Lemongrass question.

[bif]

I'm growing Lemongrass in my herb garden here in Michigan. It's pretty bushy and the stalks are starting to thicken a bit. When do you harvest it and what part of the plant can you use? Any help would be welcome.

[MrMickeysMom]

1. I've only bought it in the produce section at the grocery store, bif...

It seems the thicker the stems, the better flavor will be gotten. The stalks I bought were about 1/4 inch, but they didn't seem to be too fresh.

Sounds like a great thing to grow for tea or if you do Tai dishes!

[Michigan-Arizona]

2. My Thai sister in-law

I know she would use the stalks that looked dead, turned brown & looked dried out to steep with tea to make a great lemon flavored tea.... She would also gather the stalks that turned brown & put them in zip lock bag's for later use...

[eridani]

3. You have to beat the bejeezus out of it to extract the flavor

Then discard the stalks.

[azurnoir]

4. you use the inner core of the stalk

peel away the outer layers and leaves, for the most part you use only the bottom 3-4 inches of the core-use a smell test to see how far up the flavor goes the more lemony the more taste - the part you use will be white with a purple ring around it

[cbayer]

5. I have never figured this stuff out.

I've bought it, but once home I am clueless about what to do with it. It always seems like some kind of inedible piece of bamboo or something.

The best I have done is to throw it whole into a pot of soup and then take it out later.

[WhiteTara]

6. The white fleshy part of the stalk has the most

flavor, but you can cut the grass up and make a tea of that. I leave it in the pot until I'm going to cook. I pull/cut a stalk into the roots and dig it out. Wash it, cut the excess grass away (here's where you get the tea part), gently pound the stalk so that it opens up. I love Tom Ka Gai soup and with fresh keifer lime leaves and homemade chicken broth, you have a dish made in heaven.

If you grow in a large pot and bring it indoors in winter, the plant and roots will grow larger.