Have you ever eaten red kidney beans?

Have you ever eaten red kidney beans? - I did once, many years ago. - My goodness, they made me so ill! - Diarrhoea and abdominal pain. I pretty well took up residence in the toilet for about 24 hours! - I had no idea food poisoning from a vegetable could be so bad! I hadn't known that red kidney beans contain the toxic agent Phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) which causes food poisoning when the beans are consumed raw or undercooked.

Too late I learnt that these red beans should be soaked in water for at least 5 hours during which the water should be replaced periodically, then poured away and the beans boiled briskly in fresh water, with occasional stirring, for at least 10 minutes. That seems an awful lot of messing about to ensure that a few beans don't poison you! - My considered advice is that it's better to be safe than sorry, i.e. avoid eating these toxic veg! - I'll certainly never touch them again. I'd rather go hungry...