Author:
Tamara Smith
Date Of Creation:
22 January 2021
Update Date:
29 June 2024
Content
If you have a maple, you will have a lot of seeds in your garden once a year. The good news is that these seeds are edible. When you cook them, they taste like a cross between peas and corn porridge. The seeds can also be eaten raw or dried and added to a salad. Follow the steps below to get the best flavor.
To step
Harvest the seeds. Collect them in the spring when they are full but still green. Stroke your hands down by the branch to collect some seeds in your hands. You can eat all maple seeds, but some seeds are more bitter than others. A good rule of thumb to use is that small seeds have a sweet taste and large seeds are often bitter. When the skin is brown, they are slightly more bitter, but you can still eat them well. 
Remove the shells from the seeds. Peel off the outer shell (the part that resembles a merry-go-round). Cut the end off with your thumbnail. Squeeze out the seed. It looks like a pea or bean. 
Wash away the tannins. Taste some raw seeds. If they are bitter, boil them in water, discard the water and repeat the process until the bitter taste is gone. 
Boil the seeds. If you've already cooked them, just season them with butter, salt and pepper and enjoy. If you haven't boiled the seeds, here are some more options: - Toasting - Place the seeds on a baking tray and sprinkle with salt. Bake them in the oven for 8-10 minutes at a temperature of 180 ° C.
- Drying - Place the seeds in a dry, sunny spot or in a food dryer until they are crispy. You can then crush or grind them into flour if you wish.
Tips
- If you would like to learn more about edible wild plants, you can roast the roots of ferns or boil nettles or heat them over a fire. Search a library near you for books on identifying edible plants. However, be careful with wild mushrooms, as some are poisonous and others even deadly.
- Always try to harvest fruits, seeds, and other edible parts from young plants. In general, the older the plant, the more bitter it tastes.
Warnings
- Check if you have a food allergy. The first time you eat maple seeds, eat only a few and wait several hours. If nothing is bothering you, you can eat more.
