The Culinary Applications of the Osage Orange 01: Eating Tree Brains, Hedge Apple.

[stevenjohnson]

I haven't been tempted to try tasting them, but our horses love them, especially if they've had time to ferment. I've been riding downwind of a large fall of hedge apples that were fermented and my mare just was about to disobey and head over to start feasting. Any she sees on the trail she will try to grab - a test of my alertness.

[davelewis]

They are called Monkey Balls around here and they use them as a Spider repellant in Basements

[texjames]

Ok, so I ate a tablespoon of one tonight. I froze it, then used my cheese grater. Texture is that of baby food or even more liquidy maybe. It smells good, initial taste is sweet, then this nasty bitterness takes over your mouth. I was lucky enough to have nachos and a Dr Pepper handy to wash it down. Not sure how I'd mix this with anything. Still, supposedly has some medicinal benefits, so I'm going to try it for 30 days if possible. I'll repost if I live through this experiment.

[Simplifier]

This is hilarious; I've seen tons of these things squished on the road but I never would've thought to try to eat one! I'd probably try boiling or baking it to see if it softens at all. If it works, maybe make osage pie? The sticky stuff is latex, and I've always wondered how it compares to natural rubber. It would be interesting to let some dry and see if it dissolves in naphtha or heptane to make rubber cement. Totally respect the experimentation here, this is why I love your videos.

[phoenixpinkmyn]

Props, you really went all in on that bite! 🤣🤣

[patamos]

you used the hatchet, it reminded me of Ralph Monroe on Green Acres. "Are those your cooking tools or your carpenter tools!"

[john-cmyn]

I've seen squirrels eat those. I am sure the fruit gets more tender the longer it has been detached from the tree.

[rhus]

My grandma used to pickle watermelon rinds because the flavor is actually fairly pleasant but they’re pretty difficult to eat raw. Maybe you could try something similar with whichever part of the Osage oranges seemed most edible and flavorful. If not pickling, perhaps fermenting them like kimchi would work. If all else fails, they’re in the same family as jackfruit and breadfruit, so maybe if they could be baked or roasted like unripe breadfruit. In my botany classes they taught us they evolved to be eaten by giant ground sloths. After the sloths went extinct, the Osage and other tribes continued planting them and maintained groves of them to harvest the lumber for bow-making but didn’t do much with the fruits. They are rather prolific in their fruiting so I’m glad somebody is trying to find something useful to do with them.

[Flobbyoiboyz]

This video is great. You have satisfied my curiosity and saved me from trying it myself-- thank you!

[MAYERMAKES]

There is a Osage tree in Vienna that is fenced off when the fruits ripe because people get seriously hurt by them falling on their head.

[terryashcraft]

I picked up two recently and started researching them and came up on your video. Thanks, I got such a good laugh.

[shiningwhitelight]

We had a huge bois d'arc (Horse Apple) tree in our yard by our barn...We were told they were poisonous to us kids but the horses could have em. We would throw them over the fence as a horse treat. I can still hear "DON'T throw those at anybody's head!" BUT the trees have the worst thorns you've ever seen & my grandparents put our rope tire swing right under the 50 ft Horse Apple tree. (They lived next door)...We went barefooted to that swing tippy toed through the dry branches of thorns that had fallen on the ground. It wasn't until I was much older that I wondered WHY on God's green earth would they choose that tree of thorns for our beloved swing. It just had to be to make us tough! It worked! 😂
#GOODTIMES ❤

[DesperateForSanity]

I found a grove of these in my local park. Painted them gold to use as Christmas decorations, they're quite beautiful and really heavy.

[victoryfirst]

You have found MONKEY BALLS. That is what us kids called them when we were young. The best wood for bows hands down.

[MaverickandStuff]

I heard of them being called hedge apples in my area. The wood is great for making cooking tools and tool handles. It is about twice as hard as oak with about the same strength.

[sidgar]

They're called "Horse apples" in my area. I always wondered what their actual name is. I also thought they were poisonous. Apparently not!

[hannakinn]

I've seen people soak them then squeeze out the seeds and roast them but the seeds pop like popcorn so would probably be best popped in a pot with a lid. They're supposed to be very tasty. I read one guy's story of attempting to eat the fruit and he had severe gastric issues for 3 days afterward.

[stevencox]

i could see you reevaluating life's choices with that first bite

[bionict-rex]

I’ve got 30 of those trees. The fruit is a pain in the ass but the wood is like steel. I have 50+ year old fence posts made out of the wood that are still standing.

[JoeSmoe-uyoh]

A guy who lived next door to my uncle told him about hedgapples he would cut them into 4ths like a regular. Apple and freez them when he wanted some he would take a table spoon or two full at a time by scrapping the core with the spoon then eating it