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New Arrival From Hong Kong (Bno) Are Mistakenly Eating Horse Chestnut (Conkers) As Sweet Chestnuts
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Today I was walking pass a group of people believed to have came over from Hong Kong and they are picking up bags of conkers. I asked them if they know what they are picking, they said it's sweet chestnut. I explained to them that these are conkers and poisonous. They had eaten a lot already they said and they still alive. So they think I was trying to stop them picking the foods.
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Quote from the Woodland Trus website.
"Can you eat conkers?
No. Conkers contain a poisonous chemical called aesculin. Eating a conker is unlikely to be fatal, but it may make you ill. They are poisonous to most animals too, including dogs, but some species such as deer and wild boar can eat them. Curiously, conkers are also poisonous to horses despite the tree being named after them."
"Can you eat conkers?
No. Conkers contain a poisonous chemical called aesculin. Eating a conker is unlikely to be fatal, but it may make you ill. They are poisonous to most animals too, including dogs, but some species such as deer and wild boar can eat them. Curiously, conkers are also poisonous to horses despite the tree being named after them."
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Looks like the sweet chestnut is in a hairier casing than the conker. Also less glossy and more rounded than sweet chestnuts.
Just googled it!
Looks like the sweet chestnut is in a hairier casing than the conker. Also less glossy and more rounded than sweet chestnuts.
Just googled it!
I often wonder about just how 'poisonous' some things actually are.
For example, most sources say that one should never eat raw potatoes, as they contain a toxin that can cause illness. However, back in my childhood days, every time my mother prepared chips for dinner, only half of them ever made it into the chip pan, as I'd invariably eaten the rest raw. I still love raw potato and it's never done me the slightest bit of harm.
The problem, of course, is in knowing which 'poisonous' things are unlikely to make many/most people ill at all and which can kill. Food writers (et al) tend to err on the side of caution and simply label them all as "poisonous". Raw potatoes probably wouldn't harm most people but raw kidney beans could possibly kill them. So, before consuming horse chestnuts, one would need to know whether the risk is at the 'potato level' or the 'kidney bean level'
Incidentally, I can't eat (genuine) sweet chestnuts at all, as the smallest piece of one is enough to give me violent stomach pains.
For example, most sources say that one should never eat raw potatoes, as they contain a toxin that can cause illness. However, back in my childhood days, every time my mother prepared chips for dinner, only half of them ever made it into the chip pan, as I'd invariably eaten the rest raw. I still love raw potato and it's never done me the slightest bit of harm.
The problem, of course, is in knowing which 'poisonous' things are unlikely to make many/most people ill at all and which can kill. Food writers (et al) tend to err on the side of caution and simply label them all as "poisonous". Raw potatoes probably wouldn't harm most people but raw kidney beans could possibly kill them. So, before consuming horse chestnuts, one would need to know whether the risk is at the 'potato level' or the 'kidney bean level'
Incidentally, I can't eat (genuine) sweet chestnuts at all, as the smallest piece of one is enough to give me violent stomach pains.
I suspect the people who picked it up for consumption today already had them before. And it didn't kill them, hence they though I was trying to lie to them and to stop them picking. The poison is probably a slow effect and takes longer time or higher consumption to have an effect. But I don't think it will do the kidney any good. Oh well, I hope they are ok.
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