Does anyone here eat yew berries?

9 years ago

I'm considering putting in a row of Taxus x media "Tauntonii" yews in a partly shaded area of my yard, and the one thing I'm curious about is if anyone here eats yew fruits on a regular basis. I've read that the fruit is edible, but the toxins are all in the seed.

Can anyone comment on what exactly they taste like? And, other than fresh eating, can they be used in other ways, such as jellies or jams? I'm not expected to get a lot of berries from only 5-6 shrubs, but since I also have a 200 foot long hedge of chokeberries, chokecherries, sea buckthorn, rugosa rose, Nanking cherry, and wild plum, along with a wooded area down the road filled with wild grapes, I plan on making some mixed-berry jellies anyway just like my Grandma would :-)

Thanks!

Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
anyone who would encourage you to eat a berry that has a toxic seed would be opening themselves to liability ...

ken
pineresin
9 years ago
I've eaten plenty. A few tips & points:

1. The seeds are highly toxic; swallowing even one accidentally could do you serious harm. So ALWAYS remove the seed BEFORE putting the edible pulp in your mouth.

2. Taste: nice and sweet, but not a lot of flavour. Rather glutinous (sticky) semi-liquid pulp.

3. No pectin, so you'd not be able to make jam or jelly with them (it wouldn't set, just remain liquid) unless mixed with other pectin-rich fruit.

Resin
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davidrt28 (zone 7)
9 years ago
Well I won't "encourage" you but I will say I've eaten a few. The thing is, they are sweet, but they really don't have any flavor, and they have an unpleasant sliminess. And of course you have to be careful not to swallow the seed. I can hardly imagine a more underwhelming edible bit of landscaping. By comparison, Arbutus unedo (latin for "I eat one", because they were considered too plain to eat) and Fuchsia regia berries are foods of the gods.
davidrt28 (zone 7)
9 years ago
Resin, good post...but it amuses me you've eaten plenty. I imagine you out in an arboretum collecting pine cones, you're far from your car and you get hungry and you see a Taxus and say to yourself "Eureka!" I can't imagine going to the trouble of eating the things. I think I eat a couple every year in the hope they will one day have some taste. My yews make so many they have or had quite a few seedlings under them.
What you're opinion of Leycesteria berries? I'd rank them above even A. unedo and Fuchsia, as they have a quite interesting caramel/raisin flavor. But they are a pain to pick.
robo (z6a)
9 years ago
I would never plant yews specifically to eat with so many other berries that won't kill you available. I also feel like collecting and pitting enough to add to jam would be so time consuming it would be completely not worth it. You'd have to be so careful not to let even one pit slip into the mix.

Raspberries tolerate part shade, as do northern highbush blueberries...maybe those would be better suited for your purpose?

This post was edited by robotropolis on Mon, May 5, 14 at 18:14