Tomato Leaf Pesto -yay or nay?
I was under the impression that tomato leaves / vines were toxic and should not be ingested, so great was my surprise when I cam across this recipe:
[url]http://sustainableseedco.com/blog/recipe-tomato-leaf-pesto/[/url] Granted, the amount is small. Still, it makes me wonder.. Tomato leave and vines are not something that I'd like to cook with. This article tackles the same questions... [url]http://ask.metafilter.com/79079/How-poisonous-are-tomato-vines[/url] |
They are poison and I dont think these chefs should be doing it.
One thing leads to another and soon someone will put enough in to get really sick. Worth |
There will not be any eating of tomato leaves in my household.
|
I've read several recent references to eating the leaves. I always believed it was dicey, but others seem to highly recommend it:
[URL]http://www.rodalenews.com/research-feed/tomato-leaves-edible-after-all-these-years[/URL] You know if you read it on the Internet, it has to be true; that's the law, isn't it? Jim |
Well, after doing a quick search, I found the toxic chemicals in the leaves are solanidine, tomatidine, and solasonine. Exposing mice to these chemicals caused their liver weights to increase (I'm assuming this is a bad thing, meaning the liver is overworking to get rid of the toxins, or becoming damaged).
Here's one abstract: [URL]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8613903[/URL] Here's another one noting that ingesting these compounds caused mice to miscarry during pregnancy: [URL]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12453729[/URL] Here's the MSDS on solanidine: [URL]https://www.mpbio.com/includes/msds/ansi/en/156633-EN-ANSI.pdf[/URL] The toxicology discussion is in section 11 and notes that solanidine can cause nausea, vomiting, skin redness, edema, and in high doses, unconsciousness. The lethal dosage is not determined. My guess is no one wants to volunteer to take a lethal dose of tomato leaves. The MSDSs on the other 2 chemicals state they don't have enough information on how it affects humans to be able to discuss toxicology in detail. So, I would not eat them. Based on this admittedly very limited information, I would highly recommend that anyone who is pregnant or nursing definitely not eat tomato leaves or plant matter (except the tomatoes, of course), unless consulting with their OB or midwife first. |
It like poppies each variety has different amounts of opium.
At least I would guess. Not worth it. Rich tomato flavor my eye./puke Worth |
So why would anyone want to try and cook with them? Given so many harmless leafy greens available, the risk doesn't seem justifiable. Novelty factor?
|
Because its a "novelty". One of my friends eats them as an addition to salads or sandwiches, she likes the aroma, so uses them as any other aromatic plant. Personally I like he smell of tomato leaves too, but I'm no so adventurous;)I guess in a small amounts it will do nothing to you, if you are not allergic or with some liver problems.
Ok I have checked this and she is using them for the tomatina content. [url]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19514731[/url] So, kind of herbal use. You would have to eat 0,5kg to have the harmfull toxic level so I guess it's pretty safe. |
[size="6"][color="red"]nay nay nay nay nay nay nay nay nay nay nay nay nay nay nay nay[/color][/size]
|
[QUOTE=joseph;467458]There will not be any eating of tomato leaves in my household.[/QUOTE]
Joseph ... "Respect." Nobody is eating tomato leaves in my house either. |
Somebody posted here a couple years ago the recipe and their comments about how it tasted and more and then Corona Barb closed the thread, which seemed, to me to be a good idea.
|
/puke/puke/puke/puke This would make for a good episode of [URL=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bizarre_Foods_with_Andrew_Zimmern]Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern[/URL].
|
[QUOTE=Worth1;467607]It like poppies each variety has different amounts of opium.
At least I would guess. Not worth it. Rich tomato flavor my eye./puke Worth[/QUOTE] Being part Lithuanian, it's practically required that I like poppy seeds in just about anything. Poppy seed bread--mmmmm!!. All parts of poppies except the seeds are quite toxic. The California, Oriental, and Flanders poppies don't have edible seeds. The only type of poppy that has edible seeds is the Breadseed poppy (papaver somniferum). Papaver somniferum also happens to be the species that is harvested in other parts of the world for opium. Note that using it for opium production in the US is highly illegal, but growing it for gardening/culinary purposes is legal. The one type of poppy used for opium production is not the kind that produces the most seeds. I want the seeds, so I grow Hungarian Blue and Giganteum. They make huge seed heads with lots of seeds. I comb through the seeds to make sure any other flower part hasn't slipped in. I don't want my poppy seed bread to be poisonous. |
:D Your bread won't go poisonous from that. But its still not so nice to find a piece of poppy wood in the bread ;)There could be a problem if you would soak poppy seeds for too long in cool water, so they would start to sprout. Just slightly sprouted seeds can give nasty migreine for someone who is sensitive to that. Checked on myself, so now I'm boiling them instead of just soaking.. still love the poppyseed cake :) Anyway, varietes sound very nice, you have reminded me my childhood and all those poppy heads in autumn drying, kids were eating seeds straight from that.. So nice.
|
The recipe author's web page is here: [url]http://www.gardenbetty.com/contact/[/url]
She looks like more of a free spirit than a scientist, so not that she was thinking this, but what I was thinking was that antioxidants tend to bond with toxins and form compounds that are much less easily absorbed by the body. The garlic and olive oil in the recipe could contain the necessary antioxidants to do so. That's why the recipe doesn't make people sick...or at least that is just my guess. |
I feed hornworms tomato leaves all the time and they love them.
|
[QUOTE=Salsacharley;468397]I feed hornworms tomato leaves all the time and they love them.[/QUOTE]
:lol::lol::lol: |
[QUOTE=Tomato Beth;468404]:lol::lol::lol:[/QUOTE]
I dont have time but I could see a cartoon with a sick horn worm in the sick bed with a thermometer in his mouth and an IV hook up. The wife standing by scolding him saying. I see you have been eating tomato leaves again.:no: Worth |
[QUOTE=Cole_Robbie;468352]The recipe author's web page is here: [url]http://www.gardenbetty.com/contact/[/url]
She looks like more of a free spirit than a scientist, so not that she was thinking this, but what I was thinking was that antioxidants tend to bond with toxins and form compounds that are much less easily absorbed by the body. The garlic and olive oil in the recipe could contain the necessary antioxidants to do so. That's why the recipe doesn't make people sick...or at least that is just my guess.[/QUOTE] I am browsing the site and will look at the studies she posted. Don't have time right now to finish. I will say that I would never ever base what I eat on a preliminary study. I would wait for more replication by other scientists before I'd change my mind. |
Tomato leaf pesto sounds awful. About as bad as fried hornworms. Neither are on my must-taste list.
|
[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/dining/29curi.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&[/url] I guess that treating the leafs with high temperature is a way to lower the unwanted alkaloids level. So maybe that's what should be done with the pesto.
|
There are too many other good things to eat for me to try tomato leaf pesto. I also do not wantpotao leaf wraps, either, LOL!
I have had the notion very firmly drummed into my mind that all the nightshade plant's leaves and stems are not good to eat. And eating caterpillars....maybe they are yummy, but I think I'll skip that appetizer, too. Seems like they would be sort of ...gooshy. But we do like mangos. |
The only thing I know of that is listed as toxic that i will eat is poke greens cooked correctly.
Worth |
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:42 AM. |
★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★