Eat The Weeds: Episode 96: Wild Apples

[purity4all]

What kind of apples were the ones that looked like green beans, and the ones that look like little jalapenos? @ 3:34

[her1337ness]

Great video, as always. Thank you!

[phrankus2009]

I would eat them if I better knew how to recognize and exactly when and where to look. I suppose I have come across them, before, but was "afraid" that they might not really be ok to eat ... that they might be some OTHER sort of fruit, that might be poisonous. Same goes with berries. I know that birds can eat many bright and pretty berries that I cannot. The apple STAR PATTERN sounds like one sure-fire ID method.

[eyechubcunt]

I always make cider from them(hard cider as you say in the US) But unfortunate the wild apples I find are sweet, I'm always on the search for some bitter sweet to give my cider character. Also make cider vinegar and apple balsamic. Also perry from wild pears. The best wild harvest.

[sethzky77]

Can you do one on Marijuana?

[sethzky77]

Do you know if there are any wild apples in the midwest? Oklahoma specifically.

[BerylBite]

you are awesome.

[blanklabel1234567890]

I love your videos!

[thermax292]

Can you eat a pond apple like we have in the swamp? thanks for your videos

[EatTheWeeds]

@thermax292 It would depend upon which pond apple it is.

[thermax292]

@EatTheWeeds Like this one

rjwiley.smugmug.com/A-day-in-t­he-swamp-Stock/Flowers-Ferns-a­nd-Fungus/10277719_4xnXt6#7096­73376_JzQcT

[Moonsabie]

i been visiting in belgrade serbia i just came across a wild forager for herbs mostly tea's some spices but are those not the same. any way he had some Wild apple vinegar it has a powerful and complex taste lots of flavor structure not a single sensation i was blown away i think i will buy one of every thing he picks. great video!

[disan06]

I live in Utah and I have access to beautiful wild apple trees, but I'm a little afraid of eating them because of worms. What are your thoughts on this?

[EatTheWeeds]

@disan06 The worms are edible and nutritious.

[disan06]

@EatTheWeeds Oh don't I feel silly!! The acid in my tummy will kill them if my choppers don't, right? Thank you so much for the reply, and for the vids :)

[jordanartuso]

@EatTheWeeds After watching the mealworm video I knew the answer to disan06's question before I read it.

[chargermopar]

Better beware of the manchieel tree. Apple scented but highly poisonous fruit

[EatTheWeeds]

@chargermopar Not too much of a problem here in that apples don't go wild in Florida. But, if you do find a wild "apple" tree in south Florida beward, it could be the manchieel.

[DANGJOS]

@chargermopar You can probably tell the difference from the flowers

[GameMayhem]

ive always been told that crabapples will make you sick, i live in massachusetts, not florida, so im not familiar with the exact species around here

[LeonRFpoa]

Haha I got wild apples in my yard- seven trees. Love them.

[tappakeggaday1]

i think many of the videos you have done said your here in Florida? I bought two trees from a nursery but they have or are the wild variety and I had seen may apple in the post, this wouldn't be the mayhaw tree is it?I had bought two of them and have eaten mayhaw jelly since i was a child

[EatTheWeeds]

@tappakeggaday1 Well.... we have a common name confusion. Mayhaws are usually a hawthorne... but some 'haws" are also hollies, neither of which are apples. Mayhaw jelly is usually a hawthorne jelly.

[horrorbusiness420]

i live on the niagara pensuila in ontario canada and its fulllll of fruit trees and grape fines this fall has been a blast. since you like wine greene deane i sugest checking some of then out .

[shevamae]

What do you mean that you can't mention her name, because of trademarks?

[EatTheWeeds]

@shevamae If I mention trademark items my videos can be deleted.

[DarkSeraphane]

I don't mean to be a bother, but I was hoping you may have information on the 'May-Apple', the fruit of which does have an apple-like appearance. I've been told that the fruit of the plant, when ripe, transitions from green to yellow. In my studies (and training) I have leaned that this 'May-apple' is considered poisonous except when the fruit is yellow (ripe). Is there any truth to this?

[EatTheWeeds]

@DarkSeraphane The may apple (which is not a true apple) is very toxic until very ripe.

[DarkSeraphane]

@EatTheWeeds Thank you very the reply, very much appreciated. I've decided to remove the may-apple from my training--too much a risk in my opinion, and there really is no option for such risks. I also removed Queen Anne's Lace due to it's similarity to Poison Hemlock. Thanks to your videos, I was able to re-add Watercress, now that I can much more easily identify it AGAINST water hemlock. Thank you for that as well, you videos have been a great help! :)

[DenniszVideos]

I thought apple seeds, have a bit of toxic. That, just makes your stomach hurt. Is this true, or my science teacher a liar!

[EatTheWeeds]

@DenniszVideos The seeds contain arsinic.

[rayme4raw]

Thanks for the video. Are any wild apples poisonous? Also, traditional apple trees have to be pruned. I have two wild apple trees that look more like 15 foot bushes that produce two inch in diameter green apples. Does it help to prune a wild apple tree so that there is one fruit for every 12 to 14 inches on the branch?

[EatTheWeeds]

Not that I know of, but they can be quite bitter.

[rayme4raw]

@EatTheWeeds Thanks, I'm going to juice them and add them to my green smoothies. A couple of bananas and some sweet fruit maybe even some raw honey will cut down on the bitter taste. Never take free food for granted

[dontay77]

Deane your videos are great and informative.

►You have a great speaking voice and seem very comfortable in front of the camera. I would like to see somebody like the food network give you a shot at a show because I think people would enjoy watching and learning from you...

