woods - eating and cooking

[littlebiglane]

Hi Guys,

I have done a quick search on the tinterweb and our site and can't find exactly what I am looking for. So I wonder some members can help.

I am only really interested in the more 'common' UK woodland trees and I am wondering which woods are food safe (FS) (ie for spoons or cups) and which woods are safe to cook directly (CD) over or in either case toxic (TX). I suppose there might even be a difference between seasoned and not seasoned, so a little note might note go amiss.

So...here is my list - can anyone who knows for sure copy and annotate and we might get to a full list.

Alder
Apple
Ash
Aspen (UK ?)
Beech
Birch (FS) (CD)
Blackthorn
Cedar
Cherry
Chestnut
Douglas Fir
Elder
Elm
Field Maple
Fir
Hawthorn
Hazel
Holly
Hornbeam
Horse Chestnut
Larch
Lime
Norway Maple
Oak
Pear
Pine (?)
Poplar
Rowan
Spruce (?)
Sweet Chestnut
Sycamore
Walnut
Whitebeam
Willow
Yew
Missing Any?

[jdlenton]

Alder FS
Apple FS
Ash FS
Aspen (UK ?)
Beech
Birch (FS) (CD)
Blackthorn
Cedar Red CD but some are alergic to it incontact with food
Cherry
Chestnut CD
Douglas Fir
Elder
Elm
Field Maple FS
Fir
Hawthorn
Hazel CD
Holly
Hornbeam
Horse Chestnut
Larch
Lime FS CD
Norway Maple
Oak
Pear
Pine (?)
Poplar
Rowan FS
Spruce (?)
Sweet Chestnut
Sycamore
Walnut FS
Whitebeam
Willow
Yew TX
Missing Any?

right I've added some that i know I always feel a bit dodgey about handing out food safe advice so if we disagree then let me know and i'll correct my internal Data base

[warthog1981]

Excellent idea

How about rhododendron ?

[littlebiglane]

Agreed about handing out safety advice - lets debate any we are unsure of.

Alder FS
Apple FS
Ash FS
Beech
Birch (FS) (CD)
Blackthorn
Cedar Red CD but some are alergic to it incontact with food
Cherry
Chestnut (Sweet) CD
Douglas Fir
Elder
Elm
Field Maple FS
Fir
Hawthorn
Hazel CD
Holly
Hornbeam
Horse Chestnut
Larch
Laurel
Lime FS CD
Norway Maple
Oak
Pear
Pine
Plane
Poplar
Rowan FS
Rhododrendron
Spruce
Sycamore
Walnut FS
Whitebeam
Willow
Yew TX
Missing Any?

[Blankfisherman]

I believe rhododendron when burning gives off cyanide or something nasty.

Tom

[robin wood]

I am not just sure of the point, I mean larch, spruce and pine are "food safe" in as much as they will do you no harm but they would be far from first choice to make and food utensil from. Likewise cedar, some like cedar chips on the BBQ but it is quite a strong flavour that you may not wish to have in your tea say.

The only common UK timber that I recommend folk not to use is yew. I do not know about Rhody and Laurel. Leaves contain a certain amount of toxin not sure about the wood. All the rest can have a FS and CD.

[jdlenton]

I am not just sure of the point.

The only common UK timber that I recommend folk not to use is yew. I do not know about Rhody and Laurel. Leaves contain a certain amount of toxin not sure about the wood. All the rest can have a FS and CD.

the point being that some one like your good self has just given us knowledge that otherwise we would not have had access to. there is now a record here for other to look at and learn

[maddave]

This is a great idea

Alder FS
Apple (FS) (CD)
Ash (FS) (CD)
Beech (FS) (CD)
Birch (FS) (CD)
Blackthorn
Cedar Red (CD) (but some are alergic to it incontact with food)
Cherry (FS)
Chestnut (Sweet) (FS) (CD)
Douglas Fir
Elder
Elm
Field Maple (FS) (CD)
Fir (FS) (CD)
Hawthorn
Hazel CD
Holly
Hornbeam
Horse Chestnut
Larch
Laurel
Lime FS CD
Norway Maple (FS) (CD)
Oak (FS) (CD)
Pear (FS) (CD)
Pine (FS) (CD)
Plane
Poplar
Rowan (FS)
Rhododrendron (POSS TX)
Spruce (FS) (CD)
Sycamore (FS) (CD)
Walnut FS
Whitebeam
Willow (FS) (CD) (Note bark contains Salicilic Acid: Aspirin)
Yew TX

