318761 Fri Aug 18 17:32:12 -0700 2006 80 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1817477 Are there any? Fri Aug 18 17:32:12 -0700 2006 11583 ipsedixit 1 1817551 Olives, eggplants, potatoes, most types of mushrooms, spinach (and any other extremeley fibrous leafy greens) Fri Aug 18 17:56:11 -0700 2006 1817477 10793 Morton the Mousse 2 1817569 Morton - You shouldn't eat raw mushrooms or raw spinach? I'm nearly 60 and have been eating them both (usually in combination in a spinach salad) since childhood. What damage have I done that I should know about? Or maybe I don't want to know? Fri Aug 18 18:00:41 -0700 2006 1817551 10787 Deenso 2 1817594 Morton,Please explain yourself. Is your comment for taste or medical reasons? For taste: Olives are bitter unless cured; Eggplants are simply too fibrous unless softened by heat; potatoes are starchy unless the proteins are heated; mushrooms are fine raw and cooked; spinach and other leafy greens are often eaten raw in salads. Fri Aug 18 18:06:41 -0700 2006 1817551 25897 bothsides 2 1817630 Are mushrooms even vegetables? Fri Aug 18 18:18:07 -0700 2006 1817551 11583 ipsedixit 3 1817836 Good point. I guess it depends on whether you're talking to a botanist or a chef. It's definitely a stretch of the word, but the meaning of vegetable is extremely ambigious (do vegetables include fruit? Do they only include savory fruit? Do they include nuts, seeds and legumes?) and I prefer a broad definition. Fri Aug 18 19:20:41 -0700 2006 1817630 10793 Morton the Mousse 4 3091028 Um, vegetable is not amibiguous. Just because you don't know the meaning does not make something ambiguous. Fri Nov 02 20:19:00 -0700 2007 1817836 139845 Thefoodgenius 5 3601855 Just because you think you know the meaning of a word doesn't make it unambiguous. The dictionary definition of vegetable includes all parts of an edible plant. So according to Webster, an apple is a vegetable. But in common culinary usage, vegetables are distinct from fruits. And where the line falls between the two is sufficiently unclear that the US Supreme Court has become involved in making that distinction. (Nix v. Hedden (1893) 149 U.S. 304 [tomatoes, though botanically fruit, are vegetables for culinary purposes and subject to taxation as such]). If that's not ambiguity, I don't know what ambiguity is. Wed Apr 16 17:23:17 -0700 2008 3091028 58743 alanbarnes 2 1817812 To clarify: these foods should be cooked to fully utlize nutritional content, to avoid small quanities of naturally occuring toxins, and for taste reasons. Raw olives contain an extremely bitter substance called oleuropein. They are inedible to all but the most stubborn raw foodists. Brining olives removes the oleuropein, as does pressing them into oil. Raw eggplant contains the toxin solamine. Most of the nightshade family contain toxins in at least one part of the plan, but eggplants are noted for a high toxin quantity in the fruit. Solamine wont kill you, but it wont help you either. More importantly, eggplant should be salted, pressed and cooked in order to obtain a desirable flavor and texture. Many raw mushrooms contain trace amounts of toxins that break down when cooked. Of course it depends on the variety of mushrooms and those standard, supermaket whitecaps are fairly benign. Again, cooking is also desirable for taste reasons. Raw high fiber greens such as spinach and kale contain few bioavailable nutrients. The complex fibers are simply too difficult for your digestive system to break down unless you chew each bite 50 times. It's not going to hurt you, but you're not going to benefit from all of the naturally occuring nutrients. Greens also taste better cooked, especially in a bit of pork fat. Cooking food was one of the most crucial developments in human evolution as it allowed us to eliminate naturally occuring toxins and break down nutrients so they are easier to absorb. Why some raw foodists feel the need to transcend out physiology is beyond me. Fri Aug 18 19:14:43 -0700 2006 1817551 10793 Morton the Mousse 3 1818613 So what's up with the raw food movement then? Sat