Anna Whitson Herforth is a graduate student in food policy and applied nutrition at the Friedman School. She has a BS in plant science from Cornell University.
Do you know ...
... why it's important to cut out the eyes of a potato?
Potato "eyes" are tiny buds that will sprout, as you may have seen if you've ever kept potatoes for too long. These eyes are dangerous: they contain nerve poison. This poison, called solanine, is present at low levels in all potatoes, but is concentrated in the sprouts and surrounding areas, and any spots that are green. The poison can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, headache and nervous system damage including delerium, weak pulse and even death (in rare instances when sprouts were eaten). Solanine increases with the age of the potato and with exposure to light. It is also produced when the potato is damaged, since solanine is the potato's natural defense against insects and fungi.
Before you strike potatoes off your list of edible foods, it is perfectly safe to eat fresh, properly prepared potatoes. Removing the eyes removes most of the solanine in the potato, and cooking further reduces the remaining miniscule amount.
Other steps you can take to ensure minimal solanine in your potatoes:
- Do not buy bruised, cut, green, or pre-peeled potatoes
- Store potatoes in a cool, dark place
- Throw out potatoes that are old and spongy and/or sprouting
- Cook potatoes immediately after peeling and cutting out the eyes
... to get the most health benefit from garlic, it should be chopped a few minutes before being cooked?
While you should cook potatoes immediately after peeling and chopping to avoid ingesting the plant's bioactive defense compound, the exact opposite is true for garlic. Garlic also produces a compound made to deter insects that bite into it (allicin), but this compound and its byproducts are healthful, not harmful, to people. Many studies have linked ingestion of allicin and other garlic chemicals with lower cholesterol, reduced rates of cancer and heart disease and increased immune function. Chopping or crushing the garlic fools it into acting like it has been attacked by a hungry insect, so if you chop the garlic and let it sit for a few minutes, allicin will be produced, and your meal will be healthier for it.
... that America's favorite ice cream flavors come from fruits and seeds?
For strawberry, black raspberry and peach that's pretty obvious ... but did you know that vanilla, the all-time most popular flavor, also comes from a fruit? The vanilla bean is the fruit of the orchid species Vanilla planifolia. Chocolate, the second most popular, comes from the seed of the cacao fruit. Coffee flavor comes from the seeds ("beans") of the coffee berry; butter pecan, pistachio, hazelnut and peanut butter flavors also come from seeds. Caramel swirl comes from either corn syrup (a seed) or sugar beets (a vegetable). The only top ice cream flavor not of plant origin is Rocky Road - the marshmallow swirl contains gelatin, which is made from animal collagen. (Originally though, even marshmallow came from a wetland plant called the "marsh mallow.")
