Katakuri is a type of lily native to Japan, used to make katakuri-ko, a powdered starch used in cooking. The lily is edible and featured in local dishes, but most modern manufacturers use potatoes to keep costs down. The plant is an annual, and the supply often falls short of demand. Real katakuri starch is available in specialty markets but is more expensive.
Katakuri is a type of lily native to Japan and is used as the traditional base of katakuri-ko, a powdered starch used in cooking. The starch is made from finely ground lily bulbs. Katakuri-ko is a staple ingredient in many Japanese dishes, from soups to deep-fried tempura dishes. As a result, lilies are in high demand and are often quite expensive. Most modern manufacturers make the starch at least in part from potatoes as a means of keeping costs down.
The lily, known scientifically as Erythronium japonicum, is native to central and northern Japan, the Korean peninsula and most of eastern China. Despite being a member of the lily family, it is still commonly referred to as the “dogtooth violet.” This is probably at least partly due to its color. The blooms, which appear for just a few weeks each spring, bear a distinctive purple hue.
Both the roots and the bulb of the lily are edible and featured in several local dishes. Cooking with katakuri often requires some patience, as the plant is tough and fibrous, but often provides a lot of nutrients. By far the most popular use for the bulbs is in the preparation of a Japanese cooking starch and sauce thickener known as katakuri-ko or katakuriko. Starch carries neither taste nor smell, and is used liberally in a wide variety of dishes. It can add unobtrusive substance to soups and is often used to preserve moisture in stir-fried or stir-fried meats and vegetables.
Grinding bulbs into starch was simple for primitive cooks in early Japan, and is a good example of using local resources and exploiting all parts of a plant. The flowers grew wild in most communities and were easy to find and dig up. Today, the same crop is often much more expensive, not to mention less affordable. Much of this has to do with the plant’s relative scarcity, as well as the growing demand for the bulb by Japanese cooks around the world.
In nature, the plant is what is known as an annual: the flower blooms and greenery will die off each year, but the bulb will produce new greenery each spring. A single bulb will often bloom for decades. One of the main ways flowers are propagated is through bulb division. It is possible to grow flowers from seeds, although it takes much longer.
It often happens that the supply of lilies falls short of the demand in the katakuri-ko market, both inside and outside Japan. The plants can be grown commercially, but often require a lot of care and effort to grow to maturity. Ripe bulbs produce the best starch, which makes harvesting a long and intense process.
The vast majority of katakuri-ko on the market is made wholly or in part with potatoes. Potatoes are much easier and cheaper to grow and impart a similar texture and quality. Modern cooks tend to see the term “katikuri-ko” as something generic for starch and don’t necessarily expect it to be a bulb-based product. Real katakuri starch is available in some specialty markets and is often blended with potato products for a more authentic feel. Such products are often much more expensive, however, which can put off a more casual chef.
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