Buckeyes

[midwest prepper]

What do I so with buckeyes-when are they ready to be picked-do they need to dry out ater you take the hulls off?

[Cat]

Are they edible???

 

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The Native Americans roasted, peeled and mashed the buckeye nut, which they called “Hetuck,” into a nutritional meal.

 

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/forestry/educat...07/Default.aspx

 

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The buckeye tree (Aesculus glabra) is a relative of the chestnut and the horse-chestnut. The nut is the same rich, mellow warm-brown as a chestnut, but it is less readily edible, due to its high tannic acid content. The California Indians leached both acorns and buckeyes, but there were many other easily edible nuts in the Midwest and East, including hickory, walnut, butternut, and -- until the blight struck during the 20th century -- chestnut, so the Indians and the white folks who followed them into the area just left the buckeyes alone.

 

http://www.luckymojo.com/buckeyes.html

 

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But, yes, it’s true that the buckeye — the shiny, brown-and-tan nut of the Ohio buckeye tree, Aesculus glabra — is poisonous. Buckeye nuts contain toxic chemicals: glycosides, saponins and possibly alkaloids. The leaves and sprouts are toxic, too, especially in early spring. If the chemicals are ingested — taken into the body by eating — the ingester may get terribly sick with stomach, intestinal or nervous-system problems. Vomiting, muscle spasms, coma and even death may result. Susceptible animals include cattle, horses and humans. That means you.

 

http://extension.osu.edu/~news/story.php?id=2942

 

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The fruits contain tannic acid, and are poisonous for cattle, and possibly humans [1], although they are often eaten by squirrels. Native Americans would blanch them, extracting the tannic acid for use in leather.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Buckeye

 

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I think I'd stick to the *candy* buckeyes...