Thanks for the recommendation Lorinne. I still haven't gotten one, so I'll look into it.
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D. esculentus is one of my thinner vines, but don't let that fool you, they're tougher than D. esculenta vines, not frail.
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My Saipan Purple has been churning out bulbils, so I figured now is a good time to taste them. To avoid poisoning myself – or confirm its toxicity (it is a semi-toxic variety) – I boiled it three times, changing the
water between boils. I had intended on each time to be 30 minutes, but I ended up doing one 30 and two 20 minute boils by mistake. I was tempted to keep the skin, but I figured if the flesh was toxic, the skin would be more so.
I mashed it and seasoned it, ate half first, then the remainder a half hour later (long enough to give me time to adjust, but close enough where toxicity
should've been apparent). The smell and flavor reminded me of Yams and Chayote and slightly of Camansi Nut (but much milder and more pleasant than the nut). My father likened the smell to that of ordinary yams.
It's been a day, and no symptoms developed. I figure it's a decent edible variety, provided it's properly cooked. I'm not sure I'd recommend bigger portion sizes (I just ate one bigger-than-apple-sized bulbil), but I have no qualms about eating it again. I wouldn't taste Tefoe Purple yet, though, since that one is almost entirely untested (I'd like to send a sample to a lab, if I knew of one).
Note: This took place after a heaping plate of rice, so I'm not sure if an empty stomach would've given different results.
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Further updates:
CV-2, sourced by the same person who gave me CV-1, is said to be superior, but I only have two bulbils at hand, so I'm not sure about tasting it yet. The vine has several more bulbils, but they're still small.
Nonthaburi Yellow died back to the ground. Worried about the possibility of it rotting, I dug up the tuber, washed it, trimmed it, dried it, and bagged it until planting time next season.
I need to think and work long and hard to find a good planting spot for next season. Bulbifera really doesn't seem to like pots... It struggles to produce, and often dies back without a crop. In the ground though, it's the strongest vine I have.
Now that I have some bulbils, I'm going through my list one-by-one, checking in with the interested parties, so if you get a moosage from me, it's probably that.
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