Cleaning Arum seeds

Roy Herold rherold@yahoo.com
Mon, 29 Jul 2013 19:16:17 PDT
Jane,

I assume that arum seeds are close enough to arisaemas to use the same 
method. Here's what I do.

Find your least favorite kitchen blender. Fill the jar half way with 
water, add seeds. Pulse it a few times until the seed skins are floating 
on the surface, and the seeds sink to the bottom. Pour the contents 
through a strainer, and spread the solid remains on a paper towel. Let 
this dry out overnight. Scuff it up a bit, and the clean seeds will roll 
right off.

Using this technique, I have never worried about using gloves, with no 
irritation at all to my hands. Believe me, I have gone through the red, 
swollen hands routine more than once, most memorably in a hotel in 
Yunnan when I didn't know any better.

This technique works because the seeds are light enough and their coats 
are hard enough so they bounce off of the blender blades. I've never 
seen so much as a nick in the seeds after processing.

Don't worry about contaminating your blender, either. Anything bad will 
rinse off, no scrubbing required.

--Roy
NW of Boston
Lots of wild Arisaema triphyllum and Arisaema stewardsonii seeds 
ripening out in our woods.



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