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A bit of warning. Any grapes picked off the vines should be washed thoroughly
with water before ingestion. Pesticides, bird droppings, road dust
- whatever, it is a reasonable precaution to wash them. I sampled only
a few - but still had qualms of conscience. The blackberries are
another matter. They were growing wild; almost everywhere along the Camino
Francés. They are small, but quite sweet. I was envious of the young
people (i.e. under 70) that could eat them with impunity. For the codgers
with diverticula problems, it is a chore to avoid swallowing any of the
seeds.
<p>regards,
<p>Bob Spenger
<br>rspengeraadelphia.net<br>
<BR>
<p>"E. O. Pederson" wrote:
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<div style='background-color:'>And autumn is an excellent time to sample
some grapes. Whatever the rule may be, pilgrims were sampling from
the vineyards in Navarra and La Rioja and later in Galicia. I seemed
to be about a day behind the grape pickers in 2001, and I was somewhat
taken aback by the amount of waste--grapes left on the vine and especially
grapes dropped from carriers and crushed into the mud along the vinyard
edges. After discussion at dinner, we determined that the few grape
bunches we sampled were unlikely to be missed, and so we sampled all the
way across the vineyard regions. Many of the wine grapes are tasty
indeed!
<p>As to apples, all of the trees had been picked by the time I got to
them, but perhaps a little earlier they would have been good. On
occasion a farmer hands out apples to passers-by on the Camino, and they
are good apples, mostly of the sort we now call heirloom--not very pretty
but delicious. Finally the almond trees were ready to be picked,
but sampling almonds in the field takes some doing (I did not try any).
The fruit looks rather like an apricot, a close relative, and there is
a thick set of hulls between the fruit and the nut kernel. I have been
told the flesh of the almond fruit is astringent and may be toxic in sufficient
quantity, and if one mistakes an apricot for an almond, the pits of apricots
are truly toxic.
<p>E. O. Pederson
<br>Seattle, WA</div>
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