Aug 19 00:47:19 -0700 2006 1817812 13192 chocolatetartguy 4 1818995 The raw food movement is so fatally flawed I don't even know where to begin. Yes, in this fat-filled country it's nice to sit down to a plate of raw, fat free, additive free food once in awhile. But to say that raw>cooked all the time is ludicrous. Taro causes throat itching if consumed raw, and can sometimes cause more severe reactions. If you've ever tried to peel a taro root without wearing gloves, you'll have noticed the skin on your arms turns very red and itchy. Imagine that in your throat. Soy beans have small amounts of toxins unless processed. Sat Aug 19 06:57:12 -0700 2006 1818613 11577 Pei 5 1819153 Is taro the root that they get the poison for poison-tipped arrows from? Anybody know what I mean - there's a tribe where their food and their poison come from the same plant... Sat Aug 19 13:34:50 -0700 2006 1818995 12120 julesrules 6 3087201 If you are thinking of curare, it is not used as a food, although derivitives are used as an anaesthesia. But no, Taro is not / was not used used for poison arrows. Thu Nov 01 14:41:41 -0700 2007 1819153 57890 KaimukiMan 5 3599733 You might want to learn more about raw foods and raw recipes before making such a denigrating comment. I have never, for example, seen a raw food recipe that includes taro root, nor soy beans. By the way, soy has a terribly high oxalate content and is best avoided altogether. Often with raw recipes sprouting is used to increase nutrition and bio-availability. As for kale--if I feel low energy or unwell, a kale salad with sprouts is like a miracle. And chewing is quite important. One should chew all their food thoroughly, not just leafy greens. You have to know how to make these foods yummy and when to use sprouting, soaking, or the dehydrator. The raw food movement is nothing like the idea people have of sitting down to a bunch of uncooked veggies. Wed Apr 16 08:48:59 -0700 2008 1818995 184081 nutritiongirl 3 1818893 I eat raw white button mushrooms, never considered eating the other types raw. Even then, I'll never forget a tv show that had someone who grew mushrooms commercially and explained the process. For some reason he was asked if he ate the mushrooms raw. The look on that man's face haunts me to this day ... it was sort of a 'are you out of your mind' look ... he paused and just said sometimes he ate them cooked, but never raw. I think his reasons had more to do with fertiilier though. Sat Aug 19 04:52:26 -0700 2006 1817812 10264 rworange 4 1818985 I really enjoy raw white button mushrooms shaved very thinly over a raw baby spinach salad. Bonus if bacon is added. Sat Aug 19 06:45:37 -0700 2006 1818893 10371 Carb Lover 4 1823542 White button mushrooms were (and probably still are) often grown in a mixture of straw and horse manure that has been composted. Somebody who has been composting tons of this stuff and putting it in his mushroom beds might develop an aversion to eating the product raw even though the heat of composting kills most pathogens. Mon Aug 21 22:48:08 -0700 2006 1818893 11364 Eldon Kreider 4 1825116 Cultivated button mushrooms are generally raised in a compost made from oat hay straw and horse poop trucked in from horse farms, racetracks, large stables. It is mechanically and thoroughly composted (taken to a minimum 160 degrees) while it composts and breaks down into, well, that well-known garden soil supplement, Mushroom Compost. It has to be benign before being innoculated with button mushroom spores, or too many wild fungus inhibit the growth of the cash crop. There should be no human-harmful bacteria surviving in compost ready for mushroom growing, otherwise wouldn't packages be labeled with food-handling precaution statements as are meats? When the wild spores begin to invade the mushroom house, the used compost is sold to the garden supply industry and a new batch is loaded into the houses. I'm not a mushroom grower or a scientist, just a lifelong home gardener who has been around mushroom compost and mushroom farms a lot. Tue Aug 22 17:11:37 -0700 2006 1818893 