Like Foraging videos? Here's a whole playlist full of them: kzbin.info/aero/PLvGFkMrO1ZxKeJnyy987ptAB7_9YkVThn
@suicune6904 жыл бұрын
Another fact: there's species of butterfly, the Spicebush Swallowtail, that relies on this bush as its only source of food as a caterpillar.
@imaeatit49534 жыл бұрын
Spicebush is their preferred host, as well as Sassafras, which is in the same family (Lauraceae).
@Erewhon20244 жыл бұрын
It is also a minor host for Papilio glaucus (Eastern Tiger Swallowtail), especially in southern areas, and a possible host for the Palamedes Swallowtail (Papilio palamedes) which normally prefers native bay trees (Persea borbonia and palustris). Unfortunately all native laurels (except possibly the spicebush, which is often too small and twiggy to attract the ambrosia beetle), especially Persea (and non native avocados, same genus) are rapidly being wiped out in the Southeast by Laurel Wilt Disease, carried by an ambrosia beetle that apparently hitchhiked into south Georgia inside untreated pallet wood from China. All laurels can host this pest, and only Asian species seem able to survive it at present. Persea were keystone species in the ecology of the American Gulf Coastal Plain, and since there aren't any high mountains between the eastern USA and eastern Latin America (i.e. east of the Sierra Madre Oriental and Andes), I fear untold ecological damage awaits in the tropics and subtropics. Maybe a Texan or NE Mexican can tell me if desert conditions lacking any Lauraceae exist up to the coast in those areas that might block the spread? Anyway, *always heat treat any wood* and inspect/quarantine all plants crossing international borders! Spicebush and Sassafras will probably survive as species in areas too cold for the beetle. Umbellaria (California bay) is susceptible, but hopefully isolated by the mountains. For now, the Palamedes Swallowtail is surviving on seedlings, but if no bays survive to fruiting age, that won't last. I realize it is multinationals and foreign firms that are doing this, presumably not Weird Fruit Explorer subscribers, but please, please *ship responsibly*!
@Onoma3144 жыл бұрын
Another great video ! The retired chef in me wonders why you've not been hired by a large company to source novel ingredients.....you really are at the top of the game
@ScoriacTears4 жыл бұрын
He's probably had a few offers.
@benny_lemon51234 жыл бұрын
Right?! It's shocking how much variety is out there. Half the world is slept on smh lol
@gungasc3 жыл бұрын
spicy popcorn.
@sabosage4 жыл бұрын
"Here's a leaf!' For some reason that really tickled me.
@realstatistician Жыл бұрын
Thanks for trying these fruits and the leaves too. That is fascinating that the leaves taste like lemongrass, because lemongrass is grown as an annual because it has no frost tolerance but Lindera benzoin grows in usda zones 4-9, so it could be a lemongrass alternative that I wouldn’t have to replant every year. And I’m all about plants that I don’t have to replant every year lol. Thanks weird explorer!
@luke_fabis4 жыл бұрын
I love using the dried berries as a spice. It’s like a fruity allspice. But it never occurred to me that someone might eat the fresh fruit.
@harisongriffin4 жыл бұрын
You can make a tea from the stems and the leaf stems. It tastes pretty good
@zaviahopethomas-woundedsou98484 жыл бұрын
I think you confirmed I would enjoy growing this! I would love to see you review Holy Basil also called Tulsi. It is not a normal basil, not even close, it is used for tea.
@vondabarela89944 жыл бұрын
When I saw you getting ready to pop that whole fruit in your mouth, I was yelling at the screen for you to stop. Then, I just laughed and laughed! We’ve got lots of spicebush on our land. Very useful plant and mostly delicious if used correctly. Good video! Thanks. 👍🏼
@abritishguy83514 жыл бұрын
Oh cool! When he said the bark could be used as a spice, do you know whether that works? :)
@vondabarela89944 жыл бұрын
a british guy yes! It tastes very like cinnamon.
@critterjon40614 жыл бұрын
I grew up in in eastern Tennessee and remember picking these behind my house but them going by the name “Indian allspice”
@ZakKohler4 жыл бұрын
I first tried this at the Pawpaw festival
@WeirdExplorer4 жыл бұрын
I tried the jam there :)
@Fredjikrang4 жыл бұрын
Nice! Another one to add to my yard! I can't remember, have you tried Tasmanian mountain pepper? I planted one this spring and they are seriously cool looking plants.
