Beechnuts are slightly poisonous, but they are still edible. However, the seeds of the common beech should be heated before consumption. They are then wonderful for refining salads or as a delicious snack for an evening watching TV.
Are beechnuts edible and how are they prepared?
Beechnuts can be eaten if they have been heated beforehand to break down the toxins fagin and hydrogen cyanide they contain. Roasted beechnuts are suitable as a salad ingredient, as a snack or to refine cakes.
Beechnuts – edible fruits of the forest
In times of need, beechnuts were always a welcome addition to the menu. Pressed as oil, roasted as a coffee substitute or ground to stretch flour, beech seeds enjoyed great popularity.
In recent decades, collecting beechnuts has been forgotten. The seeds have many minerals and some vitamins. The fat content is quite high at 50 percent.
100 grams of oil obtained from beechnuts contains approximately 15 grams of saturated fatty acids, 50 grams of oleic acid and 35 grams of linoleic acid.
Do not eat beechnuts raw
Beechnuts contain the toxins fagin and hydrogen cyanide as well as oxalic acid. If consumed raw, large amounts of fagin and hydrogen cyanide can cause severe abdominal pain, headaches or other complaints. Children in particular should never eat beechnuts raw.
You can only eat a few fruits raw. However, if you consume too many, fatal symptoms of poisoning can occur.
If you plan to process and enjoy larger quantities of beechnuts, you must first break down the toxins.
Make beechnuts edible using heat
Fagin and hydrogen cyanide are not heat-resistant. The poison can be broken down by using the beechnuts
- Roasting
- Scald with hot water
Roast the chopped beechnuts in a pan without fat. This breaks down the toxins and really releases the aromatic taste of the fruit.
You can also scald the beechnuts with hot water before releasing them. The shell then comes off much more easily and the toxins are neutralized at the same time.
Bind oxalic acid
Like many fruits, beechnuts contain oxalic acid. To bind the acid and make it more tolerable for the body, combine it with dairy products.
Beechnuts can be used for this
- Vegetable and fruit salads
- Nibbles
- Cake
- Oil
Addition to salads or as a delicious snack
You probably won't want to make coffee from beechnuts anymore like our grandparents did.
You can refine autumn salads with the roasted fruits. The aroma makes fruit and fruit salads pleasantly hearty. Scatter the roasted, chopped beechnuts over the salad like nuts.
Make beechnuts for snacking by rolling the nuts in s alt after roasting.
Baking with beechnuts
Cakes get an aromatic taste if you mix roasted and then ground beechnuts into the flour.
Tips & Tricks
To get to the edible seeds of the beechnuts, the hard shell must be opened with a knife. Inside there are white cores, the actual seeds. The brown skin that surrounds them can be eaten. When roasting it usually falls off on its own.
