know water hyacinth flowers are edible. Monkey B sure looks like she had lots of fun foraging with you.
KISS. I will remember that. Thanks!
When KISS goes horribly wrong, there's always RICE (Rice Ice Compression Elevation). I'm full of acronyms from my mountaineering and guiding days, some more useful than others. Monkey-B now fully understands the value of her blog and what it can buy, especially when Dad makes a fiat trade with her and we go shopping. She now more than ever wishes she could type a blog post by herself, but it's still videos for now until she ups her vocabulary.
!ENGAGE 15
ENGAGEtokens.They are beautiful. I think I understand the joy you feel from simply things in life. I also find it hard to explain. Not sure about those reptiles though. Please be careful. Sorry to sound like a mom. 🤭
Oh, don't get me wrong, I have some anaconda and caiman fears myself. The high cost of living here does give us great joy in foraging, although I miss a good ole' Cambodian market. Cambodian markets are still the most well-equipped I've seen anywhere in the world, and there is no need to forage because the prices are too good. Noni is the only exception, and we started a noni juice business because the Khmers neglect it. Bless up!
!ENGAGE 20
😆Watch out for those anacondas.
I can imagine the variety of items at Cambodian markets. Noni! I remember that. I’ve never had the juice but I remember it was a buzz in Jamaica with all its health benefits.
ENGAGEtokens.Thank you. 😃
That's what you call beautiful food! They are so pretty!!
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Thanks @naturalmedicine and @minismallholding. I agree, such a marvelous thing to eat, and I am honored to be feature in your curation. !ENGAGE 20
ENGAGEtokens.Amazing what you can eat i would love a taste of these flowers just to know what they really taste like.
Seems like you had another great happy day out with Monkey-B 😉
I hate to say they taste like nothing, but it's kind of true, they're about 90% water, and it's hard to crush them when harvesting without a knife. But in a sour soup or a crispy pakora, they are the bee's knees.
!ENGAGE 20
Interesting facts but these Asian people certainly make use of almost everything and turn it out to be something very tasty. Nice to see them carrying this culture forward.
ENGAGEtokens.We need to get you a long pole with a system to cup the flower and snip the stem so you and @KidSisters MonkeyB can collect some of the ones further out.
We need a scissors stick with catcher, or we could tape Monkey-B to a pole and hoist her over prime picking territory. I'll ask her and see what she thinks about this idea.
!ENGAGE 15
A bamboo crane! with her in a harness! Dangling mission impossible style!
ENGAGEtokens.