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Poinsettias: The Popular Classic Plants Are so Poisonous

Poinsettias are welcome guests in winter. But are they really that poisonous? We reveal what you need to look out for when it comes to plants.

You should definitely pay attention to this with poinsettias

Even if the cultivated poinsettias are not highly toxic, there are still a few things to consider. Normally, contact with the milky sap of the plant is harmless, but allergy sufferers who are sensitive to latex should still be particularly careful. It is best to handle the poinsettia with gloves if you want to repot it. This way you avoid direct skin contact.

Children and small animals should also stay away from the beautiful plant with the star-shaped leaves. Because they are still very sensitive to the plant toxin. If children or animals eat the plant, they may experience abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, sleepiness and drowsiness. The affected children or animals should then drink plenty of water and you should take them to a doctor immediately. However, you can also talk to your child in advance and explain the toxicity of the beautiful plant.

Our tip: The poinsettia is an absolute Christmas classic and creates a wintry atmosphere. If you pay attention to a few things, it is not a problem to have the plant in the house. Put them in a place where children and pets have difficulty getting to, so you can continue to enjoy your poinsettia in your own four walls without hesitation.

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health

Dangerous Pistachios: They Taste Strange, They Can Be Poisonous and Carcinogenic

Pistachios are a popular and healthy snack. They contain all the essential amino acids and are a complete source of protein. But caution is advised: sometimes pistachios can also be poisonous and even carcinogenic. We’ll tell you what to look out for.

Pistachios as a slimming agent

Pistachios are even said to help with weight loss: as part of a study conducted for more than three months, researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles gave 52 overweight test subjects two different snacks to nibble on in the evening. One half received 45 g pistachios, the other 60 g savory biscuits. Surprisingly, the pistachio eaters lost weight faster than the savory group, even though pistachios contain significantly more fat. Although the result gives food for thought, pistachios are not suitable as a basis for an effective diet. But you can make a positive contribution.

But be careful with pistachios, because the cheap varieties in particular are sometimes contaminated with toxic aflatoxins. These are toxins that are formed by a mold, more precisely: they are metabolic products of the molds Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus.

Since these fungi thrive best in warm and humid environments, foods from tropical and subtropical regions are particularly affected – for example peanuts, pistachios, almonds and other imported nuts, but also rice, corn and soybeans. Aflatoxins are considered toxic and carcinogenic. German food authorities have found increased levels of aflatoxins in pistachios from Iran in recent years.

We explain what you need to look out for when buying, eating and storing pistachios.

Pistachios are very healthy, contain all essential amino acids, potassium, iron, polyphenols, many other vitamins, antioxidants and unsaturated fatty acids and have a high triglyceride level and protein content. Unfortunately, however, incidents about aflatoxins, carcinogenic mold toxins, being found in cheap pistachios are becoming public again and again.

So that you can enjoy the actually very healthy stone fruits carefree, you should pay attention to the following things:
Drying phase: In the traditional production of pistachios (e.g. from Iran), they are not dried by machine, but in the sun. Since this process takes longer than the mechanical one, mold can quickly form here. So it is best to make sure that your pistachios have been dried by machine in a company. But be careful: loads are also possible here.
Smell: If the pistachios smell musty or rancid, you should definitely keep your hands off them.

Storage at home: You should store pistachios in their shells in a dry and cool place, then they can be kept for several months. They can spoil quickly even at room temperature. Pistachios that have already been shelled must be stored in the refrigerator. There they will keep in an airtight box for up to four weeks.
Tip: Pistachios can be frozen. They will keep like this for up to a year.
The general rule is: keep your hands off cheap pistachios: the controls to reduce toxins are expensive and people often skimp on them, which is why increased aflatoxin levels are found in cheap pistachios.
The world’s largest pistachio-growing region is in south-eastern Iran, around the cities of Kerman and Rafsanjan. The second largest producer is California, the largest growing area is here in the San Joaquin Valley. Pistachios were not imported into the USA until around 1880 and were cultivated there a short time later. The third largest producer of pistachios is Turkey.

Pistachios: what’s in them?

100g shelled pistachios contain 518 calories, 52g fat, 18g protein, 12g carbohydrates and 10.6g fiber. Stone fruits also contain a lot of minerals and vitamins, such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, ß-carotene, vitamin E, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and vitamin B6, folic acid and vitamin C.
High quality pistachios
If you want to be on the safe side, it is best to buy high quality. We have put together a small selection of high-quality pistachios.

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Food

Sprouting Potatoes: Can You Still Eat Them or is it Poisonous?

