Some varieties of olive willow are not only planted for their pretty flowers and strong scent. They also bear edible fruits, more precisely mock berries, which also look very decorative. Which olive willow fruits are edible and what can be prepared from them?
Which olive willow fruits are edible?
Edible oil willow fruits come from the rich-flowered oil willow, the coral oil willow and the narrow-leaved oil willow. The red, sour-tasting fruits can be used as fresh fruit, in compote, jam, jelly, liqueur or fruit soup and contain lots of vitamin C and minerals.
Which olive willows bear edible fruit?
The small, spherical olive willow fruits are not poisonous. However, not all of them are edible. You can harvest aromatic fruits from the rich-flowered oil willow, the coral oil willow and the narrow-leaved oil willow.
The fruits do not always ripen because the flowering period starts late and the growing season is simply too short in this country.
This is what oil willow fruits taste like
The red fruits are very juicy and have a tart, sour taste. They are therefore often mixed with other fruits.
Only fully ripe fruits are suitable for fresh consumption. Fruits that are not ripe are simply too sour.
What can oil willow fruits be used for?
- Fresh Fruit
- Compote
- Jam
- Jelly
- Alcoholic drinks (liqueur)
- Fruit soup
Most olive willow fruits are very small, coral-red in color and contain a seed. In shape they resemble cherries and olives. The stones must be triggered. The easiest way is to boil the fruit and strain it through a sieve.
They can be picked and prepared in a similar way to sea buckthorn. Since the olive willow is rarely thorny, no gloves are needed for harvesting.
When the fruits of the olive willow are ripe depends on the variety. The most commonly grown olive willow in our latitudes, the rich-flowered olive willow (Elaeagnus multiflora), is ready for harvest in September.
The ingredients of the olive willow fruits
The fruit of the olive willow contains a lot of vitamin C and some minerals. She is therefore very he althy.
Not only people appreciate the fruit. Birds also love to eat them.
It also makes sense from an ecological point of view to grow olive willow bushes in the garden.
Second plant for better fertilization
Some varieties are self-sterile. To harvest fruit from this, you need a second plant. Only then does pollination, which occurs through bees and wind, work.
Tip
Not all olive trees are hardy. Many varieties do not tolerate frost. These usually do not produce edible fruits because they bloom very late.
