Megan Baaske

How Cultures Around The World Consume Dangerous Foods Daily With No Worries

2009-04-30T16:52:09-04:00

It all started when I was searching for a salad recipe for an upcoming party. I found a dish on Epicurious that called for asparagus, shaved pecornio, and fava beans. At the bottom of the recipe came a nonchalant, but startling note:

Be aware that fava beans can cause a potentially fatal food intolerance in some people of Mediterranean, African, and Pacific Rim descent.

Taken aback, I opted for another recipe. Yet I had to find out more about the potentially poisonous fava bean.

Fava beans appear innocent enough. Could they really be deadly?

Fava beans have a long history; they were the only bean eaten in Europe before the continent discovered the legumes in the so-called New World. High in fiber, they can be eaten raw or cooked and are especially popular during the summer.

But fava beans can cause hemolytic anemia -- an abnormal breakdown of red blood cells -- in people with an enzyme deficiency called Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. The dangerous reaction, known as Favism after the bean, typically occurs in people of Mediterranean, Southeast Asian, or African descent. Favism occurs more often in men than women, and is particularly dangerous to children. Though G6PD deficiency is the most common human enzyme deficiency, with nearly 400 million people affected, the negative reactions to fava beans are relatively rare.

Fascinated, I dug deeper into the consumption of potentially poisonous foods. I found that people frequently eat foods that, if eaten incorrectly, could prove dangerous.

Caribbean cuisine relies on many such foods as staples. The ackee, a fruit brought to the Caribbean from West Africa during the slave trade, is only edible when it is exactly ripe.

Underripe or overripe ackee causes a reaction known as Jamaica poisoning, which can be fatal. Despite the dangers, many in the Caribbean eat the fresh fruit on a regular basis. Canned ackee is available in parts of the US, but it is illegal to import the fresh fruit.

Cassava (also known as manioc or yuca, among other names) originated in South America, but most of the shrubs are now cultivated in Africa. The roots of the cassava plant are eaten around the world, and the flour made from cassava is used for tapioca.

In much of Africa, cassava is the primary staple food. It is also popular in the Caribbean. The leaves of the plant are always poisonous, but the presence of cyanide in the roots depends on cultivation. So-called sweet cassava roots are edible simply after cooking, but bitter cassava contains more cyanide and therefore requires more processing.

Frequently, the roots are peeled, ground into flour, and soaked in water for several days. During the soaking the flour is squeezed dry several times and then toasted. Another method, common in Nigeria and some other West African countries, is to grate the roots and then lightly fry the shreds in palm oil. The roots may also be boiled for a long period of time or fermented.

Even the most common foods are not necessarily safe. Too much nutmeg can make people ill. Last year, four people overdosed on nutmeg after a Swedish food magazine misrepresented the amount needed for a recipe. As a result, the magazine recalled ten thousand copies of that issue. The green parts of potato, rhubarb, and tomato plants are also poisonous (and cooking does not help). Cherry pits release prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide) when chewed or crushed. Apple seeds have a similar poison, but in much smaller doses, so one would have to consume many seeds to have an adverse reaction.

All of this merely emphasizes how creative humans have been in the cultivation and cooking of food. In their quest for sustenance and taste, they have not been deterred by the potential hazards. Thanks to their experiments, we can enjoy potatoes, cherries, and tapioca pudding. And with these foods, one can be confident in their safety. But I think I'll exercise a little more caution before serving fava beans at my next dinner party.

Japanese Food: Beyond Sushi

2009-04-07T14:50:41-04:00

Americans know sushi. By now, we understand it. Raw fish of all types served with rice, wasabi, and seaweed in the Nigiri style or in rolls which wrap fish and vegetables inside the seaweed. In one west coast state, in particular, sushi is so popular that it launched its own "California Roll" - a roll featuring avocado and imitation crab instead of raw fish. While its most fervent aficionados would have no problem eating it every day, in Japan sushi is saved for special occasions. Sushi is hardly everyday fare in Japan.

In fact, Japanese cuisine offers much more than just the raw fish that has so enraptured us. And there's more than teriyaki and tempura too.

To start, there's perhaps the best kept secret of Japanese cuisine: Okonomiyaki. The word comes from two Japanese words meaning "what you like" and "cooked." This is Japan's take on the pancake--a savory dish of seafood, meat, and vegetables in a thick dough. The dough is typically made from flour, yam, egg, water and cabbage.

