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A street snack that has baffled botanists

atlasobscura.com

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Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists

#21

Post by jackvalentine »

grawprog wrote: post #14
jackvalentine wrote: post #13

I 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.

Thanks somehow I missed that. Incompetent reading!

Obviously we're not in possession of all the facts here but it sounds like incompetent spying to me. Much more difficult operations are carried out every single day.

Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists

#22

Post by boomboomsubban »

rsyring wrote: post #17
girishso wrote: post #10

I 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.

There are over 270 species of agave, that doesn't really answer anything.

Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists

#23

Post by nathanvanfleet »

I read this article elsewhere. I don't quite get why it says no one know's, then it's genetically and visually matched to a type of agave, and then they go back to not knowing? It seems some of the counter argument is assuming that "Agave" are all the same when specific types will have specific traits. Otherwise it's an interesting read.

Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists

#25

Post by nathanvanfleet »

boomboomsubban wrote: post #22
rsyring wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

There are over 270 species of agave, that doesn't really answer anything.

If you read the article they say the specific Agave that they linked to using DNA analysis.

Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists

#26

Post by nathanvanfleet »

jackvalentine wrote: post #21
grawprog wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Probe them and they’ll cart away. “Forest officials in Maharashtra have tried to spy on them, but it was futile,” Dr. Nimbalkar recalls.

Thanks somehow I missed that. Incompetent reading! Obviously we're not in possession of all the facts here but it sounds like incompetent spying to me. Much more difficult operations are carried out every single day.

They might not have had the amount of budget necessary to observe them from a drone for months

Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists

#27

Post by a_bonobo »

hyperpallium2 wrote: post #24
a_bonobo wrote: post #20

Isn't it a bit... terrifying to buy and eat food, when nobody wants to tell you what that food actually is??

coke secret recipe, KFC secret herbs and spices

one's sugar water, one is at least identifiable chicken! it would be closer to KFC secret herbs and spices on bushmeat

Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists

#28

Post by boomboomsubban »

nathanvanfleet wrote: post #25
boomboomsubban wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are over 270 species of agave, that doesn't really answer anything.

If you read the article they say the specific Agave that they linked to using DNA analysis.

From the paper

> The similarity search showed 89% identity with the partial sequence of the plastid locus maturase of Agave sisalana

Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists

#29

Post by nerdponx »

nathanvanfleet wrote: post #23

I read this article elsewhere. I don't quite get why it says no one know's, then it's genetically and visually matched to a type of agave, and then they go back to not knowing? It seems some of the counter argument is assuming that "Agave" are all the same when specific types will have specific traits. Otherwise it's an interesting read.

But nobody knows which agave, and at least one botanist insists that neither of the 2 likely agave candidates are quite right. Maybe some special selectively-bred version?

It seems like we will get more answers after Covid when field research (eating parts of various agaves) can recommence.

Re: A street snack that has baffled botanists

#30

Post by dehrmann »

hyperpallium2 wrote: post #24
a_bonobo wrote: post #20

Isn't it a bit... terrifying to buy and eat food, when nobody wants to tell you what that food actually is??

coke secret recipe, KFC secret herbs and spices

They at least have to be generally regarded safe. I will say that as a vegetarian, "natural flavors" can be pretty annoying.
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