Gather the ripe fruits using rubber gloves. Squeeze out the seeds in a bucket of water, wash them thoroughly, and then dry them for several weeks in a well-ventilated location. The result will look like a large unsplit pistachio nut. They are not ready to eat at this point. To prepare them for eating, first crack them with a pair of pliers. You may roast like almonds, chestnuts, or sunflower seeds or boil them for about ten minutes. The inner skin (called a pellicle) will fall off leaving a light yellow/white kernel. It's this kernel which you eat. It tastes something like sweet corn.

You may keep these nuts in your refrigerator in plastic bags for a short time, but they are highly perishable. Or vacuum seal them and freeze them.

All of that advice relating to Ginkgo or Gingko nut sounds to me pretty stupid. My Chinese friend and I collect the ripe and VERY smelly fruit and dump them in a mild solution of washing soda(Sodium carbonate). We hand strip the soft outer covering then dry. When sauteed in hot oil for a few minutes, they develop a most unusual and pleasant taste. Do NOT wory about the irritant properties; it is a mixture of weak organic acids (hexanoic,butanoic, and others) and is essentially harmless.

I raked a large number of gingko fruit into a pile last fall. they were outside all winter. The fruit is gone but the seeds look good. is it ok to use them?