If you have made this face you probably met a bad nut.
Ever get a bitter-metallic aftertaste when eating pine nuts and it just won’t go away? Like there is a lingering problem or a disturbance in the force if you will? Well, I haven’t so this ends this post . . . just kidding. Anyway, NPR has an article about “Pine Mouth.”
What is “Pine Mouth”? It definitely is not a Syfy B-movie (not yet). Well, some people experience a nasty aftertaste from eating pine nuts that will not go away for a while. It ruins the taste of everything after it because it is so potent. The cause? No one is really quite sure, unlike the cilantro problem, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of experiences. The FDA documented only 53 complaints last year and because there is no accompanying illness only marks this problem as “taste disturbance.”
The two possible theories (which they people aren’t even sure about) is the preparer leaves the pine nuts out too long. Pine nut oil can go rancid quite fast. The second theory is Chinese imports. Researchers in Switzerland did an analysis of imported pine nuts and discovered two inedible species in the supply chain.
So ever eat bad pine nuts? Ever eat anything bad that ruined your afternoon/week/month? Share it with us. Also check out some other people’s experiences with nuts gone bad! Here and there is even a Facebook group you can join.
The Honolulu Grub Club Blog 