[hedgerow pete]

put laburnham dowm as toxic as well

[littlebiglane]

Alder FS
Apple (FS) (CD)
Ash (FS) (CD)
Beech (FS) (CD)
Birch (FS) (CD)
Blackthorn
Cedar Red (CD) (but some are alergic to it incontact with food)
Cherry (FS)
Chestnut (Sweet) (FS) (CD)
Douglas Fir
Elder
Elm
Field Maple (FS) (CD)
Fir (FS) (CD)
Hawthorn
Hazel CD
Holly
Hornbeam
Horse Chestnut
Laburnam (TX)
Larch
Laurel
Lime FS CD
Norway Maple (FS) (CD)
Oak (FS) (CD)
Pear (FS) (CD)
Pine (FS) (CD)
Plane
Poplar
Rowan (FS)
Rhododrendron (POSS TX)
Spruce (FS) (CD)
Sycamore (FS) (CD)
Walnut FS
Whitebeam
Willow (FS) (CD) (Note bark contains Salicilic Acid: Aspirin)
Yew TX

[Ogri the trog]

I don't have anything to add to the list, though I have much to learn....

It does depend upon the cooking method when you say "cooked directly upon". I once witnessed a supposed long time woods visitor, thread a sausage onto the tip of an ash branch, without peeling any bark off and who looked very sheepish when I posed the question "Where do the birds go to the toilet?"

ATB

Ogri the trog

[rickyc]

You may have seen it before but a good little video here about Ash, Beech, Holly, and Elder trees..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub-17m8GfAw

Rich

[Melonfish]

I was going to say Elder must be safe as people have made pipes and whistles with it for years

[robin wood]

put laburnham dowm as toxic as well

Seeds leaves and flowers are toxic and there is also a small amount of toxin in the bark but I'll give you £10 if you can find me results of a test showing toxin in the wood.

[Harvestman]

Laurel leaves are toxic I believe, but I don't know about the wood.

[Melonfish]

Here is an instrument makers list of woods, bear in mind this would be for working with so you'd be inhaling the dust and touching regularly etc.
about what we'd want to look at really for this sort of thing!


http://www.mimf.com/archives/toxic.htm

[Adze]

The only common UK timber that I recommend folk not to use is yew. I do not know about Rhody and Laurel. Leaves contain a certain amount of toxin not sure about the wood. All the rest can have a FS and CD.

Any idea of somewhere to start where I could find out Robin? I only ask because I acquired a billet of rhody recently and it carves beautifully - cheddar is a close approximation - and once dried it's lovely and light but still seems quite strong for.

Originally I only bothered with it as a bit of practice as I've carved precious little in the past which I intended keeping - would be nice to know if I can use the pair of spoons I've made from it or if I should just keep the big one to sail around in (it's bigger than the average spoon)

Cheers,

[Miyagi]

I think this thread's great.

Any chance of making it a sticky?

No pun intended!!

[ickyan]

ther a thread about elder bieng slightly toxic

[ickyan]

the leaves definately are...

[jdlenton]

I think this thread's great.

Any chance of making it a sticky?

No pun intended!!

As requested Done

[Miyagi]

As requested Done

Thanks JD

There's just too much useful info in this thread to let it slip past folk's notice.

[Davey569]

Me and Addo were talking about this at one of the meets. I made a spoon out of hornbeam which is meant to have tanins in it but it was alright to eat off. We came to the conclusion that prettymuch all wood you can make spoons and bowls with and all common woods are fine. Even toxic ones!

[Chambers]

Sorry, can someone explain what the alternative to cook directly is or what cook directly is? Also toxic, does that mean dont cook with, dont carve with and dont eat, or even dont burn on a campfire?

[xylaria]

Toxicology is complicated, actually getting poisoned depends on how much of toxin gets in your system and how. The toxins in laburnum and yew are very poorly soluble in water, so the likelyhood of getting anything form eating soup out of wooden bowl is pretty remote. But then people do stupid things, you say something is safe and then vodka is left in a yew tankard for two weeks and then knocked back. Bare in mind melamine is toxic by ingestion but is safe to use in babies food bowls.

