Oh, the holidays. A time for fun, family and potential cyanide poisoning. I know that last one isn’t a common item on people’s list of things to think about when preparing for Christmas, but maybe it should. Many of the foods that are commonly used in holiday dishes are surprisingly dangerous.
We’ve listed the seven most serious offenders so you can be on the lookout at your Christmas dinner.
Cherries
With his nose like a cherry, Santa sounds like he’s as much of a fan of the ruby fruit as we are. We’ll put cherries in pretty much anything, including the summer mainstay cherry limeades. Learning the cherries can also be harmful is the pits. Literally, the pits. Cherry pits are full of cyanide, but thankfully it can only cause harm if you manage to chew through them.
Almonds
I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite things about fall and winter is breaking out the nutcracker and mixed nuts, especially almonds. Something about the flavor instantly makes me think of the holidays. That flavor comes from sweet almonds which, unlike their wild cousins, don’t contain cyanide. (more…)
