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["Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>]

Lester,  Gingko seeds are marginally edible.  First there is the nasty smelling flesh to remove.  According to the book Herbal Emissaries, the fruits are piled up and the flesh fermented off.  Then the nuts are roasted over a fire, taking care to have adequate ventilation and not to breathe the fumes, which are toxic.  When the kernels are cooked through, so they are the same color all the way through, they are edible.  They are sold on the streets for a special snack, normally no more than about 6-8 are eaten at a time.  I fiddled with them, cannot for the life of me remember eating them, which implies they didn't impress me much.  On the other hand, I well remember the flavor of the leaves, which I have chewed numerous times, and the stench of the fallen fruits.  I was at a lovely botanical garden, got downwind of some large gingko trees, which kind of spoiled my enjoyment of the view.  Try some white oak acorns instead, they taste pretty good when ground, leached (easy in a blender) and put in baked goods.     Donna