Why does ginkgo stink?

Speaking of ginkgo nuts, many people will sigh with relief, because it has a peculiar smell that many people find difficult to accept. The main reason why ginkgo nuts have a bad smell is the mixture of two substances, hydrogenated ginkgolic acid and ginkgo flavonoids, in ginkgo nuts. Once these two ingredients are mixed, they will produce a bad smell, so the ginkgo nuts must be properly handled, otherwise they will not be easy to store and will also affect people's living environment.

1. Why does ginkgo stink?

Ginkgo nuts mainly contain flavonoids, the main components of which are kaempferol, quercetin, rutin, ginkgolide, and spike-flavone. It also contains organic acids such as quinic acid, ginkgolic acid, ginkgo phenol, and other phenols, as well as ginkgo alcohol, protein, fat, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene, etc. Its toxic component is ginkgo phenol.

The seeds contain small amounts of cyanogenic glycosides, gibberellins and kinetic substances. Two ribonucleases were also isolated from the endosperm. The general composition is: 6.4% protein, 2.4% fat, 36% carbohydrates, 6% sugar (mainly sucrose), 10 mg calcium, 218 mg phosphorus, 1 mg% iron, 32 micrograms carotene, 50 micrograms riboflavin, and a variety of amino acids.

The outer seed coat contains the toxic ingredients ginkgolic acid, hydrogenated ginkgolic acid, hydrogenated ginkgolic acid, ginkgol and ginkgol alcohol. It also contains asparagine, formic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, caprylic acid, nonacosanol-10, etc. The reason why ginkgo fruit emits a bad smell is that the fruit skin contains a large amount of hydrogenated ginkgolic acid and ginkgo flavonoids. The bad smell is produced by the mixture of these two substances.

2. How to deal with the smell of ginkgo

After picking fresh ginkgo nuts from the tree, they are usually soaked in water for a week, then peeled and cored while wearing gloves (be careful not to touch the skin). Then put them in a ventilated place to dry to deodorize, but remember not to expose them to direct sunlight.

How do freshly picked ginkgo nuts become gingko nuts? The stinky ones here refer to the fresh ginkgo nuts (gingko nuts) just picked from the ginkgo tree, while the processed dried ginkgo nuts have no odor. Therefore, after harvesting ginkgo nuts, the pulpy outer seed coat should be removed as soon as possible. So, how do freshly picked ginkgo nuts turn into ginkgo nuts? 1. Soaking method (1) Soak the ginkgo seeds in clean water for 7-10 days, up to 15 days. (2) Use your hands or feet to separate the outer seed coat from the seed core (gingko nut).