There is list of the woods that are a dodgy to work with, regards dust etc. There is also a list of I think of woods you shouldn't burn like elder and rhody. Some woods you eat off and can't burn, some you can burn, but need to take care working them. Just saying something is toxic doesn't really say a lot. Everything is toxic it is just a matter of dose.

[FGYT]

spent most of my teens using Holly for sausage on a stick cooking and bigger bits for dampa Twists

we did peel and fire harden/scorch the wood first tho

not reccomended but im Fin.................

[Cyclingrelf]

I've added what I believe to be true about the woods...though like JDLenton am not 100% sure in some cases.

Alder FS CD - good flavour for smoking meats
Apple FS CD - good flavour for smoking meats
Ash FS CD
Aspen (UK ?)
Beech
Birch (FS) (CD)
Blackthorn FS CD
Cedar Red CD but some are alergic to it incontact with food
Cherry FS CD - good flavour for smoking meats
Chestnut CD
Douglas Fir
Elder All green parts are toxic to ingest
Elm
Field Maple FS CD
Fir
Hawthorn FS CD
Hazel CD
Holly I was told not to cook over it - TX
Hornbeam
Horse Chestnut
Larch
Lime FS CD
Norway Maple FS CD
Oak FS CD - good flavour for smoking meats
Pear FS CD - good flavour for smoking meats
Pine (?) CD
Poplar
Rowan FS CD
Spruce (?) CD
Sweet Chestnut CD
Sycamore FS CD
Walnut FS CD
Whitebeam
Willow - bark contains salicylate (aspirin), so might flavour food and not a good idea to overdose on it as can cause stomach problems. Salicylate in concentrated form is used to burn off veruccas/warts.
Yew TX
Missing Any?

[Laughoutlouder]

Seeds leaves and flowers are toxic and there is also a small amount of toxin in the bark but I'll give you £10 if you can find me results of a test showing toxin in the wood.

Robin:
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/pdf_extract/283/6301/1220-a
Dont think I get £10 pounds for it though as its not a study, I'm gonna keep looking though!

Interseting site with a fullish list:
http://www.sdturtle.org/public_docum...ThatPoison.pdf

Site above puts cherry in as being questionable, is that so? Anyone? Made my godson a little cherry spoon. Wouldn't like to see him with irritation. I asked one of my lecturers, he is Mr. Tree, and he said only the stones have cyanide but wood is fine. Now I'm not so sure, cherry laurel is questionable and have heard reports of a very strong acidic smell from freshly cut wood. It's in the prunus genus too so really not sure anymore.....

[FreddyFish]

Well I claim the £10.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laburnum

If it's on wikipedia that's Gospel, isn't it?

[pango]

Brilliant thread!

Laughoutlouder, I hope you don't see this as nit-picking but the site http://www.sdturtle.org/public_docum...ThatPoison.pdf , although useful, gives information which is unquantified or unqualified in that many of our foodstuffs contain toxins in infinitesimal amounts. It is also an American site so, where scientific names are not given, common names may refer to a different genus from those used in Britain.

"Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) (24): all, esp. roots; except ripe fruit" : The flowers of which have been used as a food item and for wine-making for centuries.

"Casava (Euphorbiacea): roots" : It is the tubers of casava which are eaten after processing. Casava contains cyanogenic glycosides, which can lead to Hydrogen Cyanide poisoning, but are neutralised by soaking and cooking. This is also true of other foods which are the staple diets of many indigenous peoples, ie; bamboo shoots and certain yams.

I do take note though, of their information that ALL PARTS of rhododendron/azalea can be FATAL!

I have always believed that all parts of Laburnum are toxic and remember reading somewhere that cases of laburnum poisoning in children are more numerous than those from yew.

The dust from many exotic woods is toxic and requires full respiratory protection when working with a belt-sander, for example, and I was once left with a lingering, unpleasant and bitter taste in my mouth after burning laburnum.

I realise this may seem to be rambling and to have gone slightly off topic, but my point is that if we are unsure of the effects of burning/cooking or using certain materials for making utensils, then why take the risk... and particularly where children are concerned.

At the same time, you should always go with what you know, and your instincts are usually right.

Cheers.