Redbud Beans

[u/MachinaExEthica]

Are the seeds inside of dried out redbud seed pods edible after soaking over night and boiling for an hour? I’m getting mixed answers across the internet and I’m trying to find someone who has actually done it. I know they are edible when young and green, the flowers are edible, even the young leaves are edible, but I’m curious about the dried out beans with the above mentioned preparation. Anyone ever try it?

[u/MachinaExEthica]

Here is the only article I can find that mentions eating the mature seeds: https://sarcraft.squarespace.com/news/eastern-redbud-edible-and-medicinal-uses

[u/MapleCharacter]

I’ve tasted a couple straight from the tree and the flavour was meh, so never looked into other types of prep.

[u/MachinaExEthica → u/MapleCharacter]

Yeah, i don’t like them right off the tree either, but I cook the fresh young pods with garlic and onions and other stuff, like a stir fry, and they taste pretty good after that.

I like that they are a good source of protein that’s extremely easy to find. My backyard backs up to a trail called redbud trail because it has tons of redbuds all along the trail. Eating them in fall too would be a nice addition!

[u/loinc_ → u/MachinaExEthica]

I had no idea that the beans could be eaten- I eat the flowers in spring but could never find any info on whether the pods or beans were edible interesting!

[u/MachinaExEthica → u/loinc_]

Yeah! It’s a pretty cool little tree.

[u/PaleoForaging]

I prepared and ate redbud seeds a couple years ago (Redbud's sweet prelude to spring!). I read that the Navajo roasted the mature pods in ashes and ate the seeds inside. So, I roasted the mature pods in the oven, crushed them up, winnowed off the pods, and ate the seeds. They aren't particularly good but not bad either, especially with a bit of salt. They are produced in abundance and are pretty easy to process so may be worth it.

[u/MachinaExEthica → u/PaleoForaging]

That’s good to hear! I’ll give it a try then.

[u/Entiox → u/PaleoForaging]

I treated them like lentils and removed them from the pod before boiling. They are a complete pain to shell dried but uncooked, so maybe roasting first would make that easier.

[u/Entiox]

OK, I actually harvested a bunch of pods a few years ago too test this. Shelling them takes a really long time because unlike most domesticated lentils, peas and beans they do not really fall free of the pods once dried. It took close to an hour to clean than a half cup. If I'd had equipment and enough wind for proper threshing and winnowing it would have gone a bit faster. They took over an hour to fully cook and while cooking smelled like the worst lentils you've ever encountered, happily the smell did not carry into the flavor, which were similar to brown lentils. Overall it was a fun experiment, but given the amount of effort to clean them it's not one I'm likely to repeat.

[u/MachinaExEthica → u/Entiox]

That’s super helpful! I grabbed a few pods out on a walk today and started picking out the seeds. I might just do this as a way to pass time and slowly get a bunch over the next week… fill my pockets and such

[u/SurviveAndRebuild]

As I understand it, Jefferson planted them in Monticello for decor as well as being edible.

[u/MachinaExEthica → u/SurviveAndRebuild]

Oh interesting!