Potatoes develop sprouts after a few days of storage. These increase the amount of solanine in the tuber. Many are therefore wondering whether sprouted potatoes should be eaten at all – because solanine is poisonous.

Potatoes have natural toxin in skin and sprouts

Basically, potatoes are one of the staple foods. Rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and phytochemicals. Their fat content is also low. The “German Society for Nutrition e.V.” therefore recommends “eating plenty of potatoes”.

However, potatoes are also rich in solanine – a toxic glycoalkaloid. It is a natural toxin that builds up just under the skin and especially in the sprouts. Solanine is also found under the skin of the potato, which is why you should peel potatoes in the future. The Bavarian consumer advice center therefore warns that the solanine content in “wrongly stored” potatoes in particular can rise to levels that are harmful to health.

If potatoes are stored at more than twelve degrees Celsius, the potato tubers often sprout prematurely. Like the green spots that appear when exposed to light, the shoots also contain poisonous solanine and other bitter substances.

Too much toxic solanine in sprouting potatoes

The more buds the potato has already formed, the more poison there is in the tuber. If potatoes are shriveled and soft due to incorrect storage, we should no longer eat them. The consequences are otherwise noticeable in irritated mucous membranes, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. These unpleasant symptoms can occur even after consuming as little as one milligram of solanine per body weight.

“Cutting away” the buds and liberally peeling the potatoes is often not enough, experts warn. Large areas of green or heavily sprouted potatoes should no longer be eaten. Eating unpeeled potatoes also increases the risk of consuming too much solanine.

Important: The cooking water from potatoes should not be used for anything else either. Because some of the solanine goes into the water.

Solanine is heat-resistant – it is better to cut off sprouts generously

Also treacherous: solanine is heat-resistant and remains largely intact even when cooking, roasting or deep-frying. Consumer advocates therefore advise buying potatoes in opaque packaging, such as paper bags, if possible. They should then be stored in a cool, dark place, for example in a cellar or pantry. If this is not possible, it is better to buy only small quantities and use them up quickly.

The rule of thumb is: If the germs are no more than one centimeter long, the solanine concentration is still low. If you cut off the sprouts generously, nothing stands in the way of consumption. If the sprouts are already very long – the tuber is densely covered with sprouts – it is better for the potato to go in the garbage. Potatoes with very green spots also contain a lot of solanine and should better be sorted out. It is often not enough to cut generously.

By the way: Solanine is also contained in other nightshade plants such as tomatoes. The bitter-tasting glycoalkaloid protects plants from predators.

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Food

Dangerous Pistachios: If They Taste Strange, They Can Be Poisonous and Carcinogenic

Pistachios are a popular and healthy snack. They contain all the essential amino acids and are a complete source of protein. But caution is advised: sometimes pistachios can also be poisonous and even carcinogenic. We’ll tell you what to look out for.

Pistachios as a slimming agent

Pistachios are even said to help with weight loss: as part of a study conducted at the University of California in Los Angeles, researchers gave 52 overweight test subjects two different snacks to nibble on in the evening for more than three months. One half received 45 g pistachios, the other 60 g savory biscuits. Surprisingly, the pistachio eaters lost weight faster than the savory group, even though pistachios contain significantly more fat. Although the result gives food for thought, pistachios are not suitable as a basis for an effective diet. But you can make a positive contribution.

But be careful with pistachios, because the cheap varieties in particular are sometimes contaminated with toxic aflatoxins. These are toxins that are formed by a mold, more precisely: they are metabolic products of the molds Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus.

Since these fungi thrive best in warm and humid environments, foods from tropical and subtropical regions are particularly affected – for example peanuts, pistachios, almonds and other imported nuts, but also rice, corn and soybeans. Aflatoxins are considered toxic and carcinogenic. German food authorities have found increased levels of aflatoxins in pistachios from Iran in recent years.

We explain what you need to look out for when buying, eating and storing pistachios.

Pistachios are very healthy, contain all essential amino acids, potassium, iron, polyphenols, many other vitamins, antioxidants and unsaturated fatty acids and have a high triglyceride level and protein content. Unfortunately, however, incidents about aflatoxins, carcinogenic mold toxins, being found in cheap pistachios are becoming public again and again.

So that you can enjoy the actually very healthy stone fruits carefree, you should pay attention to the following things:
Drying phase: In the traditional production of pistachios (e.g. from Iran), they are not dried by machine, but in the sun. Since this process takes longer than the mechanical one, mold can quickly form here. So it is best to make sure that your pistachios have been dried by machine in a company. But be careful: loads are also possible here.
Smell: If the pistachios smell musty or rancid, you should definitely keep your hands off them.

