The Month of Autumn Olive

My love affair with Autumn Olive began on July 26, 2012 at an organic farm in Carlisle, MA. Wild edible expert Russ Cohen stood before this bush and explained both its invasive and edible qualities. Apparently it was planted along the highways to help fight land erosion but now farmers, gardeners and rangers are tirelessly trying to eradicate it. 

At this point the berries were underdeveloped, hard and brown, but Russ had us sample the fruit leathers he had made from the berries of last Fall. My thoughts at the time were hallelujah this plant is invasive! I could eat as much of it as I wanted and not bear a stitch of guilt. 

A short hike up a local hill in town led me to a gold mine of these edible fruits two years later. Finding it in a secluded area where it was not being exposed to exhaust and heavy metals like the ones along the side 190 was like finding buried treasure. Slack and I took turns holding a plastic grocery bag open while the other stripped the branches of their delicious fruit. When the berries are ripe they come right off the branch with little coxing. 

This bush has green oval leaves that are pointed and have silvery speckled grey undersides. The berries start off hard and brown and turn from yellow to orange to deep red as they fatten. The speckled berries are both sweet and tart. 

This past year I was attending an annual event called the Big MOE. This is an awesome free event for anyone who is interested in anything outdoorsy. They have fly fishing, rock climbing, and canoeing. You can also have your turn at shooting shot guns, rifles, airsoft  and arrows. Slack and I were working the raffle table. 

From my post I noticed young a girl outside the pavilion standing underneath a shagbark hickory. As people walked by with their kids and strollers she, without a care in the world, was flinging herself up to the branches and snatching the nuts. Her name was Kira and her parents were there working the mountain bike station. As it turns out we had both been on a walk with Russ Cohen and we both knew about the ginormous Autumn Olive bush by the archery field. 

Slack and I made our way over to the archery range. On the way we sampled bear meat, admired chameleons as they camouflaged themselves against their terrarium foliage and I had my turn at milking a goat for the first time. We took a quick detour at the forestry booth to learn about native versus invasive species. The ranger said he makes a point each year to get Autumn Olive jam at his local farmers market. 

At last we were at the archery field. In the spirit of my new friend Kira I just walked right up to the Autumn Olive bush and started sampling its fruit as I circled around its massive perimeter. As I rounded the corner I was surprised to see a family of three standing there in front of the bush their father already eating handfuls of berries. His body was already digesting the lycopenes before I could explain what he was eating. "This is so good" he said with a cuckle, "I could stand here all day!" And he did for 5 minutes more while Slack and I standed in line for our go at the 3D dinosaur targets. 

Encouraged that a perfect stranger would trust me enough to eat a red berry on my cue I was confident that my colleagues at work would give it a try. I knew there was a bush outside our work so I collected some during my lunch break. One response"Hmmm, not bad...I could see eating them if I was really hungry." Another response, "...I can see how these might be addicting." When I took them into Piro he sampled a few and said he needed to jump on a call. I offered him more and he grabbed a whole handful saying, "I am going to have the best snack at this meeting!"

At my sister's party last weekend there was another positive response to Autumn Olive as the mason jar of red berries was passed around and sampled among the guests. 

Autumn Olive is a wild food secret that is fun to share whether it be with strangers, colleagues, or family. I love the responses you get from people who sample the berries for the first time. It is invasive but it is this very quality that makes eating its fruit a guilt free pleasure. And this girl will certainly will reap the benefits as long as it is around!