Lotus root is one of the few vegetables used in macrobiotic cooking for which you should remove the skin before cooking. In addition, despite any cookbook advice to the contrary, always cook sliced lotus root before serving it in any recipe. Vintage macro cookbooks, including those written by our beloved late teacher, Aveline Kushi, suggest that lotus root can be sliced and marinated before serving raw; that advice is wrong, since the parasitic organism known as fascilopsis buski is a common contaminant of raw lotus root. Best practices in the kitchen therefore involve using a non-porous cutting board to prepare lotus root, which can be moved into a cooking pan after it has been cut. Before proceeding with your chosen cooking recipe, wash the cutting board you used for cutting the lotus root, as well as the knife you used, and your hands, in hot soapy water.

Here are some links which further discuss the risk of disease from the organism known as fascilopsis buski:

http://www.answers.com/topic/lotus

http://human-infections.suite101.com/article.cfm/fasciolopsis_buski_fluke

http://www.fungusfocus.com/html/flukes.htm

Shopping Tips: In the Chinatown district of Los Angeles, I was able to purchase fresh lotus root in January. If you live near an Asian grocery district, you may be able to buy fresh lotus root at different times of the year; ask your grocer. At my regular natural foods grocer, I usually see fresh lotus root for sale during the months of May and June. I have yet to see any organic lotus root for sale anywhere, but if I do, I'll let you know. It's also important to be aware that the natural color of fresh lotus root skin is beige, with the inner root surface being a cream or ivory color. If you see prepackaged lotus root (in water in a plastic bag) that is pure white, that signifies that that lotus root has been bleached. If so, pass it up.

Finally, remember that parasites are a risk factor for any vegetable grown in fresh water. Water chestnuts and especially watercress are at the same risk of parasite contamination as is lotus root.

Here are two medical links which reports parasitic risks associated with the eating of uncooked watercress:

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/230112-overview

http://www.med-chem.com/Para/prob%20of%20month/Prob%20of%20Month%2019%20July%2002.htm

Again, ignore any macrobiotic or other cookbook instructions which list any recipe where uncooked watercress is to be served in its raw state. Always cook watercress (1 minute in boiling water is enough), and thoroughly wash all utensils and cutting boards (anything touched by the raw watercress) in hot soapy water.