@chadwickhurlburt65294 жыл бұрын
This was like listening to a wine expert describing the flavor of wine. I suppose at some point, there are only so many ways to describe things. Love the channel, I enjoy watching your fruit adventures. Best regards.
@WeirdExplorer4 жыл бұрын
Thanks! how people describe flavors for wine/coffee/cheese/etc.. is definitely something I think about when making these videos.
@kodavulpedrius67124 жыл бұрын
Would you consider doing reviews on other raw plant foods? Like strange and rare vegetables, flower nectar, plant saps, flowers etc. Personally I like the taste of epidendrum orchid flowers, lol, its not considered normal to eat flowers where I am from but I just do it because I am weird. Ive also eaten flower nectar and tree saps (edible ones)
@k8eekatt4 жыл бұрын
You may really enjoy hoya Bella or hoya carnosa flowers.
@achannel18184 жыл бұрын
I used to eat Rose petals from my garden when I was a kid. They were slightly sweet
@Erewhon20244 жыл бұрын
@@achannel1818 Rose petals are good in black tea. Oddly, a mix of rose tea and blackcurrant "squash" (diluted syrup) tastes like blueberry for some reason.
@iancrawford49774 жыл бұрын
Holy smokes, making bitters out of this could be amazing
@SenorEscaso4 жыл бұрын
I'd be very interested in a series where you try to use lesser-known spices and herbs. Maybe there are some nice gems here in North America.
@NiharM774 жыл бұрын
When you reach your 500th episode, could you possibly do some top 10 videos of the sweetest, sourest, bitter and spiciest fruits?
@Story-Voracious664 жыл бұрын
So cool! Even when you can't travel, you still present something fascinating! Thank you. I am SO Wikipediaing this right now!
@amy34584 жыл бұрын
I believe the spice berries you tried were unripe. We have dozens of Lindera benzoin on our farm. Our chickens LOVE them. However, they only eat them when they turn a dark blueish purple. If you let these dry, they can be used as an allspice substitute. 😁 LOVE your channel! Thank you so much!
@censusgary4 жыл бұрын
Those berries look a lot like mescal beans. By the way, DO NOT EAT MESCAL BEANS. They are definitely poisonous. However, you probably won’t find the tree (also known as Texas Mountain Laurel) in New York. It grows mostly in Texas (for example, my back yard) and Mexico. And no, mescal beans don’t have anything to do with mescaline, nor with the drink mescal.
@TKCTSTN2 жыл бұрын
Spicebush grows all over middle Tennessee. I peeled the thin layer off the large seed. (Stains your fingers) I dried some & dropped some in alcohol. I haven"t noticed a resin flavor- more like allspice. My favorite use is in cakes, especially poundcake & have used them to flavor ricotta cheese. A friend dried them & ground the entire berry, seed & all. She found it tasty- I will be trying it that way when they ripen in a few weeks as peeling that thin layer of fruit is quite labor intensive.
@jenniferbutcher83934 жыл бұрын
You nailed it! We have lots of spicebush around, they thrive in moist Woodlands in temperate climates. We have eaten the seeds, dried leaves and bark, and made tea from it. How fun! 😊 thanks!
@professorbellorum4 жыл бұрын
Tincture of Benzoin is a stickifying agent used to make your skin much stickier for tape and other adhesives. Anyone who has had Steri-Strips used to close a wound instead of stiches will probably have had the tincture applied. It's kept in a lot of emergency rooms in little glass tubes inside plastic applicators that you snap to open. It's surprisingly hard to find tincture of benzoin on the open market -- I went on a long quest to find some a while back as a stickifying agent to tape up wounds on my fingers for rock climbing. I was surprised to see it marketed mostly as an incense or perfume -- you might say I was incensed by the lack of availability for the more practical purpose. I finally realized that people who keep horses and livestock know what's what and tend to keep some around to facilitate taping injured animals' legs.
@michaelbayerl16834 жыл бұрын
These grow like weeds in our woods. Birds love them. Deer, not so much.