[EatTheWeeds]

Thanks... I wish I could convince them of said.

[sapdeis]

Do you know whats worse than finding a worm in your apple?

Finding half a worm in your apple...

[EatTheWeeds]

What's wrong with free protein? FInding half a worm means you've got half a worm more.

[khyemamri]

oh my - I'm so happy to have found you - I can't wait to watch all your videos!

[66scjohnston]

I appreciate Your Videos!

[grymmtymm]

then what happens to the hydrogen cyanide?

does it eat you from the inside out?

[EatTheWeeds]

The cyanide gets taken into your blood stream where it prevents the blood from a carrying oxygen and you essentially suffocate.

[gwynedd1]

Glad you made this video. I just had some apple sauce from an apple tree in the park. Most of the apples just fall on the ground and rot. Too sour perhaps. It is my civic duty to clean them up. The sour apples are the foundation or pectin source for my mulberry and black raspberry jams and add great acidity. I also found a few "crab" apples along a stream. If worms want nothing to do with a fruit is that good thing?

[BJBOBBIJO]

TY for another great educational video Green Deane! :) During apple season I like to keep a knife with me so I can go out and eat the wild apples straight from the tree. I use the knife to cut off the bad spots. We find so many that we dont need to buy fruit during that time.

I'll have to try soaking them in salt to kill off the bug buddies.

[EatTheWeeds]

I like to see worms in apples. It tells me there are no pesticides about.

[BJBOBBIJO]

Good point. I guess my apple bug buddies arent so bad after all.

[mooseythejuiceman]

Great vid, Green!

[CearaQC]

Wild apples are amazing! We have one here that produces some of the tastiest apples I ever ate. They are juicy, albeit tart, but make great cooking apples or combined with other apples to make fresh cider. Almost at 100 vids! Keep up the good work.

[dunklaw]

Another great video. Will you be covering wild medlar (Mespilus) also? I live in the UK. Do you have these in the US?

[EatTheWeeds]

Wild medlars was recently -- recently -- discovered in Arkansas. Seems that is the only place in North America they grow.

[draconiandevil01]

Great video!

[youtubasoarus]

As a kid, with my friend, on many of our hunts for critters we'd eat crab apples all the time.

[EatTheWeeds]

Critters also forage among apple trees.

[EatTheWeeds]

Peterson is the standard to start with, but you will get more specific books later on....

[StarFlower99654]

In past years i used to make jelly from the crab apples in the neighborhood, but quite when the kids left home. This year I plan on juicing them all. Thanks Deane

[EatTheWeeds]

WIld apples is an often overlooked resource.

[BrianShaneRushton]

I remember back home I used to find wild apples near the gorge. Well, I'm not sure if they were true wild apples or not but they tasted really good except they were very acidic and they would burn your lips slightly.

[EatTheWeeds]

We have wild oranges here that are too acidic to eat off the tree but that juice can be cut with water for a ade or used to flavor things.

[GrannySays]

I don't know if it is pertinent but as a child we use to eat small green sour apples with a shaker of salt. If you bit into one and find a hole but no worm. You need the protein. :)

[EatTheWeeds]

Hey, the worm's a vegetarian... can't be all that bad....

[t4705mb6]

My great granmother lived ALONE in a log cabin on acres & acres on a mountain top in northern New Hampshire. She had no running water, electricity, & went to "town" (a tiny village) on a mule.

She looked EXACTLY like "Granny" from THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES (right down to the work boots!)...but, a LOT smarter!

I only spent two summers with her when I was a child - she was in her 90s.

She was the kindest, smartest, funniest, & wisest person I have met to date.

She showed me how to ....LIVE.

[EatTheWeeds]

A grandfather of a friend of mine lived in Maine in a one-room place, used wood for heat, and got along quite well into his 90s. Some times I think the Amish have got it right (he said while using his computer.)

[t4705mb6]

I envy people like my great grandmother & your grandfather's friend.

I am shedding my old life & am headed 'home'. I resigned from the corporate rat race, am in the process of selling my 11 room house & intend to move back to NE & try to find what my granny found.

Her log cabin was FILLED with books, mostly factual reading along with a lot of classics. She played the violin and "wild" animals would come right into her house.

One of her closest friends was a squirrel and another a deer.

[ccm800]

they don't eat them so we can have nore of them

[abyssquick]

Tart apples are better than sweet ones. I think.

I think "honey-crisp" is one of the best modern types. But there are so many heirloom types, each selected for a certain virtue. I used to live by an abandoned orchard and every September there would be prolific "cider event."

[EatTheWeeds]

I prefer tart, solid texture apples... a red delicious is not my favorite.

[maveraver]

Good video again Green Deane, you mentioned that there is no specific species called a Crab Apple, in the UK Malus sylvestris has the common name of Crab apple and is identified as such, although if my poor latin serves me right the latin name translates to Woods Apple.

[EatTheWeeds]

Thanks for wrriting... the escape hatch is always in the details.... here in the US all non-cultivated apples are called "crab apples." But most of them are woods apples... and they were all, as one would expect, on the south side of hills.

[jokertim777]

Do the seeds also contain cyanide, like the blossoms?

[EatTheWeeds]

YES! A few seeds won't kill or make you ill -- read one apple at a time, or one plum pit at a time. But, it is not an urban legend. A man saved up a full cup of apple seeds, ate them all at once and died of cyanide poisoning. The body can accommodate a little cyanide, but not a lot.... a few blossoms... a few apple seeds, a plum or a apricot pit yes, a lot ...NO!

[MadBadVoodo]

Five Stars!!

[EatTheWeeds]

Ya know Voo Doo... you are so good to me that if you were female and single I might propose....