Introduction: Do you always prefer to eat food when it's very fresh? In daily life, people often hold the belief that one must eat food while it is still fresh, otherwise they feel the nutritional value has been lost. But did you know? Not all foods are best eaten fresh. For some foods, eating them fresh can have the opposite effect.
Fresh Daylilies
Experts advise avoiding the consumption of fresh daylilies. Fresh daylilies contain colchicine, which is absorbed by the intestines and converted into a toxic substance in the body, causing poisoning in the consumer. In contrast, dried daylilies undergo processes like steaming and sun-drying during production, which removes most of the colchicine, making them safer. Since colchicine is water-soluble, if you eat fresh daylilies, you must first blanch or boil them. It's also best to soak dried daylilies before eating.
Daylily and Meat Spring Rolls
Fresh Wood Ear Mushrooms
Actually, dried wood ear mushrooms are safer than fresh ones. This is because fresh wood ear mushrooms contain a special substance called "porphyrin." Porphyrin is a photosensitive substance. After consuming fresh wood ear mushrooms and being exposed to sunlight, it can trigger phytophotodermatitis, and may also cause skin itching, with symptoms of redness, swelling, and pain appearing on exposed skin areas. Dried wood ear mushrooms are a finished product that has been sun-dried. During this sun-drying process, most of the porphyrin is broken down. Before consumption, they are soaked in water, and any remaining toxins dissolve in the water, making the rehydrated dried mushrooms non-toxic. It's important to note that the water for soaking dried mushrooms should be changed several times.
Fresh Milk
There have been reports of farmers leading their cows into the city to milk them on the spot for sale, which has become quite popular with citizens. However, Jia Jianbin points out that this practice is not advisable. This is because freshly milked milk contains bacteria, such as *Brucella* and *Mycobacterium tuberculosis*, which can easily cause zoonotic infectious diseases. Furthermore, the "fresh milk" from this method cannot guarantee the hygiene of the milking environment, the sterilization of the containers, or the health of the milker. Therefore, it is safer for consumers to buy milk from regular manufacturers at the supermarket.
Milk Chocolate Pudding
Fresh Jellyfish
Fresh jellyfish contains a lot of water, has a thick body, and also contains toxins. Only through repeated washing with salt and alum (commonly known as "three-alum" processing) can the fresh jellyfish be dehydrated, allowing the toxins to be flushed out with the water. Jellyfish that has been "two-alum" processed is light red or light yellow, evenly thick and chewy, and no water can be squeezed out when pressed—this is the kind 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. Do not taste or buy it.
Cold Jellyfish Salad