11234 toodie jane 3 1823567 Eggplant does not need to be salted and pressed unless it is too mature, stale or is going to be fried. We never salt the eggplant we grow, but then it is goes into the compost bin if it gets as mature as the commercial stuff and is cooked the same day or day after picking. There is no bitterness with either Orient Express or Rosa Bianca, the two cultivars we are growing this year. I can't see eating eggplant raw, though. We cook a lot of the surplus lightly, usually with tomato and garlic or onion and then freeze. Mon Aug 21 22:59:12 -0700 2006 1817812 11364 Eldon Kreider 3 3091036 Here's a tip: Drop the pork fat. Use about a teaspoon of vinegar and the same of sugar. Cook the green in it. Drink the nutritous tasty liquid. Fri Nov 02 20:21:43 -0700 2007 1817812 139845 Thefoodgenius 3 4958464 Oh wow, I just found this page and it is really unfortunate that this person Morton the Mousse is probably gone - because his biochemistry education is AWFUL. First off, the compound is solanine - not solamine. Secondly, solanine is in more than just eggplant - it is also in potatoes and unripe tomatoes. However, I think that if I were to decide to eat a starchy vegetable like a potato, I would take the low solanine concentrations in an uncooked potato anyday over the acrylamide content in cooked potato products. Thirdly, where exactly do you get off talking about how raw leafy greens contain few bioavailable nutrients? about 75% of all the vitamins in raw leafy greens are denatured and become unusuable when exposed to that amount of heat and almost 100% of all the phytonutrients are destroyed by heat as well. Fourthly, concerning your point about chewing eat bite 50 times, it is already well known that you can only ever get as much nutrition out of your diet if you chew your food, especially your greens, into a fine paste/poultice/liquid before swallowing. This is the whole reason for making green smoothies - all of the nutrition of green leafy vegetables with the chewing already done for you. So i could go on and on about your argument's fallacies and your lack of biochemical education but I honestly can't handle any more of it - it takes too much time to type it all out. If you have any specific nutritional biochemistry questions that I can clear up for you in the future, feel free to respond to this post. Wed Aug 19 06:03:32 -0700 2009 1817812 1102816 victorgalli 2 3084784 Huh? I've eaten raw potatoes many times. Same for raw spinach (well washed, but definitely raw) Still alive and kicking Wed Oct 31 19:14:11 -0700 2007 1817551 118582 maisonbistro 3 3087125 Never said it would kill you. Just more likely to give you gass, less likely to optimize nutrient intake, and less likely to taste good. Thu Nov 01 14:24:01 -0700 2007 3084784 10793 Morton the Mousse 2 3087182 There is a restaurant here in Honolulu that serves a very popular shredded raw potato salad. Thu Nov 01 14:36:19 -0700 2007 1817551 57890 KaimukiMan 1 1817558 my girlfriend loves eating raw potatoes - she's an odd girl, but I love her Fri Aug 18 17:57:52 -0700 2006 1817477 16399 Biggie 2 1817635 Yeah. I dice up some yams or sweet potatoes and use them as garnish. Fri Aug 18 18:18:53 -0700 2006 1817558 11583 ipsedixit 2 3084941 If my husband comes through the kitchen when I'm cutting up potatoes for something, he usually helps himself to some of the raw pieces. I've never eaten raw potatoes, and don't really intend to. Wed Oct 31 20:34:09 -0700 2007 1817558 32586 revsharkie 2 3086856 I've always eaten raw potato. Whenever I cuts them up for cooking, I eat some raw. Thu Nov 01 13:16:40 -0700 2007 1817558 74556 manraysky 1 1817579 I would say bigger leaves of kale or mustard greens would be a bit tough on the digestion. Eggplant of course. Artichokes are pretty bitter raw but I have had a salad of paper thin shaved hearts that was to die for. Rhubarb needs to be cooked because of the oxalic acid in it. It seems sweet potatoes, chayote and okra would need to be cooked, but I may be wrong on those. Fri Aug 18 18:03:38 -0700 2006 1817477 13564 Snackish 2 1817606 >Rhubarb needs to be cooked because of the oxalic acid in it. Rhubarb leaves and roots contain oxalic acid. The stems don't and are delicious raw. Paula Wolfert's *The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen* has a recipe for a salad of raw rhubarb, cucumber, arugula and mint that is a knockout with salmon poached in olive oil. Fri Aug 18 18:09:52 -0700 2006 1817579 10520 carswell 3 1817880 Yum. Thanks for the info. Fri Aug 18 19:37:07 -0700 2006 1817606 13564 Snackish 4 1818899 Yeah, as a kid I'd eat a fresh rhubarb stalk dipped in sugar. I read that it could be dipped in salt. I tried that and wasn't wowed. Better dipped in sugar. Sat Aug 19 04:54:57 -0700 2006 1817880 10264 rworange 5 3086853 Agreed. Dipped in sugar - one of my fondest childhood memories. Thu Nov 01 13:15:46 -0700 2007 1818899 95793 jeni1002 2 1817825 Chayote is LOVELY julienned raw, lightly dressed with lime juice, olive oil and fresh herbs as a refreshing riff on slaw! Fri Aug 18 19:18:38 -0700 2006 1817579 15542 chitta chef 1 1817608 do you mean vegetables that are harmful / poisonous raw, or just really unpalatable? Fri Aug 18 18:10:01 -0700 2006 1817477 14819 cookie monster 2 1817633 Both. Fri Aug 18 18:18:19 -0700 2006 1817608 11583 ipsedixit 1 1817613 Nettles! Ouch. And nopales (cactus). Fri Aug 18 18:12:45 -0700 2006 1817477 10961 Alice Patis 2 3090379 Wrong about Nopales. It isn't common but I know nopales growers that have always noshed on raw nopales. A more common raw nopales use is in licuados (usually combined with pineapple juice). Fri Nov 02 15:06:00 -0700 2007 1817613 42572 Eat_Nopal 1 1817942 We occasionally use a juicer to make carrot juice. One time we got some organic young beets from someone's garden and made raw beet juice. It was so pretty. One sip of it -- and my throat closed up as though I had swallowed shards of glass. Never again. And I am not allergic to any food. Some mixed vegetable juices have small amounts of beet juice in them, but that may be cooked juice. I love cooked beets and can eat large quantities of them. I have tasted small slivers of raw beets, thinly sliced, with no ill effect. Maybe the juice has the causative factor, maybe the fibers in the raw fruit have a protective effect. Fri Aug 18 19:57:45 -0700 2006 1817477 17222 Joel 2 1818920 >>> One sip of it -- and my throat closed up as though I had swallowed shards of glass. Never again. And I am not allergic to any food. Well, you could be alergic to beet juice. Raw beet juice is recommended for helping with kidney problems and arthritis. Mexicans drink a beverage called a vamipira which is a mix of vegetables and raw beets. I had this and didn't have any problems. I watched them put a peeled uncooked beet in the juice. Didn't have any problems with it. Could be also be a reaction to whatever it was your neighbor was using to grow the beet, however organic. When I was a teen, we took a trip to Amish country ... and ate at a place where everthing was natural food ... no own else was bothered, but I broke out in a rash and my legs swelled up. So something was in all that natural food that I reacted to. Sat Aug 19 05:12:34 -0700 2006 1817942 10264 rworange 3 1828747 And I've used raw beet juice to make sorbet. It's actually pretty tasty. But I agree with Morton that you don't get the full nutritional value of many vegetables if you don't cook them. This even applies to vegetables commonly eaten raw, like carrots. The cooking helps break down the cell walls so the nutrients can be absorbed. Personally, I'm not big on most raw veggies -- very few aren't improved by at least blanching. Wed Aug 23 21:52:20 -0700 2006 1818920 10159 Ruth Lafler 4 1829278 I think there was some hue and cry a few years back when it was revealed that you can extract way more of the Vitamin A/beta carotene from your carrot intake by cooking them in a bit of fat. Makes sense, being fat-soluble nutrients... Thu Aug 24 02:10:16 -0700 2006 1828747 17958 Jefferson 4 1830490 The raw food movement believes just the opposite even though I have never seen any scientific evidence supporting