Gingko Nuts Update
My apologies bloggers here: there will be no gingko nut post after all - I stashed a big bag at my parents last weekend but my mom threw them all away during fall clean up (yeah, so they do smell like aged cat urine...).
I'm open to any questions on gingko nuts.
posted by astrid @ 3:29 PM
8 Comments:
My original plan was to take the seed from the pulp and soak in a mixture of water and baking soda (the stinky element of the gingko seed coat is an acid) in a milk jug. Shake violently to wash away the extra pulp. Then wash and dry.
I love eating gingko nuts straight - even though I'm repeatedly warned that it is a very "cold" food that is liable to make me sick. If you find some nuts that look like unopen pistachio in an Asian grocery store, that's the gingko nuts. They should run $4-5/lb.
You can cook gingko nuts in soups and in rice congee. Or wrap some nuts up with aluminum foil and bake (I have no idea how long - I usually just microwave in paper towel). They're ready when the internal seeds are bright green and translucent.
The conventional English sources compare the nuts to cheese. I don't really see the similarity. The nut has a light cereal-like fragrance and an interesting texture - maybe in between jellybean interiors and gummybears.
It's quite bland though - don't expect more flavor than you'd get from a potato. You can add flavor by braising or stir frying the nuts (gingko nuts with chicken cutlets and vegetables is quite popular), but the nuts themselves don't have much flavor.
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I love gingko nuts. But I heard it can be poisonous if you eat too much.
Have you tried grilling them?
No, I haven't. How do you do that.
The seeds are quite poisonous while raw, but at least in my personal experience, I've eaten almost 100 a day without noticeable ill effects. But other people may have different sensitivities and nuts from different sources might have different effects.
There seems to be [at least] two compounds in the seeds; the outer pulp and the nut itself. While the outer coating is easily dealt with (some people may want to wear gloves when handling), the more likely danger is from MPN poisoning. Cooking will not break down MPN, but safe levels seem to substantially vary by person. IOW, if you start having convulsions, there may be a problem.
link: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/109/2/325
Cooking doesn't break up the toxic element?
Hmmm. Maybe I just have a high tolerance for toxins.
It sounds like children are particularly sensitive to gingko nuts. Hopefully it's not a problem for most adult consumers.
I never thought of gingko nut as famine food...
At least in China, they're delicacies and quite rare, so it's hard to imagine people eating too many out of necessity. The big gingko trees are usually found near Daoist and Buddhist retreats. I've never seen a truly "wild" gingko tree.
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