I have started looking more closely at all that nature has to offer in just my neighborhood. Some of the plants require some work to make them edible such as this one. The plant is called the peppervine or ampelopsis arborea.
These berries are sweet grape flavored berries and are ripe when they turn black. You should only eat a few at a time because most people report a tingling sensation in the back of the throat. This is due to small needles of calcium oxalate. If large amounts of berries are consumed it can result in chemical burns to the back of your throat.
With a little work you can remove the calcium oxalate from the berries. After you have picked a lot of berries you mush them through a cheese clothe or panty hose to separate the juice from the berries. Then add an ounce of tap water for every nine ounces of pepper berry juice. Let it set overnight in the fridge and the calcium oxalate will settle to the bottom of the container. At this point the juice can be siphoned off the top or you can be extra careful not to stir up the sediment in the bottom and pour the top off into another container.
After you have removed the calcium oxalate you can use the juice to make jelly or wine or just drink it like grape juice. You can use a coffee filter to help strain out any excess calcium oxalate. It best to leave behind some juice instead of risking getting the calcium oxalate in your finished product. This vine spreads quickly and after noticing it I realized it is all around my neighborhood.
As always make sure you POSITIVELY identify any plants before consuming them and do not eat plants growing close to roadways or anywhere else where they could potentially become contaminated. All pictures are original and taken by me or my wife. Thanks and be on the lookout for nature's bounty in your own backyard and neighborhood. Keep an eye out for my upcoming posts on wild edibles!