Tomatoes

F irst, an interesting piece of information: tomatoes came to be considered as vegetables in the US as per a US Supreme Court order of 1893, though in the rest of the world, it continues to be designated as a fruit; or a berry, to be more precise. All of it had to do with a tax that was levied on vegetables but not on fruits. However, it is interesting to note that technically, a tomato is nothing but an ovary. A chemical called ‘Glycoalkaloid’, present in the leaves and stems of the tomato plant can lead to the occurrence of extreme nervousness and stomach upsets, though they may be used to enhance flavor in cooking. However, they have to be removed before eating. This makes a huge difference as far as taste is concerned while this method of cooking also preventing poison to seep out in appreciable quantity. Also, sprinkling a little sugar on the tomatoes further enhances their flavor. Now the thing that needs to be sorted out is whether they are ‘toe-mah-toes’ or ‘toe-may-toes’.

Almonds

F irst of all, almonds are not nuts, as many believe it to be, but seeds. And the most wonderful seed at that that also serves many purpose. The utter ease with which it can be used in cooking along with a taste that is unique to it, almonds have created a niche of its own for centuries, and without which, pastries won’t perhaps taste as great. Almond that exudes the best flavor are the bitter almonds and not the sweet ones. It is their strong scent that has made them extremely popular in many parts of the world. However, there’s a flip side though, for they’re full of cyanide. This makes bitter almonds to be dangerous if consumed without proper processing done to remove the poison. Unfortunately, in spite of such a requirement, some countries have deemed it illegal to sell bitter almonds, with New Zealand being one of them. In such cases, the pip from an apricot stone, with a similar flavor and poison content, can be an excellent alternative to bitter almonds. A way to rid the almonds of its poison is to heat them, which destroys the poison. In fact, not many may be knowing the fact that the sale of raw almonds have now been banned by law in many countries and that all almonds sold is required to be heat treated to remove poison and bacteria.

Cherries

C herry is an extremely popular fruit, one that can be put to a variety of uses. For instance, they are required in liqueur production, in cooking or can also be eaten raw. It belongs to the same family as plums, apricots, peaches as well as almonds. However, what makes almonds unique is that it is the only fruit that is cultivated especially for its seed. A common feature of the above mentioned fruits are that their leaves and seeds contain certain chemicals that are extremely poisonous in nature. Crushing, chewing or even slight injury to cherry seeds is all that is required for it to release prussic acid or hydrogen cyanide. So the next time you are enjoying your cherries, you know what is to be avoided.

Apples

M uch like almonds and cherries, apple seeds too contain cyanide, though in very less concentrations. We often end up eating apple seeds unknowingly but since the poison content in the seeds of a single apple is much less, there’s no real risk of getting severely sick. However, the same cannot be said if one chews and consumes a large number of them, and can even lead to death if apple seeds in sufficient quantities is consumed. A single apple simply does not have enough seeds to make one fall ill, let alone die, but one will do good to avoid apple-eating competitions.