Dahlia tubers and flowers have a considerable history of edible use, but even the leaves are eaten in several Native American cultures. The seeds are likely edible, given the edibility of the rest of the plant and the general non-toxic nature of the genus, though this has not been tested much and it is hard to imagine they are worth eating.
Dahlia tubers range in taste from the delicious to the insipid all the way down to the disgusting. I’ve heard a pretty wide range of reactions to different varieties and species: crisp like a water chestnut, fibrous and juicy, tasting of soil, carrot-like, fragrant, sweet, radish-like, apple-like, and much more. This variation in taste and texture is almost certainly a result of the incredible genetic diversity present in the Dahlia genus as a whole.
Species with a history of edible use include the following:
Dahlia coccinea – perhaps the most consistently delicious of the dahlias. D. coccinea is one of the parents of the modern garden dahlia and, though the tubers are often not as large as garden dahlias, they usually have better flavor.
Dahlia sorensenii – the other parent of the garden dahlia, this species was sampled by William Whitson of cultivariable. Described as ‘sweet and juicy.’
Dahlia variabilis – this isn’t saying much, as D. variabilis simply refers to the likely hybrid of D. coccinea and D. sorensenii that has been bred into the modern garden dahlia.
Dahlia imperialis – the massive tree dahlia has edible tubers, though they are not terribly appetizing. The leaves are a traditional food in South America, where they are first cooked before eating.
Dahlias at Back Porch Ecology
With the exception of the European ‘Deli Dahlia’ and the early failure of Dacopa, a dahlia-based coffee substitute, dahlias have not found significant culinary use outside of Central and South America. This is unfortunate as dahlias are an ideal crop for a home gardener looking for a crop that is both beautiful and good to eat.
My dahlia project has three main components:
- Ongoing evaluation of current varieties and dahlia species for edibility.
- Starting a dahlia landrace selected for edible characteristics and yield.
- Select and release particularly promising edible varieties.
What makes a good eating dahlia?
Yield is pretty self-explanatory, but the question remains as to what a good eating dahlia should taste like. Dahlias have a wide range of potential flavors, from bitter to earthy to sweet. I will be selecting dahlia flavors that my wife and I enjoy eating: sweeter flavors for eating raw and radish or vegetable flavors for eating cooked, in salads, and pickled.