I've made some wine with bird cherries (prunus padus) and have found conflicting info about it being poisonus?!
I think (well hope really) that it should be gone or have broken down by now (cyanide) but am still a bit dubious about drinking it, but i really want to 'cause i've waited 4 months and spent a lot of time preparing this stuff for my Xmas tipple.
Can someone give me a definite answer or a source of this info that is well referenced etc?
Answers: I've tried a few different websites/sources but im getting conflicting information. I've made about 2 gallons of the stuff and 2 (litre) bottles of gin (same method as with sloe berries). Now, i've seen/heard of them containing cyanide. Loads of websites give conflicting info about this.
I think (well hope really) that it should be gone or have broken down by now (cyanide) but am still a bit dubious about drinking it, but i really want to 'cause i've waited 4 months and spent a lot of time preparing this stuff for my Xmas tipple.
Can someone give me a definite answer or a source of this info that is well referenced etc?
Just hope you didn't include the seeds. According to one source, only the leaves and seeds contain hydrogen cyanide. And the amount they contain it is not enough to do harm to humans (hope you also didn't pulverized the seeds into with the wine). Have you know, apple seeds also contain cyanide, and they are juiced like crazy for cider.
The information in the link below is well referenced (with a reference list too).
Try it on your Mother in law!