Century plant agave flower being removed

[nachocarl]

There are several complaints in our neighborhood about Agave flowers being removed before they flower.  Why would someone target Agave flowers are they edible?

[Silas_Sancona]

Carl,

Crazy as it sounds, i recently heard about the same thing being done locally in the belief that by cutting out the inflo before it goes to flower, it would keep the plant itself from dying.. Pretty sure the plant would still die. As far as whether or not the infos are edible.. no clue there.

[Gonzer]

Normally done due to lessen future liability issues, but can also be done to achieve faster maturation of the offsets.

[nachocarl]

That's the strange part as these are in areas that do not have overhead power lines so SDG&E would have no reason to top them.  The tops of the flowers are removed by an unknown party and the plants owners are somewhat disappointed because they wanted to see the plant flower.  There are several reports from different households here in the Alta Vista/Foothills area.....strange.

 

The headless Agave Man?

[Gonzer]

Carl, it's likely that they may not want the dead stalks to fall over and smash someone's melon.

[monkeyranch]

You might have some "wild" food foragers.   "Use the whole buffalo" philosophy, don't waste anything.  Resourcefulness.

Yucca flowers are used for cooking in SW Native American, Mexican, El Salvadorian and other cuisines. A popular dish is Flor de Izote con Huevos, where they are par-boiled and then scrambled with eggs.  Agave flowers are also used too a lesser extent and are described as crunchy, herbaceous, with a slight bitterness.  I've made zucchini flowers with a jalapeño and cheese filling which are dipped in beer batter and then fried.  Tasty.  Might be possible to try it with agave flowers sliced open and filled.

Sometimes they are made into patties and fried.   Tortas de gualumbos (flores de maguey) recipe.

Another website with fiber, food, and other uses for the agave plant.  They describe cooking the top of the stalk when it looks like a giant asparagus spear before the flowers unfurl.

   

[Silas_Sancona]

9 hours ago, monkeyranch said:

You might have some "wild" food foragers.   "Use the whole buffalo" philosophy, don't waste anything.  Resourcefulness.

Yucca flowers are used for cooking in SW Native American, Mexican, El Salvadorian and other cuisines. A popular dish is Flor de Izote con Huevos, where they are par-boiled and then scrambled with eggs.  Agave flowers are also used too a lesser extent and are described as crunchy, herbaceous, with a slight bitterness.  I've made zucchini flowers with a jalapeño and cheese filling which are dipped in beer batter and then fried.  Tasty.  Might be possible to try it with agave flowers sliced open and filled.

Sometimes they are made into patties and fried.   Tortas de gualumbos (flores de maguey) recipe.

Another website with fiber, food, and other uses for the agave plant.  They describe cooking the top of the stalk when it looks like a giant asparagus spear before the flowers unfurl.

   

Interesting, good to know there are other possible uses for Agave. Thanks for the insight monkeyranch.

To anyone out there on the hunt for such a unique ingredient, please ask your neighbor before harvesting, first.

[DoomsDave]

Agaves are also used to cook pork. Start a fire in a pit lined with stones, when it's good and hot line it with washed agave leaves, put the dead pig on top, cover and roast. Tastes like pork marinated in tequila, even if you don't use the tequila agave.

The flower stem is also eaten. I tried it and it's a acquired taste. I suspect better with plenty of tequila.

[DoomsDave]

On 5/26/2016, 9:41:32, Silas_Sancona said:

Interesting, good to know there are other possible uses for Agave. Thanks for the insight monkeyranch.

To anyone out there on the hunt for such a unique ingredient, please ask your neighbor before harvesting, first.

Agave fritters!

Sounds good!

[Howeadypsis]

Isn't the juice of agave a well known halucigen?  No other reason to remove the flowers as the plant will still die due to it having a single  growing point