时差N小时:为何腰果不带壳销售 Why Cashews Aren't Sold In The Shell

Part of the fun of eating almonds or pecans iscracking the shell and getting the nut.

吃杏仁和胡桃的部分乐趣来源于敲碎外壳后得到果仁。

But, some nuts, like cashews, are almost always soldshelled and roasted.

然而，有些坚果，比如腰果，通常会去壳烤熟销售。

Why aren't cashews sold in the shell?

为什么腰果会不带壳销售呢?

Cashews are in the same family as poison ivy andpoison sumac.

腰果和毒葛与毒漆树同属一科。Like the others in this family, thecashew plant contains powerful chemical irritants, so handling and eating raw cashews will causethe familiar itchy skin reaction in people sensitive to the chemicals.

与同科其它植物相似，腰果树含有强烈刺激性化学物质，所以处理和吃掉生腰果，会使那些对化学物质敏感的人皮肤产生瘙痒反应。

People who are sensitive to one plant in the family, for example poison ivy, are likely to besensitive to others.

对某一科某种植物过敏的人，比如对毒葛过敏，很有可能会对同科的其它植物也过敏。

Why don't we get a reaction when we eat cashew nuts, then?

那当我们吃腰果时为什么没有反应呢?

The irritants are found in the shell oil, but not in the nuts themselves.

那是因为刺激物质存在于外壳油脂中，而果仁中却不含有。

Handling the shell or eating a nut with shell oil on it can cause the reaction.

所以处理外壳或者吃带有外壳油脂的腰果时，就会引起反应。

This is why they're sold shelled, but why are they roasted?

这就是为什么腰果不带壳售卖的原因，但是又为什么要烤熟呢?

Roasting at high temperature destroys the shell oil, so commercially sold nuts will not triggera reaction.

因为高温烘烤可以破坏果壳油脂，所以商业销售的腰果仁不会造成反应。

But, cashew nuts that are still in the shell or that are shelled and roasted at home at lowertemperatures may be contaminated with the oil, so, shelling raw cashews is about as muchfun as handling poison ivy.

带壳的或者在家中去壳并低温烘烤后的腰果可能仍会受到果壳油脂的污染，所以给生腰果去壳和处理毒葛一样有趣。