# Can / Would you eat Maple leaf keys?



## CarolynRenee

Being ever on the lookout for something wild & free to eat, I was wondering if the keys / seeds / hellicopter / doodads from the maple trees are edible? 

If so, are they good, and how would you prepare them?


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## CarolynRenee

Oh, come on now y'all! 

I can't be the ONLY one that thought of eating those things, am I?????


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## katy

Carolyn, with 30 looky loos and no feed back, i'd say yeah you may be the only one, or on a more positive note any who might be inclined simply have not seen your post. lol


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## Ray

mabey those 30 looky loos were looking to see if every one was eating them huh???


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## 2manydogs

Yes you can eat maple seeds :thumb:
http://www.wikihow.com/Eat-Maple-Seeds


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## April

Looks like it would be a lot of work!


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## wyld thang

You can eat the blossoms when they are just new and opened up, I tried them,they have a nice crunch, you can put them in a salad.


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## NickieL

Cool!!! I so want to try that.......


(putting on rain gear to go to the woods now with her harvest bags)


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## dnsnthegrdn

My five year old son munches on them while we're out working in the yard but I never thought of harvesting them for food. Hmmm....my son would be a nice little picker upper. I wonder if you could can them and then throw a qaurt into a pot of soup or something. Now you got my wheels turning, our yard almost looks like it snowed we have so many maple seeds.


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## dnsnthegrdn

I wonder if it could be added to the chicken feed? Or I wonder if you could make sprouts with them?


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## wyld thang

I have tons of just sprouted maples everywhere, been pulling them. They are pretty wirey. I know the chickens took care of them in their yard. 

For people I think the flowers would be more pleasant, the new tender ones, the older blown out ones are woody.

But maybe your maples are different, mine is Bigleaf.


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## chickenista

Ok.. so I was sitting on the porch and it is covered with the helicopter thingies.. the really big ones. I picked one up, peeled the brown away from the tender seed inside ad popped the tender green seed into my mouth.
It was okay.. kinda nutty and it tasted very green. 
I think they would be pretty darn good if they were toasted and salted like pine nuts or sunflower seeds.


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## RideBarefoot

oh wow, you just gave me an idea, chickenista....
if toasted they DO taste like pine nuts that would be a cheaper alternative to making pesto.. I LOVE pesto!


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## NickieL

that IS a good idea. I wonder how they would taste in granola?


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## bee

I have checked several sources and find only the sap listed as edible..either as a water or a boiled down syrup/sugar. In fact one source says ALL maples will yield syrup just that the sugar maple has higher yield and better taste.

I find it odd that with the masses of seed a mature maple throws off that I cannot find but one annoymous assertion that they are edible....on wikki. Don't want to be a wet blanket here but with so much seed available if it were edible I think we should see more information and recipes..don't you? Google acorns and acorn flour and you will see what I mean. Raintree Nursery catalog that has the largest selection of usual and unusual edible fruiting plants and trees I have ever seen and lists several maples and they appear as ornamentals with no mention of edible seed..only sugar maple for the syrup.

I must admit to wanting to try them myself as my Mother's tree has a current bumper crop....


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## chickenista

Maple: Maple Trees will provide year around food guaranteed. The seeds are edible raw or roasted and can be pounded into flour. The sap can be obtained in early spring by drilling a hole in the tree. This thin sweet sap is filled with nutrients and is moisture giving. http://www.essortment.com/all/survivalfoods_rcnq.htm

There we go.. you CAN eat them and they are good roasted!


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## Tirzah

That's interesting, I wish we had Maples here. Growing up we did and my brothers and I used to separate the end of the 'helicopter' and stick it on our nose. I also used to sell the seeds to kids in my neighborhood for a penny


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