Everyone likes to eat fresh food, but some foods should not be eaten fresh and must be processed for a period of time before consumption, otherwise they can harm your health. So, which foods should not be eaten "fresh"?
1. Jellyfish
Fresh jellyfish contains a lot of water, has a thick body, and also contains toxins. Only after being salted and alum-pickled three times (commonly known as "three alums") to dehydrate the fresh jellyfish three times can the toxins be completely removed with the water. After three alum treatments, the jellyfish will be light red or light yellow, evenly thick and tough, and no water can be squeezed out even with force. This is the jellyfish that is safe to eat. When traveling to jellyfish-producing areas, you may encounter vendors selling jellyfish that has not been treated or has only been salted once or twice. You must not taste or buy it.
2. Fresh Daylilies
Also known as golden needles, unprocessed fresh daylilies contain colchicine. Colchicine itself is non-toxic, but after being eaten, it is oxidized in the body into highly toxic colchicine-2. According to experimental calculations, as little as 3 milligrams of colchicine is enough to cause nausea, vomiting, headache, and abdominal pain. A larger dose can lead to hematuria or hematochezia, and 20 milligrams can be fatal. Dried daylilies are steamed and processed, during which the colchicine is leached out, making them non-toxic.
3. Fresh Pickled Vegetables
Fresh vegetables contain a certain amount of non-toxic nitrates. During the pickling process, these are converted into toxic nitrites. Generally, nitrites start to increase significantly after 4 hours of pickling, peak between 14 and 20 days, and then gradually decrease. Therefore, you should either eat pickled vegetables within 4 hours, or wait until they have been pickled for more than 30 days. Nitrites can cause cyanosis and other hypoxia symptoms, and can also combine with secondary amines in food to form carcinogenic nitrosamines.
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Extended Reading: A Complete Guide to Eating Daylilies
4. Fresh Wood Ear Mushrooms
They contain a photosensitive substance called porphyrin. After consumption, exposure to sunlight can cause skin itching and edema. In severe cases, it can lead to skin necrosis. If edema occurs in the pharyngeal mucosa, it can cause difficulty breathing. Dried wood ear mushrooms are a finished product that has been sun-dried. During the sun-drying process, most of the porphyrin is decomposed. Before eating, the dried mushrooms are soaked in water, and any remaining toxins will dissolve into the water, making the rehydrated dried wood ear mushrooms non-toxic.
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Extended Reading: A Complete Guide to Eating Wood Ear Mushrooms
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