25. Avocados
Some restaurants are calling time on the ubiquitous inclusion of avocados in everyday dishes. One of the first to ban the ingredient was London restaurant Firedog, whose head chef declared: “We’re frankly bored of seeing it on every breakfast and brunch menu.” Other restaurants have followed suit, citing concerns over the food’s environmental impact. Rainforest Trust UK claimed the demand for avocados was partly responsible for the devastation of some 70,000 acres of rainforest per day.
24. Raw almonds
In the US, ‘raw’ almonds are, in fact, not actually raw. Instead, they’re pasteurised in a complicated process that can take up to nine hours. It’s illegal to sell truly raw almonds because they’re thought to carry a risk of salmonella, which can cause fever and abdominal cramps. Happily, the way they’re treated – usually through steaming or roasting – doesn’t affect the taste.
23. Haggis
If you want an authentic taste of Scotland’s national dish, your best bet might be to visit the country itself. While variants abound, true haggis consists of minced pluck (the liver, lungs and heart of a sheep) mixed with oats, onions, suet and spices, and cooked in sheep’s lungs. Unfortunately, the US Department of Agriculture deems sheep lungs unfit for human consumption, so real-deal haggis is out of the question if you live in the USA.