Storage at home: You should store pistachios in their shells in a dry and cool place, then they can be kept for several months. They can spoil quickly even at room temperature. Pistachios that have already been shelled must be stored in the refrigerator. There they will keep in an airtight box for up to four weeks.

Tip: Pistachios can be frozen. They will keep like this for up to a year.
The general rule is: keep your hands off cheap pistachios: the controls to reduce toxins are expensive and people often skimp on them, which is why increased aflatoxin levels are found in cheap pistachios.
The world’s largest pistachio-growing region is in south-eastern Iran, around the cities of Kerman and Rafsanjan. The second largest producer is California, the largest growing area is here in the San Joaquin Valley. Pistachios were not imported into the USA until around 1880 and were cultivated there a short time later. The third largest producer of pistachios is Turkey.

Pistachios: what’s in them?

100g shelled pistachios contain 518 calories, 52g fat, 18g protein, 12g carbohydrates and 10.6g fiber. Stone fruits also contain a lot of minerals and vitamins, such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, ß-carotene, vitamin E, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and vitamin B6, folic acid and vitamin C.

High quality pistachios
If you want to be on the safe side, it is best to buy high quality. We have put together a small selection of high-quality pistachios.

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Food

Tangerines and Oranges: Is the White Poisonous – or Can You Eat It?

Many people also remove the white from their tangerines and oranges, considering it poisonous. But there is more to the white threads than initially assumed.

Can you eat the white part of tangerines or oranges?

The white skin between the skin and the flesh is called the mesocarp or albedo. That means something like “middle fruit”.

Fans of tangerines and oranges can be divided into two distinct groups: some thoroughly remove the white strands until only the flesh is left, while others simply eat the white part.

You don’t need to worry under any circumstances: the white threads are not only edible, they are also really healthy.

What’s in it?

The intermediate layer is therefore by no means toxic, but even contains a number of vitamins and phytochemicals. The mesocarp provides us with lots of vitamin C and flavonoids, which support the immune system with important antioxidants.

In addition, the flavonoids also appear to prevent cardiovascular disease. Some of them are also said to have antibacterial or antiviral effects.

The white threads consist of indigestible fiber that stays in the digestive tract for a long time and ensures that we don’t get hungry again so quickly.

Conclusion

The bitter taste of the white layer does not mean that it should not be eaten. The white threads even contain as much vitamin C as the pulp.

Therefore, the white can be eaten without hesitation, you don’t have to worry about your health.

The white layer consists mainly of fiber, which gives you a longer feeling of satiety.

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Food

Are Rowanberries Really Poisonous? This is How You Can Use Them

The assumption that rowan berries are poisonous persists. We explain the actual connections and how you can use rowan berries.

Rowanberries are not poisonous

According to the Nature Conservation Union, the bright red rowan berries along the way are not poisonous – but you should only eat the tart wild fruits cooked. This is because the bitter parasorbic acid becomes easily digestible sorbic acid.

A special form of the rowan berry from Eastern Europe is the Moravian, also known as the sweet mountain ash. The bitter-free cultivar has such a high sugar content that you can eat it straight from the tree. Its berries are up to 1.3 centimeters thick. Moravian also grows here and is actually one of the most popular rowan berries.

The very sour and bitter-tasting fruits of the local mountain ash are rich in vitamin C (80-100 milligrams per 100 grams of berries). According to the Federal Center for Nutrition (BZFE), rowan berries also contain provitamin A, which is important for the visual process after it has been converted into vitamin A in the body. It also contains essential oils and fiber such as the gelling agent pectin.

A puree of rowanberries (see instructions below) is said to help against loss of appetite and indigestion. In folk medicine, rowan berries are also known to help with colds, gout and rheumatism.

For a long time, rowan berries had another medical benefit: a certain type of sugar, sorbose, used to be used as a sugar substitute for diabetics. Today it is produced industrially as sorbitol.

Non-toxic: rowanberry jam

Rowanberries ripen in October. According to conservationist Sönke Hofmann, the best time to harvest is after the first frost, as the fruits develop their sweet and tart aroma afterwards. You can boil the red rowanberries with apples and lots of sugar to make them edible.

However, if you wait too long, you can be unlucky that the animals have already eaten most of the berries.

