Yew fruit

[quietone]

Oh I don't know, wouldn't wright them off, a useful sugar hit if pushed and a nice addition to a snack. You could even mix a couple through a "pocket salad" - where you collect leaves and edibles in a pouch/pocket as you wander for eating at snack time. Just be careful. Remember over 20 odd years ago being out at this time of year on a training weekend with just a pocket knife and a lighter and being desperately short of edibles. Eventually came across a patch of brambles and got quite giddy with the sugar rush they gave. Sitting giggling in a damp thorny wet bramble patch sticks in the head, and a sugar hit can be quite important.

Hmmm. You're right, I guess as long as I'm careful, in that sort of situation of hunger, I might wolf some down in a frenzy of hunger, forgetting that they're poisonous..

 

[Harvestman]

Nice, please post some nice photos.

Weathers absolutely great today, at work, patrolling, and found my first pendulous sedge. Chuffed.

I will. Lone trees are the subject of this month's photo comp!

Pendulous sedge is rather good isn't it, and until Toddy posted I didn't know you can eat the seeds. They are quite nice.

 

[cranmere]

I wouldn't bother making yew jam or preserves, the fruit is sweet but has very little flavour and I don't think it would be worth the trouble especially given the risks.

 

[xylaria]

I am not sure the sweetness is totally sugars you know. Glycosides taste sweet, they can taste sweeter than glucose, and the sweetness lingers longer in your mouth. Yew fruit have a glycoside flavour. If anyone wants to know what I am talking about try stevia, aspartame, malt sryp and household sugar (sucrose) disolved in water. Stevia is a glycoside based sweetener. Glycosides in nature are often toxic, but not always.

 

[John Fenna]

I classify the fruit as resembling "sweet snot" - not worth the effort or danger!

 

[Toddy]

You're a shower of philistines

Chilled, the fruits are lovely; sweet and juicy and cool.
It's too warm where you are just now to appreciate them. Away for a walk at dawn, and when the dew is still on them and they're really cold, try them then, and they're a seasonal pleasure

Just do not scrape the stone inside; do as demographic did and then spit the seeds out somewhere where they might grow

Himself who has been munching them on his walks says there aren't huge numbers here, but they're really sweet and sticky just now.

If you're prepping them to cook, then you can press the stone out between your index and middle finger using your thumb behind to push. It's not enclosed in the red fruit like an olive or cherry is. It's messy, but it's the easiest way I've found to do it. Like shelling peas; you get a rhythm going and the job's soon done. The inner stone comes free easiest when pushed backwards.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[quietone]

Very useful info, interesting and helpful guys, thanks. Despite the promise of them tasting better when cold, I'm still going to abstain I think.