It’s All in the Preparation

I’ve always wondered how humans figured out how to prepare certain foods. You would think that if something tastes terrible, it would just be left alone. If it kills you, why would you ever mess with it again?

I wish I could meet the people who figured out these foods to see what they were thinking. Gee, Dad died from eating this, what if I soak it in water overnight and try again? Or, wow, that tastes terrible and gave me the runs. Let’s cook it and see how it tastes!

In order from the benign to the deadly, here are my favorites:

Olives
I’ve heard several times that raw olives are poisonous. That’s not really the case, but raw olives do taste terrible. In order to make them palatable, they have to be prepared. One of the more common methods is to soak them a lye-solution, or in salt water over the course of several days. I imagine a hillside on the coast with olive trees for this discovery. Pick one up right under the tree—tastes nasty. Pick one up that rolled into a tide pool—tastes yummy.
   Photo: Jen_In_Brisbane, flickr (cc)

Taro Root
This is a staple food all over the world and is used to make delicious poi in Hawaii. The root is somewhat poisonous due to the presence of calcium oxalate. This compound can be destroyed by soaking the roots overnight or through cooking—an obvious theme at this point in our preparations development. Apparently, the next step to bad taste is soaking and boiling.
   Photo: misshanh, flickr (cc)


Black Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)
This plant also contains our friend calcium oxalate and is poisonous. The berries and flowers can be consumed only after cooking. So did someone die snacking on them and then another person said, “Well let’s cook them and try again”?
   Photo: OliBac, flickr (cc)

Cashews
Cashews contain urushiol, which is the irritant also found in poison ivy. Even “raw” cashews have been steamed to remove this compound. Otherwise, anyone with a reaction to poison ivy could have a potentially fatal reaction to eating cashews.
   Photo: mcdemoura, flickr (cc)

Fugu
Everyone knows about this one. Japanese for pufferfish, if prepared incorrectly, it is lethal.
   Photo: Fotopakismo, flickr (cc)

Castor Oil
Castor Oil is not only used for medicinal purposes, but is a food additive for flavoring, candy, and a mold inhibitor among other things. The oil is made by cold pressing and filtering castor beans. Castor beans are extremely poisonous as they contain ricin—yes, the same ricin used in chemical warfare. Even harvesting the beans is dangerous and can cause permanent nerve damage.
   Photo: Jen_in_brisbane, flickr (cc)