Speaker A
Yep. Look here. We're harvesting what we call Cajun peanuts. Look at that. Mhm. They got a thousand of them out here.
Bruce Mitchell harvests and cooks American lotus seeds, known as Cajun peanuts, sharing tips and tasting the unique snack.
Key Takeaways
- American lotus seeds, or Cajun peanuts, are edible and nutritious wild food.
- Proper harvesting timing is crucial to get seeds with good content.
- Boiling with seasoning is necessary to make the seeds palatable and easy to eat.
- Peeling the seeds is labor-intensive but the taste is rewarding.
- These seeds could be a sustainable food source in the wild.
What the video covers
- Bruce Mitchell harvests American lotus seed pods, commonly called Cajun peanuts.
- He explains how to identify mature pods and avoid picking young, empty ones.
- The seeds inside resemble peanuts and require boiling to soften and enhance flavor.
- Bruce demonstrates peeling raw seeds and discusses the difficulty of the process.
- He uses Louisiana shrimp and crab boil seasoning to cook the seeds.
- After boiling and soaking, he tastes the seeds and compares their flavor to chickpeas and peanuts.
- Bruce notes the seeds are easier to peel than regular peanuts but require patience.
- He encourages viewers to subscribe and shares the idea of planting lotus seeds.
- The video includes casual, instructional commentary with a focus on Cajun food culture.
- Bruce invites viewers to share tips on easier preparation methods in the comments.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
You can eat all these, you'll never starve to death. Now, that's what you call an American lotus.
Speaker A
And y'all say just mild. We're going to try to pull one out and show y'all.
Speaker A
Oh. [clears throat] You see these little seeds here? Okay. That's like a peanut. You got to bite it, and that's the outer shell.
Speaker A
[snorts] Okay. That's why you got to boil them. [snorts] Look at this, y'all. It's a nut in there.
Speaker A
[snorts] Some people call them Cajun peanuts. Ain't too bad. You see all the little [snorts] pods there?
Speaker A
That might be too young. Too young, you get nothing in it. Now it feels better.
Speaker A
Okay. I'm going to peel this one, y'all, the right way. But I think we take this home, we boil them, they'll pop out. Look at that.
Speaker A
Mhm. So, if you see these, you won't starve to death. They're good. Oh, yeah.
Speaker A
That looks like a real good one there. Y'all see the flower? Now, right there, that's going to be the seed pod. That's what we're picking.
Speaker A
So, this is going to grow on out. These fall off the flower tomorrow, probably. And uh, so, we need to go find some green ones to pick.
Speaker A
And they might be a little too young. Mhm. Ooh, they're too. You see these are a little too young.
Speaker A
Nothing in them. That's a no-no. Come out easy, and they look pretty. But, that thing you never get in it.
Speaker A
Nothing in it. Once it sits a while, the bolts and stuff I don't know how to get in it, but you can't break that with a hammer.
Speaker A
So, just pick a bunch of green ones. We're going to boil them up and see what happens.
Speaker A
When August and September, we harvest these seed pods like this. That's when you can get them, pick them up.
Speaker A
And uh, after that, we're going to bring these home and boil them. Fix them up a little bit, see if we can uh pop them out, maybe put a little flavor in them.
Speaker A
It's easy pickings out here. Look at that. All right. We got to go home, cook these up, and show y'all how they are.
Speaker A
Now, I used to pick these and give them to my cousin, and she had a florist, and you will see these in florists a lot of times dried out, but this is not what they're for. This is what we call a
Speaker A
lotus plant, American lotus. Plus, it's like Cajun peanuts. So, hey, we're going to try to boil some. I found these. They're hard to find around on these parts. Let's see if I can split this open.
Speaker A
Okay, let's see if I can—I did it. There's your little peanuts. Okay, we're going to take these out, put them in here.
Speaker A
You got to take all your things and get them out. Well, lotus peanuts or whatever you want to call them.
Speaker A
But anyway, we got to get them out of here. All right, y'all, we're going to try to peel one of these raw ones and show you how it is.
Speaker A
[snorts] I probably have to use a little knife on this one. I'm hoping. Mhm.
