TooCute
11-02-2006, 07:11 AM
Please, no matter what you do, don't go ginkgo nut picking barehanded.
Ginkgo nut picking, you might ask? Well the trees are very common in
urban areas, and they look like this:
http://www.ville-ge.ch/dpt5/seve/img/ginkgo.jpg
They turn bright yellow in the autumn, and the female trees get clusters of
berries:
http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/images/gibi11.jpg
The berries fall off and smell very bad, like vomit (I'll spare you a photo of
vomit).
However, what's inside them is a different story. Inside is a hard little nut
(that doesn't smell at all of vomit if the flesh is cleaned from it).
http://www.hkflora.com/v2/projects/proj02foodplant/st_pauls_coed/
vege/images/flora/nut/ph36_ginkgo.jpg
I like to clean them in a bowl of water in the sink, so that the stink is kept
to a minimum.
You can then take these nuts and roast them (no oil or anything) in a frying
pan on the stovetop. You just do them until thery're a little blackened on
each side, then take them and whack them with a hammer (or use a ginkgo
nut cracker - can be bought at asian shops) and you end up with a small,
jade green little berry that basically tastes like a sort of waxy potato (but
better!). They're frequently sold in asian markets, but why bother when you
can collect your own?
Anyway, you should always always always wear gloves, because if you touch
the fruit without gloves, you'll probably get a rash. I've seen it happen to my
mom and my sister; in the case of the latter her entire face swelled up for
about 3 days, including having her ears essentially double in size.
Well, last Saturday, I discovered that my boyfriend's brother has got a
ginkgo tree in his yard. In my somewhat not-to-smart-state (I blame the
patron), I decided that we should go eat some, since he and his wife never
had. I collected some barehanded. OOOOPPPPSSSSS!!!!
Today, 5 days later, my eyes are all kinds of messed up. Started as some
redness at the corners yesterday, and now it's a bumpy, leathery rash all
the say around my eyes, though you can't quite tell from the photo:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Eilial/IMG_1755.jpg
They itch. They burn. I don't think I touched my eyes without washing my
hands but who knows. I've got what looks like poison ivy all over my hands.
Is that the ginkgo? I don't know... might be, but then, I spent a lot of time
checking the dogs for ticks (hey, don't forget, it's tick season, so please
beware! My dog's had lyme twice now, my bf's dog has got it now, and one
of my best (human) friends has gotten it twice in the last year - and we're
all very diligent about checking too, which is the sucky thing) and maybe
they had it in their fur. Of course, wikipedia also suggests that ginkgo can
cause poison ivy like reactions in some people (apparently because the side
chains on ginkgolic acid look very much like the urushiols of poison ivy etc...)
The worst past about this? It also causes dermatitis (immense swelling and
painful itch) in your naughty bits (apparently this is sometimes the ONLY
symptom of the allergy). The itch won't stop. I WANT TO DIE!!!!!
I took oral some antihistamines and have tried various topical creams and I
think I might make it to school.. but through 5 hours of class and 5 hours of
work??!!! HELP!
Whatever you do - don't collect ginkgo nuts with your barehands!!!!!!!!
Ginkgo nut picking, you might ask? Well the trees are very common in
urban areas, and they look like this:
http://www.ville-ge.ch/dpt5/seve/img/ginkgo.jpg
They turn bright yellow in the autumn, and the female trees get clusters of
berries:
http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/images/gibi11.jpg
The berries fall off and smell very bad, like vomit (I'll spare you a photo of
vomit).
However, what's inside them is a different story. Inside is a hard little nut
(that doesn't smell at all of vomit if the flesh is cleaned from it).
http://www.hkflora.com/v2/projects/proj02foodplant/st_pauls_coed/
vege/images/flora/nut/ph36_ginkgo.jpg
I like to clean them in a bowl of water in the sink, so that the stink is kept
to a minimum.
You can then take these nuts and roast them (no oil or anything) in a frying
pan on the stovetop. You just do them until thery're a little blackened on
each side, then take them and whack them with a hammer (or use a ginkgo
nut cracker - can be bought at asian shops) and you end up with a small,
jade green little berry that basically tastes like a sort of waxy potato (but
better!). They're frequently sold in asian markets, but why bother when you
can collect your own?
Anyway, you should always always always wear gloves, because if you touch
the fruit without gloves, you'll probably get a rash. I've seen it happen to my
mom and my sister; in the case of the latter her entire face swelled up for
about 3 days, including having her ears essentially double in size.
Well, last Saturday, I discovered that my boyfriend's brother has got a
ginkgo tree in his yard. In my somewhat not-to-smart-state (I blame the
patron), I decided that we should go eat some, since he and his wife never
had. I collected some barehanded. OOOOPPPPSSSSS!!!!
Today, 5 days later, my eyes are all kinds of messed up. Started as some
redness at the corners yesterday, and now it's a bumpy, leathery rash all
the say around my eyes, though you can't quite tell from the photo:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/Eilial/IMG_1755.jpg
They itch. They burn. I don't think I touched my eyes without washing my
hands but who knows. I've got what looks like poison ivy all over my hands.
Is that the ginkgo? I don't know... might be, but then, I spent a lot of time
checking the dogs for ticks (hey, don't forget, it's tick season, so please
beware! My dog's had lyme twice now, my bf's dog has got it now, and one
of my best (human) friends has gotten it twice in the last year - and we're
all very diligent about checking too, which is the sucky thing) and maybe
they had it in their fur. Of course, wikipedia also suggests that ginkgo can
cause poison ivy like reactions in some people (apparently because the side
chains on ginkgolic acid look very much like the urushiols of poison ivy etc...)
The worst past about this? It also causes dermatitis (immense swelling and
painful itch) in your naughty bits (apparently this is sometimes the ONLY
symptom of the allergy). The itch won't stop. I WANT TO DIE!!!!!
I took oral some antihistamines and have tried various topical creams and I
think I might make it to school.. but through 5 hours of class and 5 hours of
work??!!! HELP!
Whatever you do - don't collect ginkgo nuts with your barehands!!!!!!!!