The leaves of the beech tree do not contain any toxins. However, the fruits, the beechnuts, are slightly poisonous. They must be roasted before eating. Then the poison is broken down and the nuts can be used in the kitchen.
Is the beech tree edible?
Can you eat beech? Beech leaves are not poisonous and young leaves can be used in salads. However, beechnuts must be roasted to break down toxins and can then be used as a nut or coffee substitute, flour, oil and more.
How to use beechnuts in the kitchen
There are a whole range of uses for beechnuts in the kitchen:
- Flour
- Pastry
- Nut substitute
- Salad
- Coffee substitute
- Oil
Cookies and cakes can be baked from the flour. However, some wheat flour must always be added. As a whole, roasted beechnuts are suitable for refining autumn salads or as a decoration on cakes and in soups.
Before enjoying, make sure that the nuts are either poured over with hot water or roasted. This neutralizes the fagin, which causes stomach pain and nausea. Roasting is what gives the beechnuts the desired nutty aroma.
Beechnuts are so he althy
Like all nuts, beech fruits also contain a lot of fat in the form of oil. The salary is around 40 percent. You should take this into account if you want to eat beechnuts.
Various valuable ingredients are also represented, namely zinc, iron and minerals.
That's why in earlier times beechnuts were considered a high-quality food that was served especially in times of need.
Beech oil from beechnuts
Since the fruits contain a lot of oil, oil can be extracted from them. In the past, beech oil was often used as lamp oil. It was also used in the kitchen. If you want to eat beech oil, be careful not to consume it unheated.
The leaves of the beech tree are not poisonous
Beech leaves do not contain any toxins. The young leaves that grow after sprouting can be eaten as a spring salad.
Young beech shoots used to be given to cows to eat. This should increase milk production. Beech leaves were also very popular as litter in winter.
Tip
In natural medicine, beech is used for various ailments. The bark is said to have an antipyretic effect, while fresh leaves promote wound healing for ulcers. Beech ash was previously used to cover ulcers.