their beliefs. If anybody has some evidence for them beyond wild conjecture, please cite it. Blanching to destroy the allegedly valuable enzymes is a technique to stop internal deterioration of many foods and is a necessity when freezing most vegetables. Thu Aug 24 17:44:57 -0700 2006 1828747 11364 Eldon Kreider 5 3090406 My wife wrote a research paper on anti-oxidants in various grape products. She found that some anti-oxidants were lost in the winemaking, juicing, or sun drying processes. But others become more concentrated & bio-available. Based on all the journals she read during the study... she concluded as a rule of thumb (whenever viable)... we should eat a combination of processed (cooked) & raw foods for optimal nutrition. Another way to look at it... we have been consuming both cooked & raw produce... ever since the first classifiable Homo Sapiens... and basically we evolved to flourish in that environment. It should be noted that the oldest civilizations all have codes / rules that foment a balance of cooked to raw foods (typically the proportion of cooked is higher than raw)... this is true in Persian, Mexican, Chinese, Ethiopian & other very old cuisines. Fri Nov 02 15:12:59 -0700 2007 1830490 42572 Eat_Nopal 2 3601717 We put raw beets in our carrot juice and it's fine. Wed Apr 16 16:35:04 -0700 2008 1817942 169792 lgss 3 3602888 You can also make a salad of raw beets. The one I do is either from South India or Sri Lanka (I'm not sure, to tell the truth- I'm just copying what I've had served to me) and the raw beets are shredded in a box grater. Add sliced onion, chiles, herbs and lemon juice and voila, a very tasty accompaniment that is somehow more than the sum of its parts. Thu Apr 17 04:40:27 -0700 2008 3601717 12713 TongoRad 1 1818166 Spinach shouldn't be eaten raw because of the oxalic acid. Many, pretty much most vegetables, have more available nutrients when cooked. Fri Aug 18 21:13:54 -0700 2006 1817477 10732 JMF 2 1818701 Yep. Raw spinach can cause calcium deficiency if you eat lots of it and your diet is low in calcium. Apparently, spinach shouldn't be eaten by folks w/ arthritis or kidney problems, either, as the oxalic acid can exacerbate these conditions. And I don't know how much oxalic acid is destroyed by cooking. Is there a chemist in the house? (IUPAC fans: ethanedioic acid) I've also heard that the iron in cooked spinach is more readily usable than that in raw spinach. Don't have a source to back the spinach/ iron claim up, though. Sat Aug 19 01:43:39 -0700 2006 1818166 11798 MollyGee 3 1818837 Oxalic acid is completely destroyed by low heat. Sat Aug 19 03:51:39 -0700 2006 1818701 10732 JMF 4 1819235 I keep trying to research this question whenever it comes up and always have a hard time finding scientifically based source (as opposed to popular articles with everyone repeating the same factoids). Here's the best I've come up with this time: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=48 The upshot seems to be that if you have a medical condition where you should avoid oxalates, definitely avoid spinach, raw or cooked. But it isn't a worry for most of us. I found this statement most intriguing: "Repeated food chemistry studies have shown no statistically significant lowering of oxalate content following the blanching or boiling of green leafy vegetables. A lowering of oxalate content by about 5-15% is the most you should expect when cooking a high-oxalate food. " Sat Aug 19 14:46:32 -0700 2006 1818837 19542 Karen_Schaffer 5 1819993 Yeah. I am slightly skeptical that cooking destroys oxalic acid. You'd definitely have to get it to a temp above that at which water boils because it is a double carboxylic acid and you have to bust up lots of H bonds to break it down. I'd imagine that most folks w/ a medical condition of concern are aware of whether or not they can consume spinach raw or cooked. Sun Aug 20 00:01:41 -0700 2006 1819235 11798 MollyGee 2 1818935 I don't know, I see more on the web recommending raw spinach for its health benefits. I guess if you have problems with oxalic acid it shouldn't