Cook lima beans thoroughly
Fun fact! Lima beans contain linamarin, a cyanogenic glycoside. This means that when consumed raw, the plant releases cyanide as a defense mechanism. Click to learn more!
Photo © AdobeStock.com/Csar
Lima beans contain linamarin, a cyanogenic glycoside. This means that when consumed raw, the plant releases cyanide as a defense mechanism. While wild lima beans can be very high in cyanide levels, commercially grown lima beans must have less than 200 mg cyanide/kg, and boiling them for over 30 minutes makes them safe to eat. Although frequent consumption of raw lima beans may make you ill, if you have sufficient protein in one’s diet, the human body is able to detoxify small amounts of cyanide.
Source:
Waite-Cusic, J. Is there cyanide in lima beans? OSU Extension Service. August 2019. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://extension.oregonstate.edu/ask-extension/featured/there-cyanide-lima-beans