@bobbob3470 Жыл бұрын
NICE obscura shirt .. lol i have spent the entire day binging your channel, and as a rare fruit veteran and huge HUGE huge huge music fan it's been cool 8-)
@natejansen8924 жыл бұрын
Awesome! I just recently discovered spicebush growing on my property and have been learning about it. Over here in west Michigan it flowers mid march through april.
@sonofammonite17144 жыл бұрын
Haha, I've been waiting for this vid man!
@jakeisjake1124 жыл бұрын
It is one of my favorite trees! I have a few growing in my backyard. A truly beautiful native. A very slow grower so please dont go crazy if you wanna harvest from them.
@jakeisjake1124 жыл бұрын
Definitely gonna try the berries in pie.
@geenesmern68304 жыл бұрын
Three spice flavors from one plant! Cool!
@odah77854 жыл бұрын
I’ve hade the berries before and the definitely tastes like a bell pepper to me. I’ve also had ice cream made by infusing the cream with spicebush twigs, it tasted like key lime pie and I loved it!
@PowerTom2864 жыл бұрын
Definitely an interesting plant, Jared
@brianmccarrier16054 жыл бұрын
I'm growing some of those! They're still just seedlings, but this year they'll be large enough that I think I'll try making a tea out of the leaves.
@TNUni1674 жыл бұрын
There's a tree where I live in Manhattan, my local park. The twigs smells like allspice. Could you please make a video about how and where you shop for fruits in NYC?
@buddha42424 жыл бұрын
They like woody wet areas, I have a bunch on my property. I actually collected one for a bonsai tree, I'm excited for berries on it
@brt52734 жыл бұрын
Great video as usual. I'm definitely trying to obtain plants I can grow here, that provide flavors and other qualities to fill a niche, in the event that some of our familiar but harder to source spices become unobtainable or prohibitively expensive. Also, love the Obscura shirt. I hated to hear they closed their Manhattan shop. I understand that Mike is running a traveling Oddities Market, and Ryan is running an Oddities Flea Market in Brooklyn. Hope I get the chance to run into them again some day.
@FishPlinko4 жыл бұрын
I might have to get some of the leaves and twigs since they grow where I live!
@themagnanimous12464 жыл бұрын
These are all over where I live in Central Ohio. You can make lots of yummy things with the berries, like icecream.
@samrichardson83884 жыл бұрын
Great content! Increased production value in the text wipes and sound effects!
@peasant5024 жыл бұрын
Love the video man! Keep up the interesting content. Congrats on 100k! Out skateboarding and missed the stream, but big props to you!
@WeirdExplorer4 жыл бұрын
Appreciate it!
@GolosinasArgentinas4 жыл бұрын
Nice!
@Komodo13124 жыл бұрын
Congrats on the 100K subscribers!
@zombmomandrea60143 жыл бұрын
Spicebush goes hand in hand with pawpaw even when the grow they like to be near eachother😊
@zombmomandrea60143 жыл бұрын
Also during the Civil War soldiers would make a tea to warm themselves up it has properties that help warm the body up😊
@benny_lemon51234 жыл бұрын
My universal descriptor for this channel is "Wow, I've never heard of that before!". So, in response to this video- that statement.
@funcamp_ltd.4 жыл бұрын
Tried these when I found them while going camping in North PA! Didn't make a tea but the berry itself was very very bitter haha!
@wutflex4 жыл бұрын
Yo this type of video is the best
@TheThrashCW4 жыл бұрын
The Spice... He knows about the Spice. The Spice, melange...
@scottsellers90393 жыл бұрын
I read through the comments and didn't see this listed. Mash the green or red berries between your palms and rub the juice on your skin and clothing. It's one of the best natural insect repellents I've tried. If you're or in the woods and the mosquitos are biting, find a spice bush!
@sonofammonite17144 жыл бұрын
I don't usually eat them when they're that rip, I like them a bit when they're on the greener side
@scottm25534 жыл бұрын
The most resony berry I've had was Juniper berry.
@luke_fabis4 жыл бұрын
Scott M Those are actually a fleshy kind of cone. They’re more like pine cones than like berries.
@scottm25534 жыл бұрын
@@luke_fabis Idk, fresh juniper berries seem more like a berry than a cone to me.
