People in the caribean don’t really eat them raw, at least not latins. If they’re way under ripe, you soak 'em, smash 'em and fry 'em. If they’re way over ripe, you slice 'em, and fry em.
In Goa, where my parents grew up, they are eaten “raw” in the sense that they are eaten green. Basically they’re marinated in cayenne and turmeric and salt then dipped in rice flour and lightly pan-fried. In fact, I was just jonesin’ for some of that yesterday.
Tomatillos can be eaten raw or cooked and generally the husk is removed (unless as many sources indicate you like eating cardboard). Have you included them because they taste bad (I have eaten them raw and they were fine)?
I’ve heard that almonds will make you really sick if eaten off the tree. I do not know if that is true.
I know for a fact that there are types of mushrooms that will make you wish you were dead if they’re not washed/boiled before eating. My understanding is that most psilocibin (sp?) mushrooms are in this category.
I read it in a cookbook–I may have been misinformed.
Nope, that’s not true.
Bananas can’t be eaten straight off the tree, because they don’t grow on trees.
Sampiro,
no, I’ve had both fresh and dried psilocybin mushrooms, and never been unhappy enough to ask for a refund.
Wow. That sounds really good.
Both Diana Kennedy’s *Essential Cuisines of Mexico * and Rick Bayless’s *Mexican Everyday * reference recipes using tomatillos either raw or cooked.
What about rice?
No, it’s not, although I don’t care for them raw. My mom used to graze off the trees regularly (they were almond farmers for about ten years.)
I was going to contribute rhubarb, but I did a little googling and found that it’s just the leaves and roots are toxic, but I can’t find mention that one has to cook the stems before eating, like I thought.
Ackee, a Jamaican fruit tree. I believe that they are toxic when they are on trees
Chanterelle mushrooms cannot be eaten raw. They must be cooked first.
Why not? I’ve been known to munch on an uncooked strand of spaghetti while waiting for the water to boil.
I do not believe you can eat corn right off the stalk, but I could be wrong on that.
Macadamia nuts are soft and (more) bland right off the tree/ground. They don’t need to be roasted but they benefit from it greatly.
You’re not alone in your crunchy-pasta munching; my siblings and I all will steal a few strands to nibble on while dinner is cooking.
I discovered this to my cost in Italy last month. Standing in a medieval olive grove in the gentle autumn sunset, I got all pretentious as I picked an olive from a tree, turned to my wife and started quoting Sophocles as I stuck the olive in my mouth: “Self-nurtured year by year, 'tis the grey-leaved olive that–Jesus fucking H CHRIST that’s fucking DISGUSTING!” :spit: :spit: :gag: spit:
Dammit, jjimm, yogurt hurts when it comes out your nose, did you know that?
My cousins & I used to pick ears of sweetcorn & eat them raw. Pretty good, though too many green ears will give you the runs. But then, too much of many fruits/vegetables will do the same.
“Stealing” from the garden was one of the things we never got in trouble for. I think our parents were happy we were voluntarily eating vegetables.