be eaten. But there are a gazillion recipes using raw spinach. I enjoyed the spinach salad with hot bacon dressing at Marie Callendars for many years. Sat Aug 19 05:26:23 -0700 2006 1818166 10264 rworange 3 1819197 I remember reading some research in grad school that spinach and certain other raw veggies can actually leach out vitamins from the body. So that eating too much raw veggies can actually lead to vitamin deficiencies. Sat Aug 19 14:14:30 -0700 2006 1818935 10732 JMF 1 1818714 Does anyone eat raw, um, grownup artichoke? And what's the deal w/ plantains? Are we just sticking to strict vegetables here? Sat Aug 19 01:58:49 -0700 2006 1817477 11798 MollyGee 2 1819644 We made a salad of very thinly shaved raw artichoke (from Gourmet) that was delicious. It may have called for baby artichokes, but I am pretty sure we used the heart/inner leaves of a regular-sized one. Sat Aug 19 19:56:00 -0700 2006 1818714 15272 LizATL 3 1823235 Thinly sliced raw artichoke hearts are great (with a little lemon and salt). There is a recipe for tossed salad with raw artichokes in Marcella Hazan's cookbook too. Mon Aug 21 20:56:45 -0700 2006 1819644 23630 mielimato 1 1818856 I have heard that burdock root (gobo) is toxic if eaten raw, so it needs to be cooked well. Either way, it just wouldn't be particularly... edible raw, so is best cooked. Sat Aug 19 04:08:41 -0700 2006 1817477 19345 linlinchan 2 1818999 Do you know how they prepare the orangey gobo in Japanese restaurants? I assume it's "raw" but fermented/pickled. Sat Aug 19 07:01:08 -0700 2006 1818856 11577 Pei 3 1819333 I wouldn't call something that is pickled or fermented "raw". It isn't cooked, but the fermentation process breaks down nutrients and makes them more available and easier to digest in a similar manner to cooking. Sat Aug 19 16:13:12 -0700 2006 1818999 10793 Morton the Mousse 4 1819429 But what is that gobo? I just don't know if it's raw and lightly mixed in the sour/bitter liquid, or actually pickled for a good period of time. Agreed that pickled vegetables aren't really raw, just as smoked ham and fish aren't raw either. Sat Aug 19 17:21:28 -0700 2006 1819333 11577 Pei 1 1818979 Taro must be cooked. http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Colocasia/index.html Dried beans, do those count? Sat Aug 19 06:37:29 -0700 2006 1817477 19542 Karen_Schaffer 1 1818988 I dare you to eat a bitter melon raw...not pleasant. I also can't imagine eating a hard squash like butternut, acorn, or pumpkin raw. Sat Aug 19 06:48:48 -0700 2006 1817477 10371 Carb Lover 2 1818997 Actually, raw squash can be surprising tasty if it's a sweet one. I've never made a dish of it, but I often taste a piece raw to decide if a squash is going to be worth cooking. It's like eating a piece of carrot. Sat Aug 19 06:57:38 -0700 2006 1818988 19542 Karen_Schaffer 2 1819001 Can I take you up on the dare? Chinese people do it all the time (I know, we're a crazy bunch). It's really an acquired taste. I can't say I love it, but if you scoop out the seeds and cut them into paper thin half moons, then toss in the right sauce, it's almost palatable. I would say it's akin to eating raw fennel, which I couldn't stomach for a long time. Sat Aug 19 07:02:21 -0700 2006 1818988 11577 Pei 1 1819012 "Raw spinach can cause calcium deficiency if you eat lots of it and your diet is low in calcium. Apparently, spinach shouldn't be eaten by folks w/ arthritis or kidney problems, either, as the oxalic acid can exacerbate these conditions." Raw spinach will not cause calcium deficiency. Spinach contains some calcium, but the oxalic acid in spinach binds with the calcium in spinach and this oxalic acid-calcium complex is not absorbable. However, the oxalic acid in spinach does not tie up any other co-ingested calcium--that is, calcium in your digestive tract but not in the spinach. Also, the concern of oxalic acid and kidney problems really only applies to people who are "stone formers". Most kidney stones are made of calcium oxalate--an oxalic acid-calcium complex. Oxalic acid (which, by the way, is a breakdown product