@MaxOakland4 жыл бұрын
Amazingly, they are cones. They’re cones that evolved to look like berries to attract birds Crazy, right?
@xvlxlwx4 жыл бұрын
Congratulations on 100k subs! I just noticed :D
@Kikilang604 жыл бұрын
Thanks Jared. I could actually grow this. Jared, you need a house to grow some of these things. Oh, a house with a yard, I mean.
@carrolllee68754 жыл бұрын
You should mention when you did browsing I cant imagine you found them recently.
@hudson.59404 жыл бұрын
sweet!
@Luhsteesay4 жыл бұрын
Random thought: have you ever eaten American Beautyberry? The leaves smell (imo) sorta like Vick's vapor rub if you rub the leaves, and the berries taste sorta like licorice? Don't actually know if they're toxic or not, but ɪ used to eat them as a kid and ɪ'm not dead so maybe safe?
@WeirdExplorer4 жыл бұрын
I've seen them, but never in a place where I was able to pick them. I've heard they're edible, but I'm not 100% certain.
@Erewhon20244 жыл бұрын
Green Deane (eattheweeds) has a good article on them. The berries are edible but rather insipid unless made into preserves. The leaves supposedly are our best mosquito repellent.
@woodspirit984 жыл бұрын
Only the female plants have berries if you have a male plant nearby. The Cherokee would make a morning tea of the thin braches.
@ggg086424 жыл бұрын
Do these grow in NY? I swear these used to grow in my backyard as a kid in long island.
@SenorEscaso4 жыл бұрын
Yes
@stevenmurray32384 жыл бұрын
Do you think this would be worth planting? Generally I would put something like this into blueberry baskets, but it looks like these are smaller than blueberries and it would take a lot of plants to fill 1 case of berries.i am not currently growing it, but interested
@WeirdExplorer4 жыл бұрын
Depends. The berries on their own might be interesting to chefs, but since they are more of an ingredient than a fruit you'd eat out of hand. So probably not enough of a draw for those alone. But with the bonus of being able to sell the leaves/twigs for tea and possibly a spice from the bark, it may be worth it.
@Erewhon20244 жыл бұрын
If you like butterflies, YES. But this isn't as productive as blueberries (you need at least one male plant and one or more females--usually sold unsexed, so plant a bunch; and the females produce fewer and smaller berries than blueberries do), so if you have only a little land, it may be more productive to use that for other crops. The leaf/twig tea or bark can come from either sex, though.
@brendawitting26353 жыл бұрын
Their grow wild in KY and they dry the berries and sf the whole to take the wild taste out of game.meat along with broke twigs They call the tree "spice wood,'
@electradon6 ай бұрын
I see this all over the place here in Indiana
@catmeowmeow16624 жыл бұрын
Interesting
@lorenzopanza20824 жыл бұрын
hey i live in Connecticut, do you know any forgeable fruit in our region of the country, or know any websites/guides about the wild fruit of our region? i live on the shoreline so sandy soil. thanks!!
@WeirdExplorer4 жыл бұрын
you can try this site: fallingfruit.org/
@lorenzopanza20824 жыл бұрын
Weird Explorer THANK YOU!!
@MrChristianDT3 жыл бұрын
I'm glad you didn't swallow that. So far as I'm aware, this plant contains the raw ingredients for cyanide & the acid in your stomach will complete the chemical reaction & manufacture it while it's still in your digestive system. I'm a bit surprised you were alright with the berries. I can never find clear answers as to whether they are completely safe or not, so I just assumed they weren't & advised the similar usage to the leaves to people.
@marialiyubman3 жыл бұрын
Spice bush is an album by the spice girls.
@alvinoreo25174 жыл бұрын
snozberries!!
@GregoryMom4 жыл бұрын
They look like Red Hots!
@kaplalex85574 жыл бұрын
Lol I live right by Forest Park and I'm currently drinking foraged dandelion root coffee (after getting inspired by your other video kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJaXlpl-mqiteNk) I think I know what I'm doing tomorrow! Thanks for finding practical and weird vegetables :)
@JTMusicbox4 жыл бұрын
You lost me on this one with “tastes like you are eating perfume,” but I was back onboard when you said “three spices on hand!”
