Toxic food sources cured and made edible

[flyinglentris]

A discussion in "Aw Nuts!" had me reflecting on the toxicity of certain food sources and how they are cured to allow them to be edible. Primitive peoples had first started curing toxic roots and things long ago. They know this, because during my lifetime, the last undiscovered primitive communities were discovered, in the Brazilian Rain Forests and in the Phillipines.

I recall for example, that Olives are naturally toxic and that curing them with Brine, leaches out the toxic elements to make them edible.

It makes me curious just how many familiar food items start out toxic and are cured to make them edible. And even more fascinating would be to hear from members of this forum site, that they have cured their own toxic food sources, gathered on their farms, whatever or foraged for.

 

[CookieMonster]

lima/butter beans and cassava are two more.
cassava can be very problematic in areas where a prolonged diet of mis-cooked cassava occurs.
for limas - particularly "commercial" varieties - it's more of 'technical' toxicity vs 'actual danger'

 

[Morning Glory]

Discovered this:

Raw cashews contain urushiol, a resin that is toxic if ingested and can cause rashes or burns if it contacts the skin. To remove this substance, cashews must go through a rigorous roasting or steaming process to ensure they are safe to eat. This is why you will always see cashews shelled at the grocery store. Before that roasting process, however, cashews are a beautiful shade of green!

Cashews belong to the same family as mangos, poison ivy, and pistachios. The harmful part of the cashew (which can also be found in mango plants) is the same ingredient that makes poison ivy poisonous.