Big Tree Energy
I’m thinking about trees, and foraging food from trees, and the owls living in hollow trees, the mushrooms growing on trees, the raccoons sleeping on top of trees, and how much I love trees. But mainly I was thinking about the food…
The first food of the year that I enjoy from trees is coming up: maple sap. Even before the first day of spring the maple trees wake up, the sap flows from the roots up to the top branches and the buds come out, then the flowers, then the seeds fall off, twirling in the wind, The leaves fill the branches and stay like that all summer, photosynthesizing the sun’s energy, turning it to food. Then the days shorten and cool, the leaves turn orange and red and fall off, the sap returns to the roots, stored away for next spring.
I have two young maple trees flanking my back deck. They are maybe too young, but the trunks are pretty wide around, so I am going to put one tap in each early this spring. I’m sure I won’t get enough sap to boil down into syrup — it typically takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 quart of syrup. But the sap itself — which looks like water and tastes like slightly sweetened water, is the first elixir of the year. I drink it and I feel myself filling with big tree energy.
Next in my walk through the year with the trees, are the luscious purple mulberries which ripen in June. They look like blackberries, but they grow on trees, the tree has no thorns, and the berries are a little smaller and much sweeter than blackberries, and do not have the hard seeds that blackberries have. Mulberries are some of my absolute favorite berries. Most are purple when ripe, but there are white mulberries too, and sometimes they are even sweeter than the purple ones. If you want to gather more than a containerful, lay a sheet down under the tree and give the branches a shake, mulberries will rain down upon you and you will have enough for multiple pies, or basketfuls to give to friends or freeze for the rest of the year.
I want to stop here a moment on our tour through the seasons and mention fungus: the mushrooms that grow on trees certainly are not the trees, but they definitely pull in that big tree energy, and I can feel the trees’ strength and steadiness, age and calm grounding energy when I enjoy Dryad Saddle, Chicken Mushroom, and Hen of the Woods: three polypore mushrooms which grow from old trees — sometimes dead trees. Dryad Saddle is found first in April and May, then the Chicken arrives from spring all the way through until fall, when finally hens can be found (if you’re lucky!) These are some of the most delicious edible mushrooms.
Back to our tour: late in the summer, even early into fall, the pawpaws ripen. This northernmost tropical tree offers delicious fruit that looks like a mango and tastes like a banana-mango custard. That we are blessed with this delicious fruit so far north is something to be grateful for.
Finally the nuts fall: acorns, black walnuts, and my new favorite, ginkgo.
Gingko? That stinky yellow fruit? Ginkgo? (Both spellings are acceptable.)
Gingko trees are among the oldest lineage of trees on the planet. Gingko trees were growing 200 million years ago. Yes, you read that right: 200. Million. Years. Ago. I can’t even wrap my mind around that length of time.
What else was happening on earth 200 million years ago? There was one continent, Pangea. It was just starting to split into two, causing massive eruptions of volcanoes. Dinosaurs filled the earth. Flowers did not exist yet, therefore no ants or bees. Over 80% of the plants and animals from that time are extinct. But there is one tree that you would still recognize: Ginkgo biloba.
Ginkgo biloba is so hardy that 6 ginkgo trees growing within 1–2 km (0.6–1.2 miles) of where the bomb was dropped in Hiroshima survived. No other plants or animals survived in that radius, yet these ginkgo trees not only survived, they were soon growing and healthy again. They are still alive to this day. In fact, there are ginkgo trees living today that are over 1000 years old. They definitely have Big Tree Energy, and this year, I collected, cooked, and ate the nuts from this amazing tree, and it was truly an experience to remember.
I must pause to think of my husband Dave, here. He died two years ago, but he’d always wanted to eat ginkgo tree nuts. But when the female ginkgo tree drops its fruit, and that smell washes over the world (it is akin to vomit if you’ve never smelled it, and very strong), I just couldn’t imagine eating anything connected to that. But this year, when the ginkgo tree leaves were glowing golden, I was at Highland Park in Pittsburgh, a park full of these amazing trees. I was stepping on the squishy fruit, because I love the feel of them popping under my shoe, when I looked down and noticed large amounts of nuts in which the fruit had already been separated. White nuts, which looked like raw pistachio, laying on the ground unencumbered by the soft stinky yellow fruit. So I grabbed a couple handfuls and filled the pockets of my jacket. When I got home I emptied them out onto the dining room table.
A couple of days went by before I thought to look up how to prepare them. I read that these nuts should be refrigerated if not used immediately. Oh no! Well, our house is reasonably cold, I rationalized, I think it’s fine. But I better make them now, not another moment should go by, I thought. So I watched a few videos, saw many ways in which to prepare them, washed the seeds, and began to prep.
I decided to try three different ways of preparing the ginkgo nuts: the first was to saute the nuts, shells and all, in oil. This would cause the nuts to explode open like popcorn, so I had a lid nearby. Sure enough, the shells began to pop and I put the cover on and turned down the heat. When cooked the nut meat inside became soft, plump, and a kind of translucent fluorescent green.
Next I cracked some raw nuts and pulled them out of their shell. They were pale yellow, and had a little line around them horizontally. I cooked these in oil as well, stirring constantly and watched as they turned from pale opaque yellow to that translucent, fluorescent green.
Finally, I cracked some raw nuts (so they wouldn’t explode in the oven) but did not take the meat out. These I baked at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes. When they cooled it was easy to break open the shell and remove the fluorescent green nut.
Now for the taste test: they were chewy and absolutely delicious. I might have eaten them all except I read that ginkgo nuts should be consumed sparingly — not more than ten at a time. They contain a heat-stable neuro-toxin (that is, a chemical that doesn’t break down by cooking) and it can cause seizures if eaten too much. My teenage daughter would not even try them. “Why would you even eat any?” she asked, horrified. “Because they are genuinely delicious, and they have Big Tree Energy.”
After seven I thought maybe I felt dizzy, and when I said it out loud, my daughter swept all the remaining cooked nuts off the counter and into the trash. Recently I read that Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is the antidote for overconsuming ginkgo nuts, but it’s better not to have to find out, I think. Still, I can’t wait to eat them again next year.