@Erewhon20244 жыл бұрын
In Florida there is a low growing evergreen stoloniferous grouncover (that looks like an expanse of myrtle oak seedlings except in bloom or fruit, or if you look closely and see the glands on its leaves) called "gopher apple," whose fruit smells like a mix of perfume with a hint of vodka. I didn't know it was edible at the time I picked one, and wildlife like (gopher & box) turtles pick them so clean that I haven't gotten another chance. Lindera berries were supposedly used as a substitute for allspice, but remind me mostly of black pepper.
@HoosierDaddyOfficial4 жыл бұрын
“The Spice Bush”. What a great name for a strip club.
@WeirdExplorer4 жыл бұрын
I'm sure its out there somewhere...
@jamesjoros18532 жыл бұрын
I always liked to hold the twigs in my mouth and let the bark soften; it tastes good
@Sowbriety4 жыл бұрын
Have you tried Yucca fruit?
@Sarit178194 жыл бұрын
I miss it
@panwall13274 жыл бұрын
Make Spiceberry seed coffee
@dataquester4 жыл бұрын
SB sounds like an exotic dancers name....
@salihkara22114 жыл бұрын
I tought that was a Cornelian cherry. We have a lot of it here. Your discription sounds like one.
@whowereweagain4 жыл бұрын
Hey spice bush doesn't rippen until late summer. You are either a time traveler or you have a stash of videos
@luiysia4 жыл бұрын
id guess he prefilms a lot of these lol
@MintyFarts4 жыл бұрын
Is Carolina Spice Bush similar?
@Erewhon20244 жыл бұрын
That is usually Calycanthus floridus. It has capsules, not berries, and I believe it is toxic, just smells nice.
@stanervin61084 жыл бұрын
Magnolia tree cones are covered with similar looking red berries. Unsure if edible.
@Erewhon20244 жыл бұрын
Those are seeds or maybe arils around seeds. The fruit is the thing that looks like a cone. I have never heard of people eating them. Crows like them, then experience laxative effects over cars parked near Magnolias (at least M. grandiflora). I've heard of Brits (but not Amerindians!?) pickling and eating M. grandiflora petals, and rural Southerners using Magnolia virginiana leaves as a bay substitute, but that is it.
@stanervin61084 жыл бұрын
@@Erewhon2024 Thx for the info. Tree rats (squirrels) love them, too. The blossoms smell heavenly!
@rileyyoung47624 жыл бұрын
I've been looking to grow spicebush for a long time but I've been unable to find seeds or plants anywhere, do you think it would be possible for you to send me some seeds?
@richardbidinger25774 жыл бұрын
I wonder if the seeds would be safe to grind up and use in cooking, or if they're like apple seeds and have something toxic in them. Just looked this up, and discovered that this shrub has male and female plants, and only the berries from the female plant are edible. You might want to update this video so people know.
@Erewhon20244 жыл бұрын
Only female plants produce berries. That's why they are female. Males produce pollen.
@REDonFIRE2 жыл бұрын
You can eat the seeds and why not chew up the entire leaf?
@chirpatabug62824 жыл бұрын
Spicy eyes
@TheDefconsd14 жыл бұрын
Now tried the berry and the leaf you must go to the park were you berry and leaf and film your self taking a bite out of the tree.😐🤣
@TylerMWeather91024 жыл бұрын
Yo i love making spicebush tea with the ones in my woods. Chewing on the sticks is also nice when ur hiking. The berries are really potent.
@TylerMWeather91024 жыл бұрын
I use the twigs for tea
@dawn1254 жыл бұрын
Im sorry did you say you where at a... park?
@WeirdExplorer4 жыл бұрын
filmed months ago :)
@dawn1254 жыл бұрын
@@WeirdExplorer Lol I figured.
@mandab.31804 жыл бұрын
spizy berry 😖 nay.
@brandon91724 жыл бұрын
Algorithm8c coiment
@protocetid6 күн бұрын
insert dirty joke about gingers here
@Real_Iceout4 жыл бұрын
Yo I sometimes ate these when I was a kid. Not great to be honest 👎🏼
@xihangyang4 жыл бұрын
like a porno name
@KorvekKorborjordordon4 жыл бұрын
Instructions unclear, swallowed the seed and now have a Spicebush currently growing inside my stomach