Cooking with Japanese Knotweed

There are few foods that are so versatile that they don’t just ‘work’, but work really well in every single one of the following ways – ways I’ve personally tested for success: in sweet crumbles, tarts and pies, for jam and marmalade, salad dressing, sorbets, icecream, yoghurt, cordial, syrup, ‘fruit’ leather, as candied stems, boiled sweets, for wine and beer, soup, smoothies, pickles, sweet and savoury sauces, chutney, cakes, biscuits, tea – hot or cold and as a vegetable – especially when cooked with pork or game.

• Japanese knotweed and dwarf quince crumble
• Pot roast pheasant with knotweed, chestnuts and wild mushrooms
• Nettle and yarrow beer
• Knotweed and strawberry wine