Homesteaders don’t like to waste a thing in the kitchen — including cherry pits, which some people cook into tasty glazes or syrups. But for many, there’s concern about safety: Don’t cherry pits contain cyanide? Or is cyanide in fruit pits just a myth?
The seeds (also known as stones, pits, or kernels) of stone fruits like apricots, cherries, plums, and peaches do contain a compound called amygdalin, which breaks down into hydrogen cyanide when ingested. And, yes, hydrogen cyanide is definitely a poison.
That said, if you've accidentally swallowed a few seeds, you can relax. "Truth is, poisoning from unintentional ingestion of a few pits or seeds is unlikely," Poison Control states. "Still, ingestion should be avoided. Seeds and pits should never be crushed or placed in a blender for consumption."
Not everyone abides by that policy though. According to The Food Safety Hazard Guidebook, hydrogen cyanide is not a heat-stable substance and does not survive cooking, which is why you may see some recipes that call for roasting stone fruit pits.
Even if you purposefully ate them raw, it would take a lot of pits to get you sick. The National Institute of Health’s database on toxic substances says a 150-pound human can safely consume 703 milligrams of hydrogen cyanide per day before beginning to suffer any ill effects. According to scientific analyses, raw apricot seeds contain an average of about 432 milligrams of hydrogen cyanide per ounce (about 48 seeds). Thirty raw peach seeds also comes to an ounce and contain around 204 milligrams of hydrogen cyanide. And 200 raw cherry seeds, also an ounce, contain a relatively low 117 milligrams of the substance.
So even if you forgot to roast cherry pits in a recipe and used a couple tablespoons, you’d still be well below what the National Institute of Health considers safe.
The Bottom Line
Poison Control does not recommend purposefully ingesting fruit seeds or pits. However, if you do eat a couple accidentally, you're probably fine.