You can make the following delicacies from rowanberries, as confirmed by the Federal Center for Nutrition:
You can use the berries to make jam or jelly for your breakfast.
you can make a sweet rowanberry syrup or juice yourself.
If you want to make a special drop, a liqueur or brandy made from rowanberries would be an innovative idea.
A chutney made from rowanberries, for example, goes well with a soft cheese. You can use onions, tomatoes, raisins and peppers in it.
Rowanberries also taste good in pastries and cakes.
For rowanberry puree, you should soak the fruit in water with a dash of vinegar overnight. You can then pass them through a sieve and mix them with mild-tasting fruits such as apples, quinces or pears. Cinnamon and cardamom are suitable spices.
You can also add the dried berries to fruit or herbal teas.

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Food

Eating Beechnuts: Poisonous or Tasty?

If you want to eat beechnuts, there is basically nothing to say against it. However, you should properly process the mildly toxic seeds before consuming them. We’ll show you how to safely use beechnuts in the kitchen.

Eating Beechnuts: Raw seeds are slightly poisonous

Beechnuts are not only food for wild boar, birds and Co. – we humans can eat them too. In autumn they litter the paths in forests and parks. While other tree fruits such as chestnuts or acorns are particularly popular with children who pick them up for crafts, collecting beechnuts has been somewhat forgotten. You can use the small brown seeds in many ways in the kitchen.

However, it’s best not to eat raw beechnuts because they contain the mildly toxic compound fagin, named after the beech tree’s scientific name. According to the Federal Center for Nutrition, large amounts of this plant toxin can cause abdominal pain. Children in particular should therefore not eat raw beechnuts. If you want to eat the beechnuts safely, you should always process them properly beforehand.

Tip: In order to be able to eat beechnuts, you first have to open the hard shell with a knife. Underneath, the actual seeds appear in the form of small, white kernels. You can eat the brown skin that encloses the seeds without any problems.

Before eating the beechnuts: don’t forget to heat them up!

Before you can eat beechnuts, you have to neutralize the slightly toxic fagin they contain. Fortunately, this is relatively easy: if you heat the seeds, the substance is broken down. To achieve this, you can either
douse with boiling water
or toast them in a pan for a few minutes (similar to pine nuts or hazelnuts)
After that, the fagin is only present in very small amounts in the beechnuts and you can continue to use and eat them without any problems.

This is how you can use beechnuts in the kitchen

Once you have boiled or roasted the beechnuts, you can easily eat them on their own or process them further. With a fat content of 40 percent and their high proportion of protein, minerals, zinc and iron, beechnuts are also very healthy.

Here are some ideas on how to prepare the seeds:
Salad topping: You can use the roasted beechnuts to refine both leaf salads and fruit salads. Simply sprinkle the seeds over the salad like nuts.
Tasty snack to nibble: You can get a tasty and healthy snack for the TV evening if you roast the beechnuts and then roll them in salt.
Ground beechnuts in cakes and bread: You can also grind roasted beechnuts into flour and use it to bake bread, cakes or biscuits, which give them a particularly aromatic taste.
Oil from beechnuts: Producing oil from beechnuts is quite expensive, as you need around seven kilograms of dried beechnuts per liter. However, the effort is worth it because you can store the healthy oil for a very long time and not only cook with it, but also refine salads.
Caution: Beechnuts contain oxalic acid, which is also found in spinach. If you have or have had kidney stones, you should avoid eating foods with a lot of oxalic acid and therefore not eat beechnuts.

Make bread spread from beechnuts

Another delicious way to eat beechnuts is with this spread. You can easily make it from the seeds and a few other ingredients.

Ingredients for beechnut spread:
20 grams of roasted beechnuts
1 bunch of fresh herbs of your choice (e.g. chives or parsley)
500 grams of low-fat quark
2 tbsp olive oil
1 shot of milk
1 pinch of salt
some pepper
1 dash of vinegar (e.g. apple cider vinegar)
How it works:
Chop the roasted beechnuts as small as possible.
Wash the herbs thoroughly, chop them finely and put them in a bowl.
Now add the low-fat quark, the olive oil and the finely chopped beechnuts.
Mix everything together thoroughly, then stir in the milk until it reaches your desired consistency.
Season the spread with salt and pepper and refine it with the vinegar at the end.

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Cooking Tips

Bitter Almonds are Poisonous – So You Can Still Eat Them

Bitter almonds are poisonous when raw due to the hydrocyanic acid. Cooked or baked, however, they are used in many traditional recipes. Here you can find out when you can eat bitter almonds and what to look out for.

Bitter almonds are valued for their intense almond flavor and, despite their toxic effect, are often used as a baking ingredient. This is possible because the toxic substance largely evaporates when heated. In contrast to baking flavors, you get a natural and less dominant bitter almond taste. We’ll show you what you absolutely have to consider when seasoning with bitter almonds.

