What's the best way to shell ginkgo seeds?

October 14, 2007 12:12 PM

What's the best way to shell ginkgo seeds?

I went into Central Park yesterday and collected a nice handful of the stinkiest of seeds, ginkgo seeds. I tried putting them in the oven at 300F for 30 minutes, and they came out nice and roasted (and no longer smelly), but their shells are still quite tough and resist pressure. Should I roast them longer, use more pressure (go out and buy a nutcracker or something), or what?

posted by NattyBumppo to Food & Drink (4 answers total)

I crack with a nutcracker/fingers, which is time-consuming. Then take the squishy seeds and boil them in salted water, just enough to cover them, while constantly rubbing them with the bottom of a ladle to get their annoying brown membranes off. It's time consuming and can be frustrating, but they are superior to anything canned/vacuum-sealed in taste. When the brown membranes are all off, salt and serve. This is how I have always done it. I've never tried roasting, so if that is your preferred route, I can't help much, but boiling is the only way I know that can remove the membrane-shell.
posted by Redruin at 12:41 PM on October 14, 2007

You can toss a few of them in an used envelope, fold the opening over a couple of times to make sure it's secure, and microwave for a couple of minutes. The seeds will pop and the brown membranes should just peel off. Salt and enjoy.

BTW, did you know that you shouldn't eat more than four to five ginkgo seeds in one day, and not every day at that, because they can cause food poisoning? In Japan there's a saying that you shouldn't eat more than your age, but that only goes for someone who's under 20, because that appears to be the limit.
posted by misozaki at 5:57 PM on October 14, 2007

The way I've seen it done and have done it: Put the seeds in a large sieve of sorts, wear some dish washing gloves or latex gloves (not just because of smell from the membrane, but, at least according to how I've been instructed by people older than me, it can cause a bad skin reaction with some people) and roughly mash/rinse them around under running water. Set them out on newspaper to air dry thoroughly. Rinse repeat until all trace of membrane and most of the smell is gone. Might take several days/tries. I've been instructed that you toast them only after the membrane is all gone. I've seen them toasted and roasted with the shell on and the shells seem to be more amenable to popping open, so I'm not sure why yours came out tough. Maybe because you left the membrane on?

Also: Where in Central Park did you gather your seeds?
posted by kkokkodalk at 11:03 AM on October 15, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks for everybody's replies. I tried Redruin's suggestions and they came out delicious! misozaki's warnings are duly appreciated (those the microwave technique ended up making the seeds horribly deformed).

kkokkodalk, I basically followed those instructions to the letter the first time I did it. I don't know why they didn't pop open easily, but when I used a nutcracker (or, well, a garlic press, but same idea)! they opened just fine. There are gingko trees all over Central Park, but I got most of these seeds on the very west side of the park (right near Central Park West) under some trees to the west of the walking path, somewhere between 80th and 90th, I think. (Sorry, I don't recall too specifically. The discovery was serendipitous in nature.)
posted by NattyBumppo at 1:09 AM on October 16, 2007