Speaker A
I think you cut it. But Miss Janet's been using my knife. See if I can peel this thing.
Speaker A
There you go. And there she blows. They're good. They're good just like this. Like I said, y'all hang with me 'cause I don't know what I'm doing either.
Speaker A
Okay. Y'all can call these seeds that fly 'cause they hang in and they drop in the water like—there's got to be a reason you could do this easier.
Speaker A
Somebody put in the comments if they know how to do it easier 'cause I sure don't.
Speaker A
All right, y'all, we got them all peeled. Uh, we're going—now, this is a long process with this.
Speaker A
Uh, takes a little while. I think we got to boil them like 30 minutes.
Speaker A
And I got to remember this ain't no big, big pot. This ain't nothing but a Louisiana shrimp and crab boil concentrate.
Speaker A
Y'all know what this white stuff is. Little bit of salt. Put that in there.
Speaker A
Turn this thing up. We're going to wait and see what happens. She's boiling up.
Speaker A
Mhm. All right, y'all. Get in here. Like I said, I've never ate a boil like this. So, we're going to—we're going to learn something new today, huh?
Speaker A
Is it worth it? All the work that goes into it or what? We'll find out in about an hour.
Speaker A
So, I thought you just said 30 minutes. I did. Got to boil them for 30 minutes, let them soak for 30 minutes.
Speaker A
Get in there. That is pretty good. I'm going to stir it. Wow, that's hot, y'all.
Speaker A
Sure is, I tell you. Put lid on them. We'll be back about 30 minutes, y'all.
Speaker A
All right, y'all. Check on these. Oh, boy, they look totally different than I thought they would look.
Speaker A
So, I guess they cooked. Y'all know just about as much as I do. So, we're going to cut this fire off.
Speaker A
Put the lid on it. Just let it chill out. All right, y'all. We're going to get a couple over here and try some.
Speaker A
And jar the other one. We're going to let it soak. And we're going to throw them right here.
Speaker A
And like everything else I fry or boil, I'm fixing to burn myself, I know.
Speaker A
We're going to wait just a second. They are nice and soft, though. You know I can't wait.
Speaker A
Look at that. Yeah, boy, they come right out. Ooh. Oh my goodness. That is super good, y'all.
Speaker A
Look how easy it is to just boop, pop out. See? I can't wait till the seasoning gets in them. This is super good. Okay, I'm going to let these soak about another 30 minutes. We'll be back. And uh, go make
Speaker A
sure you subscribe to our page. All right, y'all. Cajun peanut time. I'm going to taste a few. They taste pretty good. I'm going to empty them in here.
Speaker A
Y'all watch this. It smells really good. All right, y'all. We got them out here.
Speaker A
We're going to dump them. And it's a lot more work than peanuts to me, but uh, let's see how they are. Pretty, pretty dang good. I ain't lying.
Speaker A
I need to plant some of these over here somewhere. They are good. These are easier to peel than regular peanuts.
Speaker A
I give them a thumbs up, y'all. Let me go bring some to Miss Janet.
Speaker A
Ooh babe. What? I just cooked them things. I got to get you to try them.
Speaker A
Okay, what do they look like? Get one. Um, chickpeas. Yeah, that's what I was trying to think of a while ago.
Speaker A
Oh, you don't eat it like that. You break it open, get the white thing out.
Speaker A
That's where the taste is coming from. Yeah. You got to peel them. Get me one.
Speaker A
You did good. That—I love them. That thing's the thing wrapping of it. No, I wouldn't eat that.
Speaker A
It tastes like chickpeas or peanuts. Yeah. Cool. We wouldn't starve in the wild, would we?
Speaker A
Hm? We wouldn't starve in the wild, would we? No. One thing pretty good, hm?
Speaker A
Yeah. You got to peel them 100 times, huh? Three times. I got to teach you how to peel them.
Speaker A
Yes. Pretty good.
Topics:Cajun peanutsAmerican lotuswild edible plantsforagingboiling seedssouthern cookingLouisiana cuisineBruce Mitchellwild foodseed harvesting
