1 hour ago, drpaladin said:

Tomatoes were once thought to be  poison, though only the leaves and stalks are toxic.

Tomato plants were so rare, they could only be eaten by the wealthy, who used pewter plates. The acidity of the tomatoes leached lead from the pewter causing acute lead poisoning.

You alway have a great wealth of information DrPal!  I had no idea that the eating habits of the wealthy who ate tomatoes led to lead poisoning.  My mom wouldn't let me eat tomatoes in any form when I was a child, because she thought I was allergic to them.  😜 I have no idea why she thought that! 

4 hours ago, drpaladin said:

Tomatoes… could only be eaten by the wealthy, who used pewter plates. The acidity of the tomatoes leached lead from the pewter causing acute lead poisoning.

Happily, fans of Henry VIII’s eating ‘style’ don’t need to worry about poisonous pewter  

17 hours ago, AC Benus said:

Was surprised to learn only a few days ago "angel trumpet" (trumpet flower) is part of the nightshade family too 

just looked ‘em up - they’re described as “pendulous”  *schoolboy snigger *

On 6/18/2023 at 6:21 AM, Bill W said:

I love tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant, but I never knew they were all from the nightshade family.  

A perfect meal for me would be eggplants parmesan, baked potato, and a green salad with tomatoes, croutons, feta cheese, and an oil and vinegar dressing. 

Yum!