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Earth Eats

Eats Wild Episode 8: Nuts, beans, berries and orange globes–the trees share their bounty in the fall

Published September 19, 2025 at 11:45 PM EDT

Kaeko Liff in bright yellow sweater picks up wrinkled fruit from the ground with chopsticks. she is holding a white plastic back in the other hand. — Kaeko Liff demonstrates the chopstick technique for gathering ginkgo fruit from underneath a mature tree on the campus of Indiana University. She looks for the freshest fruit for the tastiest nut.

“Sniff it! If they’re smelly, I mean stinky, then it’s not persimmon…”

This week on Earth Eats Eats Wild, we explore the fruits of fall…and the nuts and even beans!

Forager Chef Alan Bergo fancies the Kentucky coffee been in its GREEN state, Liz Barnhart crafts a deep purple elderberry syrup, Keako Liff takes a (ahem) aromatic walk down memory lane with ginkgo nuts, and we talk persimmons with a researcher in folklore and library science.

Liz Barnhart, light skinned woman with tattoos clipping clusters of dark berries from a bush into a white bowl. — Liz Barnhart cuts elderberry clusters from a large bush in Kayte's yard. The pinkish-purple stems are one of the indicatoes of ripeness. All parts of the plant are toxice, but you can enjoy the berries if you cook them first.

Liz Barnhart in black overalls with two jars of dark liquid and bushes and blue sky in the background — Liz Barnhart teaches foraging classes through The Hub, Ivy Tech and Forage and Feasts. She poses here with two jars of freshly made elderberry syrup.

light brown smooth nuts on a woven bamboo surface. one nut has a bright green substance next to it — When the ginkgo nuts are roasted or microwaved, the inside becomes soft and chewy, almost like mochi.

two photos, left: a large pale green pod in a light skinned person's hand. The bark of a tree in the background. On the right, a green pod split open on a cutting board, revealing large green beans — Harvesting Kentucky Coffee Tree beans when they are still green reveals lush large beans which, if cooked for 40 minutes or more, can be eaten. They are lovely on a charcuterie board once they have been brined and marinated in aromatic oils.

Mentioned in the show:
Elderberry as folk medicine

Elderberry syrup recipe

NHK World Japan episode about ginkgo in Tokyo

The Forager Chef on Kentucky Coffee Tree beans

Madison Cissel’s digital archive on pawpaws and persimmons and the interactive network map related to her research

Earth Eats