Mayapple Ricotta Toast

Mayapples taste like pineapple, passionfruit, and lemon! This recipe pairs mayapple pulp with just a couple ingredients to accent their tropical flavor.
category
Recipe
Author
Foraged
date
03.17.23
read time
1 minutes

Overview:

Prep Time
5 minutes
Total Time
5 minutes
Cost
5
Course
Brunch, Lunch, Snack
Keyword
mayapple, toast
Yields
1

INGREDIENTS:

Mayapple Ricotta Toast
- 1 toaster or skillet to fry in
- 1 slice bread, such as ciabatta
- 1/4 cup ricotta
- 2 tbsp deseeded mayapple pulp
- honey, to taste [optional]
- red pepper flakes, to taste
- Red pepper flakes, to taste

Preparation:

Step 1 - Toast bread

1. Toast or fry bread until deeply golden brown. Cool to room temperature.

Toast bread
Toast bread
Step 2 - Spread ricotta

2. Spread ricotta on the toasted bread

Spread ricotta
Spread ricotta
Step 3 - Layer mayapple pulp

3. Spoon mayapple pulp on top

Layer mayapple pulp.
Layer mayapple pulp.
Step 4 - Top with honey, red pepper flakes, and flakey salt

4. Drizzle with honey (if using), and sprinkle with red pepper flakes and flakey salt.

Top with honey, red pepper flakes, and flakey salt
Top with honey, red pepper flakes, and flakey salt

Are Mayapples Edible?

Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) are toxic at most stages of their life cycle – only the fully ripe, completely yellow/white fruits are edible (but even then, the seeds contain toxins!). It’s usually considered too labor intensive and risky to eat for beginning foragers – but if you get the chance to taste the ripe fruit, you’ll understand while people go to great lengths to harvest it!

What do Mayapples Taste Like?

Mayapples have a flavor all their own, but taste distinctly tropical: somewhere between pineapple, passionfruit, and lemon. It’s tart without being overtly sour, sweet without being cloying – bright and zingy!

How do you eat Mayapples?

It’s pretty uncommon to harvest a large quantity of mayapples (let alone a single one – the animals usually get them first), so most people just enjoy them deseeded as a raw snack to savor their flavor. This recipe gives you all the goodness of the unadulterated mayapple flavor, but we’ve paired it with a few ingredients to accent their flavor:

-The ricotta gives you fat to balance the pulp’s acidity.

-The honey brings out a little sweetness

-The red pepper flakes provide a sharp contrast that helps the mayapple flavor sparkle

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