Hand Papermaking Newsletter #73‘s “For Beginners” column walks the reader through the process of creating papyrus from produce. Read the full text here.

Egyptian papyrus is made by overlapping pieces of the stalk of the papyrus plant and pounding or pressing the pieces together. A similar technique can be used to make vegetable papyrus using common household vegetables or corn husks. These are not true papers, since the fibers are not beaten to a pulp and made into sheets of paper on a mesh surface.

Vegetable papyrus is made by cooking sliced veggies until they are tender, and then pressing them, which can reveal intricate and beautiful patterns in the resulting papyrus. More….