Okonomiyaki - a Japanese pancake-like meal

In the predominant style, purpoted to originate in Osaka, all of the ingredients are mixed together before the pancake is cooked. In Hiroshima style, the ingredients are layered rather than mixed and often include noodles in the pancake. In many restaurants, customers gather around griddles to make their own okonomiyaki. After the mixture is cooked, one usually adds the okonomiyaki sauce (similar to teriyaki sauce), and fish flakes. There are restaurants in Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Seattle, St. Louis and other US cities that serve okonomiyaki, but they are much less frequent than sushi or even Japanese noodle shops.

Of course, the Japanese also eat a lot of noodles. The most popular are soba, a thin noodle made from buckwheat, and udon, a thicker noodle made from wheat flour. Both types of noodles can be served hot or cold. Chilled soba is often served on bamboo with a soba tsuyu dipping sauce. Hot udon noodles are immersed in a rich broth and topped with scallions and possibly fried fish, meat, or other vegetables. A soba dish has great versalitity, serving as a quick and cheap meal at Japanese train stations or as the main event in upscale restaurants. Udon is more common in western Japan, while soba is more prevalent in the east.

Chilled Soba Noodles

Hot Udon Noodles

Whichever type you choose, the important thing to remember is that slurping them is the norm, and considered a compliment. So feel free to make some noise while you eat!

Other dishes are meant to top off a bowl of white rice. Curry is one of the most popular meals in Japan. Japanese curry is usually thicker and sweeter than Indian curries. Unlike other curries, this one is usually made from a roux -- a mixture of flour and fat.

Another common dish with many variations is the donburi, literally a rice bowl dish. Donburi consist of rice topped with meat and vegetables. One type is oyakodon, a mixture of egg, onion, and chicken.

Oyakodon is sometimes referred to as the parent and child donburi, because it combines chicken and eggs in the same dish. Other donburi meals include Tekkadon, which tops rice with thinly sliced, raw tuna, and Tendon, with tempura shrimp and vegetables on top.

And for dessert? The Japanese do not typically enjoy the super-sweet dessert that so delight the American palate. Instead, many of Japanese desserts are flavored with anko, a red bean paste. Anko finds it way into sweet dumplings, buns, rice cakes, and much more. One of the popular desserts in the summer is green tea favored shaved ice served with anko and often topped with ice cream (In Japanese, this dish is called Uji- kintoki kakigori). The dish is served as a refreshing reprive from the heat and humidity of Japan's summers, which average 86 degrees Fahrenheit in Tokyo.

Japan may be a small country, but it offers an astounding variety of delectable dishes, from noodles to rice bowls to pancakes. While sushi may remain the most popular type of Japanese food in the West, there are many more avenues of rich Japanese cuisine to explore. So eat up!

Nowruz: A Holiday Rich in Culinary Symbolism

2009-03-20T11:45:34-04:00

Today marks the start of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Observed throughout parts of the Middle East and Asia, the thirteen-day celebration is particularly significant in Iranian culture. Nowruz, meaning "new day," begins at the exact moment of the vernal equinox - 3:14pm in Tehran or 7:44am EST. The holiday is centuries old and reflects long-standing traditions. The food of Nowruz is especially meaningful, as each item serves as a symbol for the New Year.

The main dish of Nowruz is the Sabzi polo va mahi, or white fish with herbs and rice. The traditional herbs for the dish include parsley, coriander, chives and dill. Fish represent abundance, and the rice stands for rebirth. Other traditional dishes include noodle soup (representing the knots of life), an egg dish called herb kuku (fertility and rebirth) and baklava (prosperity).

Perhaps that most recognizable part of Nowruz is the Haft Sinn. The Haft Sinn is a kind of altar used to present seven (haft) food items, each beginning with the Farsi letter, sinn.

The Haft Sinn usually includes wheat sprouts as a symbol for new growth, sweet pudding made from wheat for affluence, an apple to stand for health and beauty, garlic for health, the dried fruit of an olive plan to symbolize love, sumac berries for sunrise, and vinegar to represent age and patience.

To each Haft Sinn, families might also place additional objects from painted eggs to hyacinth. Every item placed on the table also has a symbolic meaning. The additional items of the Haft Sinn vary by family, and make each altar personal and unique. Just before the transition to the new year, families typically sit around the Haft Sinn and sing songs, tell stories, and recite prayers.

The festivities end on the thirteenth day, called Sizdah Bedar, roughly translated as Outdoor Thirteen. On this day, families go outside for picnics. They bring with them wheatgrass from their Haft Sinn to throw into running water, and thereby cast out the bad luck. With this, they are prepared for the start of the new year.

