# May Apples



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Yesterday I saw as Kare drove the road with woods on both sides the May Apples are up.
Yes they are eatable.

*WARNING: DO NOT CONSUME WHEN PREGNANT.*

May Apple Preserves.


Simmer two quarts of May apples (with stems and blossom ends removed) in one cup of water until the fruit is soft. Then pour the mass directly into a colander and press the pulp through into a container, leaving the skins and seeds behind. Add one box of Sure-Jell for every four cups of cooked fruit, and bring the mixture to a boil. Finally, add five cups of sugar, bring to a hard boil, and â after one minute â pour the finished preserves into sterile jars and seal with paraffin or canning lids.
(If you choose to use low-methoxyl pectin for this recipe instead of Sure-Jell, you can substitute approximately 2 1/2 to 3 cups of honey for the sugar . . . or the spread simply can be jelled without additional sweetener. Remember, though, that preserves made in this way must be "put up" in sterile jars with conventional canning lids. A simple paraffin seal is not adequate to prevent bacterial growth in low-sugar foods.)


*Mayapple Jelly*
1 3/4 cups Mayapple juice; strained
3 1/2 cups sugar
1/8 cup lemon juice
3 oz liquid fruit pectin or one dry packet
Wash ripe mayapples, cut away the stem and blossom ends, and any waste parts. REMOVE SEEDS. Cut the fruit into pieces and place in a large kettle with water to cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer until mayapples are tender, mashing during cooking. Strain the juice through a cheesecloth or let it drip through a jelly bag. To the strained mayapple juice, add lemon juice and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, then stir in pectin. Again bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil hard until the jelly stage is reached. Remove jelly from heat, skim, and pour into hot, sterilized jelly glasses. Seal at once with hot paraffin or lid in hot bath. Double the recipe if you have plenty of mayapple juice. The amount used in this recipe is the yield of about 2 cups of sliced mayapples simmered in 3 cups of water. Yield: Four small glasses of pale amber jelly


 Al


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

May apple?? I had to look it up! Here is a little info and some photos for fellow Westerners who also may not have heard of may apple. The mandrake name is familiar to me, tho...just never knew what it was!
https://altnature.com/gallery/mandrake.htm


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## 92utownxj (Sep 13, 2013)

I had no idea they could be made into a preserve or that they were even edible. We have fields of them on the floor of the woods. They're everywhere right now. Wish we had as many morels as we do may apples. 

Speaking of morels, we were at a huge Amish auction last Friday night. 1 pound of morels were selling for $100!! Crazy!


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## Ellendra (Jul 31, 2013)

The roots also have medicinal uses. They have a pretty steady demand on the herbs market.

One caution: Mayapples are also called Mandrakes. There are 2 very different species that go by the name Mandrake, they are NOT interchangeable!!! The other mandrake is very poisonous. Fortunately, they don't look anything alike.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

The article I posted mentions a European mandrake, would this be the different species you speak of? If so does it grow in the States as well?


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## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

The may apple I am familiar with (the kind that grows all over around here) are very poisonous. The fruits are poisonous until they are ripe. Finding a ripe one is pretty rare as the animals eat them up when they are ready. I've had them before and do not recall much of a flavor to them.


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## Ellendra (Jul 31, 2013)

ShannonR said:


> The article I posted mentions a European mandrake, would this be the different species you speak of? If so does it grow in the States as well?


Probably. The latin name is Mandragora officinarum, although it also includes Mandragora autumnalis. Mayapple is Podophyllum peltatum.

And yes, both grow in the states. Mandragora was brought over from Europe.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

That is really good to know and thank you for clarifying! You may well have saved a future forager's life by sharing this.


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## Ellendra (Jul 31, 2013)

Glad I could help


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

I have eaten the Mayapples before, as said, when ripe. To me, they taste very similar to the old fashioned Transparent apple. Which is what my grandmother called the tree that produced yellow apples in our yard. The Mayapples were quite a bit smaller. It's always nice to know you might be able to pick up a snack, if needed.

Mon


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