of vitamin C) does not cause any other kidney problems that I know of. Sat Aug 19 07:14:22 -0700 2006 1817477 24469 ATS 2 1819989 Calcium is calcium and the oxalic acid binds up calcium in whatever it is that you consumed. It can also tie up iron, magnesium and potassium. A quick reference (go ahead and complain about my cheap source, Wikipedia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalic_acid Apparently, though, and in your defense, it takes a LOT of oxalate containing foods to cause troubles and, in my defense, I said it's only a problem in a diet that is low in calcium. Sat Aug 19 23:56:53 -0700 2006 1819012 11798 MollyGee 1 1819378 Quince, although it makes a wonderful jelly, is yucky without being cooked. Ahhhh, rhubarb pie! Wonder if Fanny's has rhubarb/strawberry cobbler or rhubarb/strawberry muffins this morning? Wikipedia on oxalic acid: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalic_acid Sat Aug 19 16:40:02 -0700 2006 1817477 14056 joltgrrl 1 1819499 broccoli has a small amount of toxin that causes goiters in people but is destroyed when cooked. Sat Aug 19 18:00:29 -0700 2006 1817477 12493 violet 1 1821446 I believe that raw rhubarb is safe as long as you eat only the red part, and that the poisonous amount of oxalic acid is in the leaf of the plant. I once had some neighbors who regularly ate raw rhubarb and also have seen rabbits nibble it. Mon Aug 21 02:32:08 -0700 2006 1817477 15521 Querencia 1 1827225 Cassava is poisonous if not thoroughly cooked: http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/03/09/mass.poisoning/ Wed Aug 23 14:27:17 -0700 2006 1817477 12766 welle 1 1830556 I ws going to say yucca, that's the same as cassava isn't it? Thu Aug 24 18:02:17 -0700 2006 1817477 11097 coll 2 3086818 yup Thu Nov 01 13:05:49 -0700 2007 1830556 135178 TSQ75 2 3090008 yuca Fri Nov 02 13:09:50 -0700 2007 1830556 36661 Sam Fujisaka 1 1831211 I wouldn't eat large eggplant raw, but I know "Thai" eggplant, those little round, green and white balls, are eaten raw with laap sometimes. However, I must admit, that isn't to my taste. My parents like it like that. I prefer Thai eggplant in my red curry stir fry. It's good. :) Thu Aug 24 21:11:57 -0700 2006 1817477 15368 S_K 1 3084761 I too love eating raw potatoes. I eat em everyday. Wed Oct 31 19:05:37 -0700 2007 1817477 113962 mrsloucks 1 3086714 ackee, technically a fruit...not only must it be cooked but it has to be of pefect ripeness (you can't pick them, you have to wait for them to fall off the tree BUT they can't be overripe or its poisonous as well). With potatoes, I think it's just the green part of a raw one (if found) that is toxic. Thu Nov 01 12:41:57 -0700 2007 1817477 139476 epicura 2 3087229 from "the inquisitev cooks" The greenish hue is actually chlorophyll, but it is also an indicator that an alkaloid, called solanine, may be present under the skin of the potato. Solanine develops in potatoes when they are stored in the presence of light (which also encourages chlorophyll formation) and either at very cold or quite warm temperatures. It is toxic, however it would take a very large number of green potatoes to make you ill. Thu Nov 01 14:50:36 -0700 2007 3086714 57890 KaimukiMan 1 3087634 Don't know that you shouldn't, but I probably wouldn't eat raw okra. Also, I don't particularly like raw mushrooms (though I adore them cooked). Thu Nov 01 17:27:39 -0700 2007 1817477 10681 piccola 1 3602814 lima beans....ack Thu Apr 17 01:32:18 -0700 2008 1817477 180068 Smileelisa 1 3603138 I guess this goes into the raw potato issue, but while I'm completely ok with eating chopped raw onion or rings of raw onion on a sandwich or in a salad - I know some people who eat raw white onions like apples. Also, while I know this is in berry territory - does anyone eat cranberries raw? Thu Apr 17 06:44:17 -0700 2008 1817477 180127 cresyd 2 3604171 Raw and still frozen right out of the bag. Very sour...but they get sort of soft as they inside thaws in your mouth. Rutabegas raw would be tough, they are so hard. Thu Apr 17 11:14:22 -0700 2008 3603138 183902 aryqalyn