Behold The Mighty May Apple

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Once you do strike off into the woods with empty collecting bags in hand—and visions of sweet punch and preserves in your head—remember that the luscious, fragrant, ambrosial May apple fruit ain't luscious, fragrant, or ambrosial until it is dead ripe. The skin should be clear yellow (with no green showing) : . . the pulp should be translucent and have a jellylike texture . . . and the berry itself should be just about ready to fall to the ground. Some folks (of the "persimmon" school of foraging), in fact, won't collect the fruit at all unless it has dropped to earth as evidence that it's ready to be eaten.

What does a fully mature May apple fruit taste like? Well, to be honest, I can't really give you an adequate description. All I can say is that the sweet, mildly acid flavor has been likened to that of papayas, and strawberries, and cantaloupes . . . but none of those comparisons really does the job. You'll just have to find out for yourself.

Be careful, though: When it comes to eating these little rascals, overindulgence is far too easy . . . and the consequences are all too similar to the gastrointestinal furor that comes from consuming too many green apples.

At any rate, I can tell you for sure that the fruit of the May apple tastes good (to say the least). Chances are, once you've sampled one or two of the elusively flavored berries in the field, you'll want to gather up as many as you can to take home. And in that case, I suspect you might want to try my two favorite May apple recipes (enjoy, enjoy!):

MIGHTY MAY APPLE PUNCH

Using a juicer or food mill, crush (and strain the seeds from) enough raw fruit to make one ounce of juice. Combine the liquid with seven ounces of fresh lemonade, stir, and pour into glasses filled with ice.

SUNNY MORNING MAY APPLE PRESERVES

Simmertwo quarts of May apples (with stems and blossom ends removed) in one cup of water until the fruit is soft. Then pour the mass directly into a colander and press the pulp through into a container, leaving the skins and seeds behind. Add one box of Sure-Jell for every four cups of cooked fruit, and bring the mixture to a boil. Finally, add fiive cups of sugar, bring to a hard boil, and—after one minute—pour the finished preserves into sterile jars and seal with paraffin or canning lids.

(If you choose to use low-methoxyl pectin for this recipe instead of Sure-Jell, you can substitute approximately 2-1/2 to 3 cups of honey for the sugar . . . or the spread simply can be jelled without additional sweetener. Remember, though, that preserves made in this way must be "put up" in sterile jars with conventional canning lids. A simple paraffin seal is not adequate to prevent bacterial growth in low-sugar foods.)

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