Nobody who’s smelled ginkgo fruits for the first time has ever said, “Yeah, I think I’m gonna have to eat some of that.”
If you haven’t experienced them first hand, well, they have the aroma of something that maybe was once food but has since passed through one or two digestive organs before finding its way to the nostrils. Dog vomit, in other words.
But I had read that the seeds inside the little stink bombs are a delicacy in Asia, and we’ve all heard that ginkgo supposedly has health benefits, so when I came across this woman picking them up off the street in the Hollywood neighborhood of Portland last week, I knew I had to check this thing out for myself.
The street was splattered with ginkgo fruits, and a cold, spiteful wind sent more of the puke-packets hurtling towards us as we talked.
Emily said she was the letter carrier on that street and had just discovered this female tree earlier in the week (only female ginkgos bear fruit). So she had come back on the holiday (it was Veteran’s Day) to load up.
She had been there since 8 am, picking them up, wiping the goo off with a gloved hand, and dropping them in buckets. It was 2 pm when I met her. Six hours she’d been at it. These must be delectable, I thought.
Emily said she’d learned of ginkgos as food while growing up in Korea, and she confirmed that they’re popular all over Asia, and that Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese people like to gather them and eat them, too. The harvest can go on for two months as the trees gradually shed their fruit. She added, “They’re very expensive to buy at the store.”
“What do they taste like?” I asked.
She didn’t give me much to go on. “Hard to describe,” she said. “They’re… um… chewy. Not sweet. They’re addictive. You shouldn’t have more than like 7 or 9 a day, though.”
I was a little alarmed. “Why, will they give me a stomachache?”
“No. You just shouldn’t. I don’t know why. That’s just what they say.”
I asked how to prepare them, and Emily advised cleaning them off, cracking them with a nutcracker, and microwaving them for 30 or 40 seconds. I asked if she ever used them in recipes, and she replied no, they’re more of a snack food, but she’ll usually peel a bunch and store them in the freezer, and when she makes rice, she’ll sometimes throw a handful of them in.
After miraculously evading any direct shots from the ginkgo-grenades raining down, I wished her well, thanked her for the info, and scooped up a few fruits for myself, packing them gingerly in a paper towel.
Back home, I washed them (in the sink in the garage), and not having a nutcracker, I tapped each seed with a hammer. Then I tossed them in the microwave.
They made some violent popping sounds, and when I took them out after 40 seconds, they looked like this. A couple had jumped clear out of their shells, and I could see that they were a radioactive-green color inside.
The verdict?
Well, they are hard to describe. Chewy, like a warm jellybean. The flavor was subtle. I could still catch a whiff of the fruit funk on my fingers, so that was distracting, but otherwise the flavor was quite good! If I had to pin it down I would say it was sort of like edamame.
I did some research and found that ginkgo seeds are indeed considered to be toxic in doses larger than a handful, as Emily had said. And I found that some people’s skin is sensitive to the pulp, so gloves are a good idea not just for the ick factor, but to avoid an allergic reaction.
So would I gather up and eat a few ginkgo seeds again? You bet!
But maybe not on such a windy day.
Ginkgos line the street of the house where I grew up. Not only did they smell terrible, they made roller skating treacherous. Thanks for investigating for us!
My pleasure! It was a fun adventure. My shoes still stink, though.
I made the mistake of parking under a female ginkgo tree once and got the fruit on my shoes and car floor mats. Every time the air vent came on, the “perfume” of that pulp filled my car. Will never do that again.
Matthew, I put my ginkgos (wrapped in the paper towel) in my coat pocket. Later, when I was at the grocery store I could still smell it. I wondered if anyone at the store could smell it, too.
Dog vomit… or sperm…About a hundred years ago, or so, I spent some time at an Israeli kibbutz. Along the path linking our lodgings with the dining room were a whole row of female Ginko trees. I remember my British friend saying in his Cockney accent: “Smells like spunk here..” So, I learned a new word. Ever since I learned that they were edible, I have wondered how they would taste, but never tried it. Reading your post made me think that I should probably give it a try some time. 🙂
Anna, I’d say that ginkgos have an odor all their own. Actually, it wasn’t as bad as I remembered it. Maybe because they hadn’t been sitting there very long to ferment and get really funky. And also Emily was totally nonplussed about the smell, so that made it seem not so bad. If she had been dry-heaving, I probably would have, too!
I’m glad you added the comment about using gloves. The pulp around the seeds can cause a poison ivy-like dermatitis, which I discovered the hard way several years ago after I cleaned some seeds for planting purposes. Within 2 days I had developed a severe rash all over my wrists (where I had apparently not washed thoroughly enough) and had no clue what had caused it. I finally figured it out but then had to explain to my doctor what I was doing, and why–and she had no clue how to treat it!
Emily must not be allergic, because she didn’t mention it. She did have gloves on, though. Luckily, I found this great article, which mentioned the irritating effects the pulp can have: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/10/the-nasty-bits-gingko-nuts.html The author said the next day her hands were flaking like she had dandruff on her palms.
Amers,
Love the article, always interested in learning more about the plants we live and share the planet with. However I think I will stay with the edemame.
Wayners, Coward! Haha, edamame is a good substitute, and a lot less gross.
This was cool to learn about where Ginkgo Biloba comes from and what it looks like! I’ve tried Ginkgo Biloba supplements (the brand was NOW Supplements/NOW Foods) before and I can say the effect was at first unrecognizable but by the 2nd or 3rd time trying them I did notice that they had sort of a mellow, calming and focusing effect. I heard about them from a trial technician consulting company I worked with (handling the technology side of attorneys’ functions in the courtroom). Apparently they’re popular with to-be attorneys who are studying for the bar. From best I could tell they would be useful for someone who has been drinking too much coffee for too many days in a row and needed some kind of remedy so the coffee would continue to be useful.