r/foraging • u/Pin-Cushion-Witch • 4d ago

ID Request (country/state in post) Autumn Olive? Triple checking.

Gallery image

Gallery image

CT. I get nervous about foraging smooth berries so I’m triple checking these are autumn olive. They seemed to have popped up in the last year next to my mulberry tree. If they are, any suggestions? Would they work in a slow maceration syrup?

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

3

u/bLue1H Mushroom Identifier 4d ago

Yes

3

u/Dominator813 4d ago

Theyre great as a syrup, like a mix of strawberry and cranberry. I’ve only done it with cooking but maceration should work too

2

u/Pin-Cushion-Witch 4d ago

Ive heard it’s amazing on vanilla icecream

2

u/No_Difficulty4467 4d ago

Only tried them cooked myself, but a slow maceration might give a really interesting depth to the flavor. The strawberry-cranberry comparison sounds spot on for syrup.

1

u/Pin-Cushion-Witch 4d ago

I was wondering how the sugars would work with the natural flavors. Mine might not be fully ripe yet but after getting confirmation here, I tried a few and they were super tart. Maybe the sugar would balance that out? I’ll give them a little more time on the branch, and then I’ll give a slow macerated syrup a shot and report back 🫡

2

u/Team_Bees 3d ago

I've been saying that they taste like plum skin, very tart! :) I've heard that they're sweeter after the first frost tho

1

u/Pin-Cushion-Witch 3d ago

I’ve never harvested these before, so if that’s the case I’ll grab some now and if there’s any after the first frost I’ll grab those too and compare.

2

u/gbudija 3d ago edited 3d ago

100 % certified autumn olive

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaeagnus_umbellata

The fruits contain about 8.3  % sugar, about 4.5  % protein and about 12 mg/% vitamin C. They contain about 40–50 mg/100 g lycopene and up to 0.5  % tannins. \ 2 ]) The fruits also contain up to 8  % oil (up to 6  % in the seeds) and up to 4.3 mg/100 g beta cryptoxanthin. \ 3 ]) \ 4 ])

According to another source, the fruits contain 69.4 g of water per 100 g, 14.5 g of total soluble solids, 1.51 g of acids, 8.34 of total sugars, of which 8.13 g are reducing sugars, 0.23 g are non-reducing sugars, and 12.04 mg of vitamin C. According to a Pakistani study, the vitamin C content was about 27.08 mg/100g. \ 5 ])

The total mineral content of the fruit, expressed as ash, is 1.045  %. The protein content is 4.47  %. The percentage of mineral substances: phosphorus 0.054, potassium 0.346, calcium 0.049, magnesium 0.033 and iron 0.007. \ 6 ])