URBAN SURVIVAL SERIES - TULIPS
When dealing with potential death, disaster, and doom & gloom, why not start with a flower?
Yeah, @papa-pepper is a little peculiar and strange, but that keeps it interesting anyways.
Food is one of the crucial needs in a survival situation, and it’s not always easy to come by during a crisis time in the city. Many do not have more than a week’s worth of food on hand in their dwellings, and a power outage can quickly reduce that supply by compromising any refrigerated or frozen items.
Most likely the food sections in stores will be looted bare rather quickly if fear and desperation set in, so if you are going to find food in the city, you may have to get creative. Here is just one simple piece of information that may help you.
TULIPS ARE EDIBLE!
Before I continue, there are a few things that you should know. Only certain parts are edible, the flavor is not always great, and some people seem to be allergic to them.
Most commonly, it is the beautiful petals that people enjoy eating. Like Nasturtiums and Redbuds, they can be used to add some amazing color to salads. In salads, the raw petals are used, though they can also be cooked and eaten.
If you happen to have any near your area, you may want to try a bit of a petal. If you are not allergic, I’d recommend trying a few different colored petals and seeing how they taste. This may seem a bit strange at first, but if you ever end up in a crisis where your life is on the line, being somewhat familiar with eating Tulip petals could come in handy, and especially knowing if you are allergic or not.
In addition to the petals being edible, the bulbs actually are as well. These have been used as a survival food before, most notably in Holland during the Nazi occupation of WWII. It seems that the inner core of the bulbs is poisonous, so the bulb should be peeled and cored prior to eating.
The bulbs are somewhat starchy and not exactly delicious, but they are a potential food source in a survival situation. If such a situation arises in the spring, then you can eat both the petals and the bulbs. If, however, it is later in the year, you will need to remember where you, or others, have tulips planted.
Noticing this type of information ahead of time is the kind of stuff that can come in handy later.
Another good option of where to find Tulip Bulbs is at the store. When the stores get looted for food during a disaster, people will mostly hit the food section. I do not think that anyone will be concerned about getting new bulbs for their flower gardens during a time like that.
Again, Tulip bulbs are more of a survival food that must be prepared properly, but if you suddenly find cases full of them at a store during a major crisis, you’ll be faring much better than many others.
As I continue this series, you may be surprised at what I share. For the most part, any interesting and potentially life-saving or beneficial information that I have will slowly be leaking out. Hopefully you’ll never need this type of information, but I’ve rather that you have it and not need it, than need it and not have it!
To check out the previous post in this series, follow the link below.
STEEMIT LIKE YOU MEAN IT!
Some of the older generations in my family ate tulip bulbs at the end of WWII, when the food ran out in the bigger cities. There were even recipes in the Dutch newspapers. The older tulip bulbs from storage they ate tasted like crap, dry and bitter, but I heard fresh ones aren't all that bad, a bit sweetish. Never tried myself, though.
Wow, what history and thanks for adding some more info and background to the post!
Thank you @ocrdu!
You are most welcome. Here is some more, just found it, an advertisement from WWII:
It says: "Tulip bulbs for food; high nutritional value, about the same as potatoes. Easy to prepare, you will be instructed. Not much stock left. ... Bring [your own] bags."
Googling for "tulpenbollen recept" will show some WWII recipes, all in Dutch, though.
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Whenever I loot I always go for the TVs. I've been doing it all wrong!
You sure have! Flower Power man!
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I've been surprised at how many different flavors I've come across in eating tulips - citrusy, grassy, sweet, bitter, and even like cloves. I use them a lot in spring salads, but there, they are just one of many plants. Tulip petals make a great little mini-wrap or base to hold other tasty treats.
Beautiful and tasty! Thanks!
I've never tried eating their bulbs, though. I've read a lot about it and @ocrdu left some comments on a post about eating tulips that I made last fall. But his details, in his comment to your post here, about eating the fresh ones versus the dried bulbs, makes a big difference. I may try that with the tulips that never flower any more, but just send up a leaf. My favorite petals have been ones from purple tulips with white fringe on them -- spicy, like cloves. :D