My mother always put a few apricot pits into our preserves for, she said, "the flavor."

As a child, her logic was beyond my ken as apricot kernels are nastily bitter. Today, I take my hat off to Mom and the perennial kitchen wisdom she served up. According to both Oriental medicine and alternative medicine, these kernels help prevent cancer.

Apricot kernels (Prunus armeniaca) are a good source of amygdaline. This controversial compound, also known as vitamin B-17 and laetrile, contains cyanide (hydrocyanic acid). In Chinese pharmacology, the pits are thus classified as a drug rather than as a food. They’re used medicinally to stimulate respiration, improve digestion, help reduce blood pressure and arthritic pain, give a sense of well-being and combat cancer.

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According to the Food and Drug Administration there is no scientifically accepted evidence of amygdaline’s efficacy in combating cancer. However, it’s commercially available as vitamin B-17, and it continues to be used in cancer clinics outside the United States.

The amygdaline content varies in apricots according to their variety. The compound is chemically identical to that found in bitter almonds. The small or wild apricot native to northern China and the Himalayas are higher in B-17 than the apricot varieties available in the United States.

Similarly, the small seeds of wild apples (crab apples) and wild cherry (choke cherry) are superior sources of vitamin B-17. However, the larger seeds of today’s store-bought apricots, apples and cherries are lesser sources. That’s because our taste preference is for sweet, so the bitter flavor was bred out of modern cultivars.

As we’re discovering, a little bit of bitter is a good thing. Today’s foods are overboard on sweet but fall short of other valuable nutrients.

Mom also told us kids that we could taste an apricot kernel but never eat them, as — in quantity — they could be poisonous. Of course we tasted them, but they’re so bitter that we didn’t need prompting to spit them out.

When cooked or fermented, apricot toxicity is reduced.

Consumption of 10 or more wild apricot kernels or bitter almonds by children and 40 or more by adults may cause adverse reactions, even death. Yet bitter almonds are an essential ingredient in authentic marzipan and amaretto. Both this confection and the liqueur are predominately made of common almonds. However, each includes a few bitter almonds for flavor.

Fortunately, some of our common foods contain vitamin B-17. Whenever you munch on a pear or apple, be sure to enjoy their valuable pips. Also, use in moderation the pits of apricots, plums, nectarines and peaches. Using a nut cracker, crack open the shell for their inner nutmeat.

Starting in July, I’ll hope to see you out in the blackberry patches along Bear Creek pathway. There are plenty of juicy sweet berries (with a small hint of bitter) for all of us. But in the meantime, eat your pear seeds and maybe try this pot of chickpea soup.

While chickpeas are predominately sweet and earthy in flavor, you can discern just a hint of the bitter flavor, which identifies the presence of the valuable vitamin B-17.

Rebecca Wood is an award-wining cookbook author and local cooking teacher. To ask a question, to find a recipe or details about her school, or to post your comment about this article, visit www.RebeccaWood.com

Chickpea Soup with Kale

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

½ teaspoon chili flakes

3 cloves garlic

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot or rutabaga, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

Sea salt

2 cups cooked (or 1 can) chickpeas, with cooking liquid

4 cups soup stock or water

1 bunch kale or collards, finely chopped

Freshly ground pepper

½ cup fresh basil, tarragon, oregano or parsley, chopped

In a 2-quart soup pot, warm the oil and sauté the cumin seeds, chili and garlic until just aromatic. Add and sauté the onion, carrot and celery for about 7 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add the salt and sauté for a minute or two.

Lightly purée the chickpeas and their liquid using a potato masher, slotted spoon or blender. Add chickpeas, soup stock, kale and pepper to the onion mixture and bring to a simmer; partially cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes or until the kale is tender. Stir occasionally. Adjust flavors. Garnish with the herbs and serve. Makes 4 servings.