Couple of questions...

[Toby_2008]

Hi,

Just a few questions...

1) what can beech nuts be used for and at what time of year are they ripe to eat (if they are edible?)

2) can rose hips be eaten raw if the seeds are all scraped out? and are they nice to eat?

3) can Hawthorne berries be eaten raw, if so are they nice?

4) I have read that the hawthorne leaves can be used to make tea, any ideas on how this is done? should they be dried?

thanks guys, sorry to ask so many questions but hopefully some day I will be answering similar questions!

Cheers,

Toby

 

[Colin.W]

1 Beechnuts are usually ready about September - october time but usually not every year are edible nuts produced
2 I've never tried raw rosehips but the book I have says to remove the pith and seeds then leave them to stand in an earthenware pot untill soft enough to form a paste, which can be sweetened to taste with sugar or honey.
3 Haw berries are edible raw (they're a little like peanut butter in texture when you've squished the pips out,) as a child my friends and I would often eat hawthorn leaves and berries instead of going home for lunch so we can stay in the woods and play for longer,
4 never heard of or tried making tea from the hawthorn leaves but as they are edible it might be worth giving it a try

 

[Toby_2008]

1 Beechnuts are usually ready about September - october time but usually not every year are edible nuts produced
2 I've never tried raw rosehips but the book I have says to remove the pith and seeds then leave them to stand in an earthenware pot untill soft enough to form a paste, which can be sweetened to taste with sugar or honey.
3 Haw berries are edible raw (they're a little like peanut butter in texture when you've squished the pips out,) as a child my friends and I would often eat hawthorn leaves and berries instead of going home for lunch so we can stay in the woods and play for longer,
4 never heard of or tried making tea from the hawthorn leaves but as they are edible it might be worth giving it a try

thanks for the reply! you say about the beech nuts not always being edible, by that do you mean that sometimes they just dont grow enough to bother with? The reason I have bought the beech nut topic up is that I found a beech tree with LOADS of the nuts on, there still green, not ripe but presumably as soon as they turn brown (at the sort of time you mention) they are edible?

With the hawthorn tea, should the leaves be dried first do we think?

ALso, you may be interested in this link for hawthorne berry tea: http://www.ehow.com/how_5139660_make-hawthorne-berry-tea.html

 

[Colin.W]

the trees only produce nuts about every 3 years, the other years the spikey shells are empty

 

[Toby_2008]

the trees only produce nuts about every 3 years, the other years the spikey shells are empty

oh, cheers i didn't know that, they are defiantly nuts on this particular tree, brought one home and opened it, 2 nuts inside, not quite ready to eat tho

 

[Toddy]

If the beech nuts do ripen then eat them quick, they dry out to nothing so fast I love them, there're trees here I've been munching the nuts from for over forty years

"Hawthorn leaves, bread and cheese " is an old rhyme, I like them early in the year.You can use the leaves as is, or dry them out for later on when the trees are bare. Midland Hawthorn has implications in heart health, please find out some more info before you drink lots of the tea.
The berries I find kind of mealy, they make a jelly without boiling and it can be dried for leather, I really am not fond of that. Unusual, I really like wild fruits.

Rosehips are wonderful things. I pick as I wander and nibble the sweet flesh off as I go. I throw them somewhere they might take root when I reach the seedy inards.
They make beautiful syrups, robbs, jellies, teas and add an extra richness to jams if you process them first.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Toby_2008]

If the beech nuts do ripen then eat them quick, they dry out to nothing so fast I love them, there're trees here I've been munching the nuts from for over forty years

"Hawthorn leaves, bread and cheese " is an old rhyme, I like them early in the year.You can use the leaves as is, or dry them out for later on when the trees are bare. Midland Hawthorn has implications in heart health, please find out some more info before you drink lots of the tea.
The berries I find kind of mealy, they make a jelly without boiling and it can be dried for leather, I really am not fond of that. Unusual, I really like wild fruits.

Rosehips are wonderful things. I pick as I wander and nibble the sweet flesh off as I go. I throw them somewhere they might take root when I reach the seedy inards.
They make beautiful syrups, robbs, jellies, teas and add an extra richness to jams if you process them first.

cheers,
Toddy

thanks for that!

what do you mean about drying the Haws for leather?

Also, these heart implications, am i perfectly alright to have a mug or two a month or is it best to steer completely clear?

Cheers,

Toby

 

[Toddy]

Last year there was a long thread on the forum about hawthorn leathers, I'll see if I can find it 'cos all the information is on there.

A couple of cups won't hurt at all, but Midland hawthorn needs awareness, that's all.

cheers,
Toffy

 

[Toddy]

Hmmm, I can only seem to trip across these two threads, they're not that long but the information is there


http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33840


http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25084

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Fredcompanybushcraft]

I was wondering if there are any other ways of eating beech nuts...
Anyone know any recipes apart from eating them raw?
Is roasting a good idea?

 

[Toddy]

When they are 'very' fresh, and I do mean 'very' fresh, you can roast them in a dry frying pan. A bit like doing pine nuts.
They can also be minced and boiled to extract an oil.......you need a heck of a lot of nuts though.

I'm sure that in Scotland this is true, as I said, I've eaten them for over forty years, but, beech trees thrive elsewhere. Maybe they produce a lot more nut and a lot fleshier ones elsewhere


cheers,
Toddy

 

[Toby_2008]

When they are 'very' fresh, and I do mean 'very' fresh, you can roast them in a dry frying pan. A bit like doing pine nuts.
They can also be minced and boiled to extract an oil.......you need a heck of a lot of nuts though.

I'm sure that in Scotland this is true, as I said, I've eaten them for over forty years, but, beech trees thrive elsewhere. Maybe they produce a lot more nut and a lot fleshier ones elsewhere


cheers,
Toddy

i have to admit, i havent heard of pine nuts, when do they grow and what do they look like?