Yew fruit

[quietone]

I wondered if anyone eats, or cooks with the red fruit? They look so tempting, but I'm too cautious to try them. I know the stones are deadly, leaves etc, but the fruit looks marvelous this year. There seems to be a glut of them this year too.

 

[ozzy1977]

The fruit is very nice, I have only eaten it raw and cant recall any recipes for them.

 

[HillBill]

Eat the fruits by all means, but try not to scratch the seeds with your teeth, the seed outer is ok, its the inner that harms you. Though, you could likely swallow them as seeds are designed to pass through a digestive system and come out intact.

 

[Goatboy]

Yup as the other say the yew arils are safe to eat, just avoid the seed inside, just use your tongue to squish the pulp off. It's one of the few things I'm cautious about telling kids about in case of mistakes. Never cooked with them, I just enjoy the sweet little treat in situ.

 

[quietone]

Oh, cool. I'm seeing the same trees, with lots of fruit, far more than usual, must be the weather. What about using them in jam? Got to be good for jam?

Trees are plastered with them.

 

[Goatboy]

Jam sounds nice, but you'd have to have a way of separating the arils from the internal seed without damaging it. The odd one may not be a problem (don't hold me to that) but doing enough for jam could lead to mistakes and compound problems. Would be very labour intensive.

 

[Goatboy]

Have a wee read of this... http://www.eattheweeds.com/yew/

 

[mountainm]

Jam sounds nice, but you'd have to have a way of separating the arils from the internal seed without damaging it. The odd one may not be a problem (don't hold me to that) but doing enough for jam could lead to mistakes and compound problems. Would be very labour intensive.

A centrifuge may do it - I wouldn't risk it though.

 

[Goatboy]

It's worth noting that although fatal toxicity seems to be about 50-100mcg/kg in humans that it's so rare as to not be set in stone, and they recon one chewed seed could be fatal to a child. Also there isn't an antidote.

 

[quietone]

Have a wee read of this... http://www.eattheweeds.com/yew/

Great article that, love the no nonsense safety advice, interesting too. On another note, did anyone see the recent article in the news about the ancient yew in a Welsh churchyard? Might even be the oldest tree in the world ! Predates anything the Christian brainwashing of the British Isles.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/co...cred-regenerative-death-defying-yew-tree.html

 

[Goatboy]

Great article that, love the no nonsense safety advice, interesting too. On another note, did anyone see the recent article in the news about the ancient yew in a Welsh churchyard? Might even be the oldest tree in the world ! Predates anything the Christian brainwashing of the British Isles.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/co...cred-regenerative-death-defying-yew-tree.html

Nice wee article, certainly up in the running with the Bristlecone Pines if that's the case and it mentioned my old boss The Duke Of Buccleuch. To my shame that trees not to far away and I've never visited it. Still working my way round the sones and other sites round here.

 

[quietone]

Yeah, I'm going to pay homage to it one day, maybe on the way to Old Tjikko.

 

[Coldfeet]

I tried one the other day, just to see what it was like. I don't recall it having that much flavour TBH.

 

[demographic]

Tried some a while ago, sweet but nothing else flavour wise.
Spat the seeds out after squeezing the flesh against the roof of my mouth with my tongue.

Not blown away by them, sort of like eating jelly sugar with no flavour.

Fair risk for insipid taste.

 

[dwardo]

I would imagine anything made from them would be sickeningly sweet.

 

[quietone]

Okay chaps. You've persuaded me that the taste does not warrant the risk. So I'll just admire them, and leave em to the blackbirds.

 

[xylaria]

I eat yew "goo" off the tree but i have never attempted anything more with them. Fergus drennen did a cheese cake with them. I have never found them worth the effort. They come out when we spoiled for good fruit and I am too much of a fungiphile to eat something for the bravado.

 

[Harvestman]

Well, that dictates what I'm doing today. I'm off to see the Defynnog yew. It will make a nice day out.

 

[Goatboy]

Okay chaps. You've persuaded me that the taste does not warrant the risk. So I'll just admire them, and leave em to the blackbirds.

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.

 

[quietone]

Well, that dictates what I'm doing today. I'm off to see the Defynnog yew. It will make a nice day out.

Nice, please post some nice photos.

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