Yesterday, we went to pick mayhaws! What is a mayhaw, you say? Well, if you are not from the deep South, chances are pretty good that you have never even heard of these little red fruits.
The mayhaw trees (members of the hawthorn family) can be found growing wild along the banks of swamps and waterways of the South and have been harvested for many years by simply scooping the ripe, fallen fruit out of the water in which it was floating. Thanks to modern variations, the trees can now be grown in less wet areas, which makes harvesting with children much easier.
The best way to gather the fruits is still to pick up the fallen ones. These are the ones that are perfectly ripe. A few good shakes of the tree's limbs will bring down any ripe mayhaws that the wind did not dislodge.
The little red fruits are not considered edible right off the tree, but they make some of the most amazing jelly you have ever tasted (and pretty good wine too, from what I hear). The flavor is like that of the apple, but with a tropical (mango-ish and pineappley) twist. It's hard to describe, but delicious! I have also heard that the leaves of the tree make a nice, somewhat spicy, tea when they have been dried.
These lovely trees were at the farm of a friend of a friend. Our mayhaw picking efforts yielded us a little over 13 pounds (The other family with us brought home about 17lbs.) of fruit. We ended up with right at 2 gallons of juice to make jelly with. I am hoping to make the jelly tomorrow, but if something comes up, we will freeze the juice for later.
Have a wonderful spring day!