Bitter Almonds: Inedible when raw

Bitter almonds are closely related to the sweet almonds and like these fruits of the almond tree. Visually, the two subspecies can often hardly be distinguished, with the bitter almond being slightly smaller than the sweet almond. Some bitter specimens can also be found among sweet almonds, which also contain hydrocyanic acid and should not be eaten raw. If you bite into a very bitter almond from a packet of sweet almonds, it’s best to spit it out.

Bitter almonds contain around three to five percent amygdalin, i.e. hydrocyanic acid bound to sugar residues, which is toxic when raw. During digestion, the highly toxic hydrocyanic acid is split off, which can cause serious symptoms of poisoning even in small quantities. In addition to hydrocyanic acid (or hydrogen cyanide), benzaldehyde is also split off. Both substances have the typical bitter almond taste, which is reminiscent of marzipan and is popular in many baking recipes. In contrast to hydrocyanic acid, benzaldehyde is not toxic and is used as a bitter almond aroma (also called false bitter almond oil) for baking.

According to the Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LAVES), the hydrogen cyanide content of raw bitter almonds is up to 3000 milligrams per kilogram. Depending on body weight, 5 to 10 bitter almonds can be deadly for children. This number is higher for adults, but you should definitely avoid raw bitter almonds. In the trade, the bitter seeds are usually only offered in small packs of 50 grams. You can buy bitter almonds in the health food store or in the pharmacy.

By the way: Bitter apricot kernels also contain amygdalin. Studies by LAVES have shown that their hydrocyanic acid content is comparable to that of bitter almonds. The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) warns against eating more than two apricot kernels a day; tolerance is significantly lower in children. The same applies to raw bitter almonds.

Cooking or baking bitter almonds: this is how you can eat them

Since hydrocyanic acid is very sensitive to heat, it evaporates when cooking or baking and only a very small proportion of the toxic substance remains. You can therefore consume small amounts in heated dishes without hesitation. For example, you can use bitter almonds to flavor pastries, liqueurs or other desserts. Traditionally, bitter almonds are incorporated into Christmas stollen, amaretti and liqueurs, among other things.

You can process bitter almonds by grinding them finely or grating them with the other ingredients like fresh nutmeg with a fine grater. The food must then be heated. Alternatively, you can heat the kernels separately in the oven and use them to refine cold desserts. Depending on how intense the bitter almond taste should be, you can calculate around 5 to 15 grams of bitter almonds per 500 grams of mass. This amount is completely harmless after heating.

Below you will find a recipe for aromatic cantuccini with bitter almonds without artificial flavorings.

Cantuccini with bitter almonds: recipe without artificial baking flavors

Ingredients:

250 g flour
125 gsugar
1 teaspoon Baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
10 g bitter almonds
2organic eggs
20 gorganic butter (soft)
0.5 vanilla bean
200 g almonds
Zest of an organic lemon (optional)

Directions:

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and mix together.
Finely grind the bitter almonds or use a very fine grater to grate them into the dry ingredients. Mix everything thoroughly.
Add the organic eggs, the softened butter and the pulp of half a vanilla pod (alternatively, you can also use a pinch of homemade vanilla sugar) and knead all the ingredients together. For a special aroma you can add the zest of an organic lemon. Knead in the whole sweet almonds at the end.
Chill the dough for half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 190°C top/bottom heat. In the meantime, divide the dough into five portions, roll them into four centimeter thick strands and place them on a baking tray lined with a baking paper alternative or baking paper. Leave some space between the rolls as the pastries will rise in the oven.
Bake the rolls for about 12 to 15 minutes, let them cool slightly and cut them into slices about 1.5 centimeters wide.
Place them cut-side up on the baking sheet and bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown. Allow the cantuccini to cool completely before packing in an airtight container.

Alternatives to bitter almonds: bitter almond flavor

Due to the toxic hydrogen cyanide, many prefer to use bitter almond flavoring when baking, which tastes the same but does not contain any of the toxic substances found in bitter almonds.

You can also use bitter almond oil, which is obtained from the kernels of bitter almonds, apricots or other stone fruit. Bitter almond oil consists mainly of benzaldehyde, but also contains toxic hydrocyanic acid. Thanks to the intense almond aroma, it is used as a spice oil in food production but also in perfumery. Important: If you want to use bitter almond oil for food, you must heat it up before consumption.

Tip: The oil can be freed from the hydrocyanic acid using special processes. You can therefore also find bitter almond oil free of hydrocyanic acid in stores.

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