KUDZU
'The vine that ate the South':
Kudzu (Pueraria montana) is a twining, trailing, ropelike vine up to 100 feet long with 3-7 inch 3 leaflet leaves on 6-12 inch leafstalks. The woody vines can be up to 10 inches in diameter, and kudzu roots can reach depths of 16 feet.
Kudzu covers about 7 million acres in the Southeastern United States, and Where kudzu takes hold, it eventually eliminates all other vegetation, including trees, as it climbs and competes for light. Power companies spend millions fighting kudzu each year. Fields, farm buildings and homes are overwhelmed and destroyed. It resists herbicides, and old kudzu plants can have a root weighing over 100 pounds, making it difficult to kill by digging up its roots.
Kudzu was introduced to the U.S. in 1876, to control soil erosion in the South. Native to China and Japan, it can grow up to 1 foot per day, and virtually takes over telephone poles, trees, buildings, and anything else in it's way. We know it primarily as an uncontrollable weed, and sometimes as cattle forage.
In Japan and China, it is also grown for its edible roots, which can reach 7 feet long and weigh 450 pounds. The roots are dried and pulverized into kudzu powder. This kudzu powder is used in cooking to thicken soups and sauces, dredge foods for deep frying, etc. The leaves and stems can be used as in salads.
Also see: Food Articles and Cooking Tips
You are here > Home >
Please feel free to link to any pages of FoodReference.com from your website.
For permission to use any of this content please E-mail: james@foodreference.com
All contents are copyright © 1990 - 2024 James T. Ehler and www.FoodReference.com unless otherwise noted.
All rights reserved. You may copy and use portions of this website for non-commercial, personal use only.
Any other use of these materials without prior written authorization is not very nice and violates the copyright.
Please take the time to request permission.
FOOD TRIVIA and FOOD FACTS
Popular Pages
CULINARY SCHOOLS
& COOKING CLASSES
From Amateur & Basic Cooking Classes to Professional Chef Training & Degrees
Home | Articles | FOOD TRIVIA | Today in Food History | Food_Timeline | Recipes | Cooking_Tips | Food Videos | Food Quotes | Who’s Who | Culinary Schools and Tours | Food_Trivia_Quizzes | Food Poems | Free Magazines | Food Festivals & Events
FoodReference.com (since 1999)
FOOD TRIVIA and FOOD FACTS SECTION