FREE: YUCCA PLANT SEEDS

Too cold up here for this one but I'd love to have them because they taste so good.
Yuccas live up to about 20 years. Then, one spring, they send up a tall flower spike, produce flowers, then fruit, and then the whole plant dies. Little babies sprout up around the parent. While these shoots are sprouting up -- before they sprout side flower branches -- they resemble a huge asparagus shoot. One shoot can have a diameter up to a foot in thickness and several feet tall. These are an excellent food source. You cut off the top three feet or so, which is the most tender. You then peel back the fibrous outer rind. The insides can be eaten raw, which is akin to jicama in texture and flavor. Or, you can bake, boil, or roast it -- baking is best. Generally, when you cut off this shoot, other side shoots develop.

The yucca flowers are creamy-yellow to white, depending on species. Some yucca flowers can be picked off the plant and eaten raw, and they are good. But most have a slightly soapy under flavor. The best way I have enjoyed the raw yucca flowers was with a sour cream dip. We had a bowl of flowers and a bowl of dip, and we just dipped each flower. The blend of flavors was quite good. Their flavor is improved by boiling, upon which they can be eaten as-is, or seasoned with butter or various sauces. The boiled flowers are also delicious if sauteed for just a few minutes before eating.
The lucky winner is going to have lots of fun with these carefree drought tolerant treasures.