Wild and free! Kudzu, the weed that is eating the South! Almost all of it is edible!
As always, when harvesting free food, ask permission of the land's owner. It's not free if you get shot! Please do not harvest next to highways or areas that have been sprayed with insecticides or with weed killer. Wear boots, because in the south there may be snakes nearby, and wear work gloves, because kudzu is hard on the hands.
"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. (I have read that the young or smaller leaves are a bit milder in taste than spinach).
If you are harvesting the leaves, be sure to choose small leaves. I have heard, also, that the new leaves in spring are the most tender. The larger leaves are tough.
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."
@4meAndyou I believe even chickens and other animals can eat it too. Goats might help in clearing some of it the ground in areas where it is encroaching on private property. Might as well put it and the goats to good use.
