You’re not allergic, you idiot
As a total foodie, I find that challenging your tastebuds and trying new flavours regularly is one of the joys of life. I always feel a bit sorry for people afflicted with allergies, pregnant women (who can’t eat soft cheese or sushi!) and diabetics.
While we all need to watch what we eat to avoid ballooning in weight or croaking too young from clogged up arteries, the people above need to be doubly careful since there are serious immediate implications to giving in to food they shouldn’t have - I should know, lovely Lynsey at work nearly sneezes her brains out if she eats anything containing gluten!
When I cook for friends, I love to introduce them to new food, without serving anything TOO weird… But when someone mentions allergies, it stops me right in my tracks. Uh oh, must really watch what I put in this dish! I would feel awful to cause a friend the kind of physical discomfort that comes from a bad reaction to nuts, for example.
However, there is a nuance. There’s real allergies, and then there’s what food sissies call “allergies”. When I hear “Oh, I’m allergic to red peppers, I once had a bad experience with red peppers”, whereby they mean they don’t particularly like the taste of them, or they ate a dish which contained bad prawns which gave them the runs, and to which they associate red peppers.
That. Is. Not. An. Allergy.
Comprendes? That’s a food dislike. It’s no more serious than my sister Julie disliking mashed potatoes and spending many childhood evenings alone at the table after dinner, left there to finish her potatoes if she wanted dessert. The only thing that could have killed her there was boredom.
A one-off bad experience with fish shouldn’t be a reason to stop eating seafood altogether. It makes my blood boil that people cover their picky taste with a medical condition such as food allergies.
If you’re one of these people, do yourself a favour. Next time you go out to a good restaurant, somewhere that serves quality food, try something out of your comfort zone. Maybe give salmon a go again? I’m not saying jump straight into the raw oysters, but don’t cut out an entire range of food from your life simply because you’re too weenie to try it again.
Now, how about a chilli fried scorpion to top off that burrito?
January 26th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Véroooo, tu vas me faire passer pour une mère marâtre! Et toi, il me semble que tu étais “allergique” à la sauce aux tomates sur ton spaghetti, hein??
January 27th, 2008 at 11:41 am
It’s more common than you’d believe these days. It must make the people with real gluten or lactose intolerance go crazy listening to these medically backed excuses.
Many times I have confronted people and asked what symptoms they get and for the stuff I know about like gluten and lactose and often they pick the wrong thing. There are even people who are so fussy they have half a dozen of these conditions. It’s getting to the point that it is almost anti-social.
Thanks for your post. I am glad to hear someone else is thinking the same way.
January 27th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Amen! Sing it, sister!
That said, there are weird conditions out there that make people experience certain flavours differently. Like my dear friend Anne, whose “topographic tongue” causes her to shun aubergines (they hurt) and coriander leaf (tastes soapy).
Then again, she hates chocolate, so is a weirdo, and can safely be ignored.
January 27th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Adam, you always come up with fascinating info, you know. Either you’re really clever, or you’re making it up!
Chocolate-haters are definitely not normal… I would keep a close eye on that friend.
January 27th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
“Clever or making it up…”
Yes. And I want you to continue wondering that. :p
January 28th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
where is the Cheez Whiz for my speghetti?
Often it is a time of the child’s life ..being difficult, or feeling sick with certain foods. Adults should experiment and eat more fruits and vegees, and cut most of the red meat and processed foods. That will train the taste buds and save medical bills (and the environment?)
February 17th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
’she once had a bad experience with red peppers’ sounds like they chased her down the road or something. I agree that it is difficult to spot the real allergic people from those that are fussy. I’m not allergic but vegetarian and that can be a pain to some people!
February 28th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Caliss… A Canadian girl who hails good food and not only Poutine, which is maybe what you are refering to when you mention that you enjoy sharing new culinary experiences with your friends! I had a read through your blog and loved it. Hope to meet up with you soon in one of those blogger meet up. Might be the opportunity to tuck into some decent food;) A bientot.
February 29th, 2008 at 12:11 am
By the way if you have the chance to come to London and to be able to afford it (or to have it offered) I strongly recommend you this place: http://mountaindwellerviews.blogspot.com/2008/02/cuisine-like-no-other.html
Otherwise, you may already know TrustedPlace, but if not, have a go, it is worth browsing through: http://trustedplaces.com/
Cheers,
cedric
March 20th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
When I eat peppers - red, green, spicy, sweet - so far all of them, I not only have to run for the toilet, but I go into an asthma attack. Even if I smell them cooking, I will have an asthma attack, and sometimes it occurs hours later. I appreciate people who feed me, but I fear people who think I am being a sissy and call me an idiot. I am so allergic to peppers that I it has made me “sensitive” to oranges and band-aids. That means if I each one orange, I might break out into hives all over my body for a week - I might not. Oranges aren’t worth it.