# Autumn olives edible?



## HillRunner (Jun 28, 2010)

Hey everyone question are autumn olives edible? I've seen some recipes for jelly's and preserves anyone know?


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## forphase1 (Aug 5, 2010)

Yes they are edible and quite tasty in my opinion. They have a good fruity/nutty flavor. I've only eaten them raw off the tree/bush, but I'm going to try drying some and maybe making some desserts out of them. My property is covered with them, so they are basically a free resource for me.


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## thequeensblessing (Mar 30, 2003)

We make Autumn Olive jam/jelly. I think it's "okay", but hubby simply LOVES it, so I make it every year for him especially. Its supposed to be quite healthy.


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## Guest (Jun 28, 2012)

The one jar of autumn olive jam I've eaten that a friend gave me was pretty good. I'd make some myself if I had the fruit available.


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## rockhound (Sep 25, 2009)

I put the autumn olive in the category of "famine food". I want to know the plant, and how to do something with it but the time versus yield thing comes into play so I'll leave it alone for now. Lots of edible things grow wild here and it's good to know them, just in case.


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## HillRunner (Jun 28, 2010)

I tried picking some bit it seems that there so fragile I only got 1/4 of what I picked.


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## thequeensblessing (Mar 30, 2003)

HillRunner said:


> I tried picking some bit it seems that there so fragile I only got 1/4 of what I picked.


We pick them by spreading a sheet or small tarp under the tree/bush and raking the berries off with our fingers. Ours don't ripen until late October, early November here, after they are hit by a frost or two. They will be deep red when ripe.


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## Neroli (Apr 19, 2012)

We've been making jam with them for a few years now. They're really good if you have leftover fruits from other jams and make a mixed fruit jam. Awesome!

One of the reasons we do it, is because it is so invasive that we feel like we're doing a bit of conservation when we harvest. We always burn the left over seeds. You definitely need a fruit sieve to get the big seeds out of the tiny berries. 

Another trick is to wear heavy leather gloves for harvesting. Hold the branch inside a bucket or creel and pull your hand down the branch to pop all the berries off into the bucket. Don't worry about hurting the bush - they're very hardy and too plentiful. Don't try it bare handed, because if you come across Russian Olive, it bites back.

Bonus - autumn berries are packed full of lycopene (which is especially good for men's health). Fortunately lycopene is a pigment, so it is not destroyed with heating like so many other nutrients. So when you make jam, all that thick red stuff is super-healthy lycopene - another reason why making autumn berry jam is worth the trouble. 

Another bonus is that the berries are ripe late in the season, so its usually cooler to harvest and less bugs. Plus late Sept/ early Oct, we're pretty much done with our other produce, so we have down time we can fill. Works out well.


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