Content
- Be careful when eating raw beechnuts!
- If possible, do not eat beechnuts raw
- No raw bookeckers for small children
- Make beechnuts edible
- Tips & Tricks
Be careful when eating raw beechnuts!
Beech stings contain, in addition to many healthy minerals and vitamins, the toxic substances: fagin, hydrocyanic acid and oxalic acid. Therefore you should only enjoy them raw in small quantities. Otherwise, severe complaints threaten. By roasting or brewing with water you neutralize the toxins.
If possible, do not eat beechnuts raw
Every five to eight years you will find a large amount of beechnuts in the forest walk under red beech. When eating you should be careful.
Beech stems contain fagin, oxalic acid and small amounts of hydrogen cyanide. The high consumption of these substances leads in some people to severe symptoms of intoxication.
A few raw beechnuts can handle most people easily. On the other hand, larger amounts should only be eaten when roasted or brewed.
No raw bookeckers for small children
Small children are less likely to eat raw beechnuts than adults. Parents should therefore take care that the little ones do not collect beechnuts in the forest.
The warning also applies to dogs. When walking in the forest dog owners must take good care that the four-legged does not crack open beechnuts.
Make beechnuts edible
Beechnuts can be "detoxified" by the following methods:
So you can eat beechnuts safely, roast or scald the seeds. Due to the heat, hydrocyanic acid and fagin are broken down and no longer cause any damage.
To do this, remove the seeds from the shell and let them roast in a fat-free pan.
By the roasting process, the fruits get an even better flavor.
Tips & Tricks
Peeling beechnuts is not easy because of the hard shell. Brew the fruits with hot water. Then the shell will be easier to loosen and you eliminate all the toxins by the heat at the same time.