Do you have favorite Nowruz recipes? Please share them in the comments section below.

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Of Pundits and Politicians

2008-08-27T17:22:39-04:00

HuffPost's OffTheBus is teaming up with USC Annenberg's Center on Communication Leadership and the Institute for Photographic Empowerment to support citizens' coverage of the Democratic and Republican conventions. "Maximum Exposure" is the title of the project under which OffTheBus will be posting your photos from the Convention. Got photos or videos to contribute? Send them to campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com, format images to 400 x 300 pixels, and please include captions.

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We've been getting quite a few pictures of various famous faces; in this slide show you'll see governors, a Speaker of the House, and former presidential candidates.

Of course, members of the press--media personalities, pundits, and actual journalists--are as frequently photographed as the politicians they cover, underlining their celebrity status. The mainstream media, of course, has largely ignored this phenomenon. They're simply not paying attention to the attention paid to them! But fear not, Maximum Exposure is watching.

See how many faces you recognize from our celeb-collection. Of course, there are explanatory captions for those unwilling to play the game. Enjoy!

Famous Faces:

View Slideshow Directory

Got photos and videos from Denver? Format images to 400 x 300 pixels and send them with captions to campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com.

For more Huffington Post coverage from the Democratic National Convention, go back to HuffPost's OffTheBus. Or check out Politics @ the DNC page, our Democratic Convention Big News Page, and our HuffPost bloggers' Twitter feed, live from Denver.

Demonstrations in Denver

2008-08-27T13:54:07-04:00

HuffPost's OffTheBus is teaming up with USC Annenberg's Center on Communication Leadership and the Institute for Photographic Empowerment to support citizens' coverage of the Democratic and Republican conventions. "Maximum Exposure" is the title of the project under which OffTheBus will be posting your photos from the Convention. Got photos or videos to contribute? Send them to campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com, format images to 400 x 300 pixels, and please include captions.

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As you may have heard, Denver police had arrested nearly one hundred protestors by Tuesday morning. Not all protests, of course, turn unruly. As a follow-up to the slideshow on the CODEPINK protest, Maximum Exposure brings some on-the-ground photos of peaceful demonstrations. These images prove that sometimes activists use silly costumes, puppets, and roller-skates to send a message. Though the means may be comical or downright bizarre, these are still explosive and controversial issues: war, abortion, global warming, etc. These pictures will give you a taste of the commotion, conviction, and conversation going on in Denver as the Democratic Convention continues throughout the week.

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Got photos and videos from Denver? Format images to 400 x 300 pixels and send them with captions to campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com.

Obama-Mania

2008-08-26T18:55:43-04:00

HuffPost's OffTheBus is teaming up with USC Annenberg's Center on Communication Leadership and the Institute for Photographic Empowerment to support citizens' coverage of the Democratic and Republican conventions. "Maximum Exposure" is the title of the project under which OffTheBus will be posting your photos from the Convention. Got photos or videos to contribute? Send them to campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com, format images to 400 x 300 pixels, and please include captions.

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Denver has been Barackified. The Democratic Convention will officially nominate Obama as their presidential candidate, so it's no wonder that his image can be seen on buttons, shirts and billboards. But pictures of the candidate are pervasive throughout the city, including a sighting of a rather convincing Doppelganger. In Denver, at least, Obama is a certifiable Barackstar.

Got photos and videos from Denver? Format images to 400 x 300 pixels and send them with captions to campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com.

Visit the Maximum Exposure Page to view all submitted images, slideshows and videos.

Anti-War Protestors are Pro-PINK

2008-08-25T19:24:14-04:00

HuffPost's OffTheBus is teaming up with USC Annenberg's Center on Communication Leadership and the Institute for Photographic Empowerment to support citizens' coverage of the Democratic and Republican conventions. "Maximum Exposure" is the title of the project under which OffTheBus will be posting your photos from the Convention. Got photos or videos to contribute? Send them to campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com, format images to 400 x 300 pixels, and please include captions.

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What's a political convention without a protest? Even before official festivities had begun, activists were out in full force. One example was yesterday's protest led by CODEPINK, a women-initiated grassroots peace organization. According to the Associated Press, about 1,000 anti-war activists gathered in downtown Denver. As they marched, they shouted: "Stop the torture, stop the war. That's what we're fighting for." Though not all dressed in pink, the protestors seemed unified in their opposition to the Iraq war.

Got photos or videos from Denver? Format images to 400 x 300 pixels and send them with captions to campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com.

Visit the Maximum Exposure Page to view all submitted images, slideshows, and videos.