Historical food – Maple Pods
When the maple pods (the ‘helicopters’ you played with as a child) are full yet still green, gather them by the handful. Run your hands down the branch to gather. Take your thumbnail and cut into the end then squeeze out the pod, it will look like a pea/bean. Boil it for about 15 minutes or until soft. Season with butter, salt and pepper. It tastes like a cross between peas and hominy.
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How to Eat Maple Seeds
Green maple seeds.If you have a maple tree, you probably get an overflow of their seeds once a year. The good news is, these are edible.
[1] When cooked, they taste like a cross between peas and hominy.
[2] They can also be eaten raw or dried, and thrown in a salad. Follow these steps for the best flavor.
Maple seeds in AprilHarvest the seeds. They should be gathered when they’re full but still green in the spring; run your hands down the branch to gather a bunch in your hands.
[2] All maple seeds are good to eat, but some are more bitter than others (a good rule of thumb is: small and sweet, big and bitter).
[3] Later, when their shells are brown, they are a little more bitter, but still good.
Hull the seeds. Peel off the outer skin (the “whirlygig” part). Cut the end with your thumbnail. Squeeze out the seed; it looks like a pea or bean.
Rinse out the tannins. Taste a few seeds raw. If they are bitter, you’ll need to boil them in water, dump out the water, and repeat until the bitterness is gone.
[4]
Cook the seeds. If you boiled them already, just season with butter, salt, and pepper and enjoy.
If they weren’t boiled, here are a few more options:
Roasting – Place the seeds on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8 – 10 minutes.
Drying – Put them in a dry, sunny spot or in a food dehydrator until they are crunchy. They can then be pounded or ground into a flour, if you want
