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Which vegetables should not be eaten raw?

While many vegetables can be eaten raw, others should be avoided due to their ingredients
While many vegetables can be eaten raw, others should be avoided due to their ingredients Photo: Getty Images

October 26, 2024, 11:57 am | Read time: 3 minutes

Autumn is harvest time. What you make from the harvest is up to you. There is only one thing you should know, and that is which vegetables can be eaten raw and which cannot. myHOMEBOOK presents the latter in this article.

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It sounds strange, but broccoli can also be eaten raw. Uncooked, it retains all the vitamins and other good ingredients that you could lose by cooking it. However, there are also vegetables that should not be eaten raw, either because they are difficult to digest in this state or because they contain toxic substances. These include the following seven types of vegetables.

Potatoes

It is hard to imagine modern German cuisine without potatoes. However, it wasn’t until the middle of the 18th century that the local inhabitants took a liking to the taste of potatoes. One reason: people once considered the above-ground fruits of the plant to be edible or ate the tubers raw. However, you should refrain from doing either. They contain solanine. This is a poisonous alkaloid that can lead to nausea, headaches, and digestive problems if eaten. Cooking the potatoes destroys the solanine, and the tubers become edible.

Beans

Eating raw or undercooked beans can lead to gastrointestinal problems, nausea and vomiting. This is particularly the case with kidney beans. The reason for this is phasin. However, it is rendered harmless by cooking.

To shorten the cooking time, dry beans are first soaked in water for eight to twelve hours. Soaking also makes it easier to break down the phasin. The beans are then boiled for about 15 minutes. It is important that the water boils. Otherwise, the phasing will not be destroyed.

Eggplant

Similar to potatoes, eggplants also contain solanine. These vegetables should, therefore, not be eaten raw. Solanine leads to stomach problems. However, as eggplants only contain small amounts of solanine, they do not need to be cooked for long. It is usually sufficient to cook them for between eight and ten minutes to make them digestible.

Asparagus

Asparagus does not contain any toxic substances and the vegetable can, therefore, be eaten raw. However, this is not recommended as it is difficult to digest raw. This is due to the vegetable’s fibers.

Sweet potato

As with asparagus, sweet potatoes can, in theory, be eaten raw. However, you should refrain from doing so. The tubers contain trypsin inhibitors. This substance inhibits the digestion of proteins. Cooking deactivates the substance.

Green tomatoes

Solanine is found not only in eggplants but also in unripe green tomatoes. For this reason, the fruit should not be eaten raw, as this can lead to stomach problems.

Instead of eating green tomatoes raw, you can pickle them, make a chutney, or fry them.

More on the topic

Rhubarb

Both the leaves and the stalks of rhubarb contain oxalic acid. This substance is poisonous in large quantities. The leaves should, therefore, not be eaten. Typical symptoms of oxalic acid poisoning from rhubarb leaves would be nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and, in severe cases, kidney failure. As the stalks contain less oxalic acid, they can be cooked and eaten.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of MYHOMEBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@petbook.de.

Topics Vegetables
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