They ate the tubers.
I have a nice recipe for Dahlia Bread- somewhat like Zukini bread- if you want to try it.

Plantlady2,

Please post the recipe!

Thanks!

EGK

OK I'll see if I can find it & I'll post it when I get time.

I'll be curious to see this recipe too. Perish the thought I would actually sacrifice a tuber for a meal LOL. If I'm not mistaken, dahlias were originally taken from Mexico back to Europe as a potential food source, the tubers being thought a substitute for other root crops such as potatoes. If you smell a freshly cut tuber, it is not unlike a parsnip- just a little bit spicy/zingy. They would be easy to thinly slice or grate into something palatable, but wouldn't you rather see the flower?

OK- here goes- I only made it once - it wasn't too bad but I liked Zuc. bread better. I think maybe the person who gave it to me just took their Zuc. bread recipe & used dahlias in their place. I used more cinnamon than was in the sample I had at a dahlia society meeting & the taste was much better. The tubers should be just dug so there's not a thick skin on them- & washed well- you can also peel them if you want but I didn't bother- just grated them up.
Couldn't get the husband to even try it!!
Dahlia Bread-
Preheat oven to 350*
3 eggs
1 cup veg. oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated dahlia tuber
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
2+ tsp cinnamon (I piled it up!)
Beat eggs until light & foamy. Add oil, sugar, grated dahlia tuber & vanilla. Mix lightly but well. Sift dry ingred. together. Add to wet ingred. Mix only until blended. Put into greased loaf pans.
Bake in 350* oven for 1 hour.
Good luck!
Do you suppose it'd make pink bread if you used tubers from a dahlia like Delta Red that has red tubers?? >:)

That may be a good use for ones you accidentally break while digging up or dividing. Cook 'em up!

The larouse encyclopedie gormet listd dahlia bulbs as edible. That is what started my search for more info. We have dahlias growing unaided in our yard. We don't dig them in the fall, we just let them grow as they will. We have flowers 4 - 5 inches across. The ground covering the tubers is bulged up in some places about 8 - 10 inches. Some of the bulbs break through the surface. Now that every one is convinced that I am torturing flowers I will say this, these dahlias are so happy that I have too many bulbs. So, why not have a few on the table? Could be a winter item that doesn't have to be stored. At least where I live. I would really like to hear somthing more about this.