Japanese Knotweed for the city Amsterdam is a big problem. The plant seems to disapear in the winter, but once is spring it comes back ever larger and stronger. It looks beautiful above the ground but underneath the plant is living a solo life. It is said to damage cables, local ecology and infrastructure. MediaMatic sees an opportunity to embrace the monster and turned it in a beautiful alternative.
These thick juicy heads of the young knotweed shoots are great to cook with. Slightly astringent, freshly acidic like Sorrell. Pick them at the end of March, beginning of April in The Netherlands. Bt be sure to not leave bits of the harvested plant lying around because new ones can sprout in unwanted locations...
see recipe https://www.mediamatic.net/en/page/377382/eating-the-invasive
photo 2020 by Willem Velthoven for Mediamatic