apricot kernels

[evilhomer]

so i've got maybe 50 kernels here and when eating an apricot out of hand, i usually enjoy the kernel. The trace amounts of cyanide present are inconsequential at that quantity. with 50 though I'd like to bake with them, I was thinking of grinding them and using it as a replacement for almond flour.

Is this potentially dangerous? I know that liquers are made from kernels so can i infuse them into some base and thus neutralize the toxins? will heating them to a point be similarly effective?

thanks

[Badiane]

Some sources say that as few as 15 kernels can kill a child...a lethal dose for an adult is 200-300 mg of cyanide of the variety found in fruit pits....good news is that roasting neutralizes the poison and makes them safe to eat...or so they say

Me, I eat them on occasion...50 would not be a number I would be willing to test out...unless the roasting thing is accurate...but then again, who are 'they' and what do 'they' know that I don't?

[cherimoya]

I found the following abstract from a paper published in Annals of Emergency Medicine. 32(6):742-4, 1998 Dec.

Suchard JR. Wallace KL. Gerkin RD.

Acute cyanide toxicity caused by apricot kernel ingestion.

A 41-year-old woman ingested apricot kernels purchased at a health food store and became weak and dyspneic within 20 minutes. The patient was comatose and hypothermic on presentation but responded promptly to antidotal therapy for cyanide poisoning. She was later treated with a continuous thiosulfate infusion for persistent metabolic acidosis. This is the first reported case of cyanide toxicity from apricot kernel ingestion in the United States since 1979.

There are case reports from Gaza and Turkey of cyanide poisoning in children due to apricot kernel ingestion

In Poisoning and Drug Overdose by Olson it says that acute cyanide poisoning is relatively rare after ingestion of amygdalin containing seeds (like apricot kernels) unless they have been pulverised.

I can't find any numbers re. how many kernels are safe to eat but the amygdalin content does seem to vary between different varieties of apricot. When I went to Hunza (north of Pakistan) the people there ate TONS of apricot kernels and they were pretty healthy.

[cherimoya]

I am not sure that what you said about roasting neutralizing the poison is correct (but I could be wrong).

[evilhomer]

thanks

50 of them have been taken from the pit (whew)

1/2 went into a little sachet and stewed down with apricots and a chili to infuse nicely into a jam.

the other half were toasted and ground and made into a crust which will now receive a hefty blob of pressed sheep's milk yoghurt and then the jam to then be baked.

i won't serve any to any children and i'll carry a note in my pocket saying that if found unconscious please check egullet for treatment advice or

  Annals of Emergency Medicine. 32(6):742-4, 1998 Dec.

Suchard JR. Wallace KL. Gerkin RD.

Acute cyanide toxicity caused by apricot kernel ingestion

[chromedome]

Apricot kernel paste is widely used in patisserie, as a lower-priced alternative to almond paste. I don't recall whether roasting is the key to utilizing them safely, and McGee is silent on the matter, but I'll check some other sources and see what I can turn up.

[MobyP]

Apricot kernal panna cotta from Le Champignon Sauvage in the UK.

[evilhomer]

still (happily) standing

are apricot kernels less expensive than almonds?

they were rather labour intensive to extract, certainly compared to cracking an almond.

[stscam]

In CHEZ PANISSE FRUIT, Alice Waters writes:

"To extract the kernels, first roast the pits in a 350 degree oven for ten to fifteen minutes: this makes them easier to crack open and also destroys an enzyme that generates poisonous prussic acid when 'noyaux' (the kernels) are mixed with water. Use a nutcracker or place the pits on a hard surface and tap with a hammer. To be absolutely sure the noyaux are safe to eay, roast them again for a few minutes after they have been extracted."

Cheers,

[*Deborah*]

If I were a detective, this thread would be pretty interesting, evilhomer asking for advice on quantities of kernels required for poison...