[Sca-cooks] moretum

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

While contact dermatitis from rue, as Cordelia gets, is not typical 
of all people, it is definitely a known problem with the plant. if 
the rue is cooked, however, it usually no longer causes this problem.

On the other hand, if i had that kind of reaction, i'd be hesitant to 
eat rue. It recalls to my mind an experience of some friends of mine, 
back in the late 60s or early 70s:

They'd heard that if one drank a tea made of poison ivy, it could 
make one resistant to getting contact dermatitis, the common rash, 
from it for the season. So the couple made tea of the leaves and 
drank it. It is true that Native Americans did this - using the very 
young shoots. My friends, however, used mature leaves. Nothing like 
contact dermatitis on the inside and around every orifice...

-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita