On Tue, 12 Aug 1997, JoAnn Betten wrote:
> i avoid almonds since i read this:
> "But not even ardent nut lovers eat wild almonds, of which a few dozen
> contain enough cyanide (the poison used in Nazi gas chambers) to kill
> us....Almonds provide a striking example of bitter seeds and their change
> under domestication.  Most wild almond seeds contain an intensely bitter
> chemical called amygdalin, which breaks down to yield the poison cyanide.  A
> snack of wild almonds can kill a person foolish enough to ignore the warning
> of bitter taste."
>
> (from _Guns, Germs, and Steel-The Fates of Human Societies_, by Jared
> Diamond. very interesting as it relates to the domestication of plants)
>
> JoAnn.

Yes, but he's talking about WILD almonds, and goes on to explain that
domesticated almonds aren't bitter and are perfectly fine.

Corbie