TL;DR; it's agave.
I was hoping it was a byproduct of recycling waste. Mystery creates buzz. The danger of a mystery food is part of why hot dogs and food cart food as a whole are popular.
A street snack that has baffled botanists
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Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists
#12I feel like there is a strong possibility that the sources vary. Possibly even some of them aren't so edible.
How else could it have been readily available for decades without a clear source being well known?
Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists
#13I don't get it, rather than using the tools of botany and DNA analysis why not just pay a PI to follow the vendor -> supplier -> source trail?
Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists
#14I don't get it, rather than using the tools of botany and DNA analysis why not just pay a PI to follow the vendor -> supplier -> source trail?
>Probe them and they’ll cart away. “Forest officials in Maharashtra have tried to spy on them, but it was futile,” Dr. Nimbalkar recalls.
Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists
#15TL;DR; it's agave. I was hoping it was a byproduct of recycling waste. Mystery creates buzz. The danger of a mystery food is part of why hot dogs and food cart food as a whole are popular.
People eat hot dogs for the danger and mystery. Hmm.
Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists
#16I have eaten it many times, vendors say it's a root. But the last time I ate it, it was little more fibrous and hard and I ate little more than the usual. For the next couple of days my tongue was itching and I had little difficulty speaking. Then I googled it and read somewhere that it's not edible. It's surprising experts don't know what the thing is given it's so commonly available.
Trade secrets are trade secrets.
Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists
#17I have eaten it many times, vendors say it's a root. But the last time I ate it, it was little more fibrous and hard and I ate little more than the usual. For the next couple of days my tongue was itching and I had little difficulty speaking. Then I googled it and read somewhere that it's not edible. It's surprising experts don't know what the thing is given it's so commonly available.
TFA says it's probably Agave. They also say:
> However, it may not be so healthy. “Agave has lots of alkaloids. It can be poisonous if eaten in large quantities. Maybe that’s why they sell thin slices,” Dr. Yadav, now retired, warns.
Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists
#18TL;DR; it's agave. I was hoping it was a byproduct of recycling waste. Mystery creates buzz. The danger of a mystery food is part of why hot dogs and food cart food as a whole are popular.
People eat hot dogs for the danger and mystery. Hmm.
Here is a fun filled article about the history of the hot dog. The time of "The Jungle" and mystery meat reminded me of the hidden origins of the plant in the original story: https://www.thehotdog.org/history-of-the-hot-dog/
Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists
#19Quite Interesting!
Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists
#20Isn't it a bit... terrifying to buy and eat food, when nobody wants to tell you what that food actually is??