The Menu: I ignored the warning tingle of a food allergy — soon I was waiting for an ambulance

Baba ganoush blew my tiny mind: fire roasting the purple-black globe over naked flame, turning flesh to a gooey mush, blending it with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. I improvised additions, natural yogurt and cumin and, eaten with flatbread, olives and a fine Lebanese red, it brings Levantine summer to even the darkest days.

After my first encounter with ratatouille, we were told to get a room, such was my primal passion for this great peasant dish from the south of France with aubergine as an essential component.

I regularly grilled slices of aubergine, marinating them, Italian-style, in olive oil, garlic and herbs, a jar always in the fridge for a quick snack with crusty bread and crisp green salad. 

One evening last summer, after such a supper, I registered tingling on the lips. Really, I thought, an allergic reaction?

When the requirement to list allergens on Irish menus was first introduced, many chefs I talked to expressed their ‘disgruntlement’. Granted, they had heard of potentially fatal anaphylaxis but presumed that was just peanuts.

For most, ‘allergies’ equated to those deeply irritating diners who elevate a ‘dislike’ to the status of allergy — tales were legion of those with a flagged ‘gluten allergy’ subsequently spotted gorging on the bread basket.

In my family, however, we have learned to take allergies a bit more seriously, having sampled from the full medley of allergic conditions, including asthma, eczema, hayfever and even anaphylaxis. 

My mother developed food allergies later in life and now carries an epi-pen for potentially fatal reactions to citrus, tomatoes, strawberries, nuts and shellfish — all the makings of an excellent meal.

A nephew is anaphylactic (nuts) as is one of my own who carries an epi-pen for his peanut allergy. My own chronic hayfever (and an asthmatic reaction to house dust) is a royal pain in the arse but at least I don’t eat grass. 

A potential allergy to a favourite food? I did what any right-thinking glutton would do and blocked it entirely out of my head until faced with this delightful little delicacy and, even then, took a nibble, after all, it was just a tingle.

This time, within two minutes, tingling be damned, my lips were on fire. Within five, I was scrambling for an over-the-counter antihistamine from a nearby pharmacy.

Shortly after, the pharmacist was taking my blood pressure, asking permission to administer an epi-pen should my symptoms worsen, while we waited for the ambulance she had called. The ambulance crew ended up staying for almost two hours as I rallied but they waited for a mobile triage doctor to sign me off as safe. 

I await formal testing but my own doctor has already issued an epi-pen and banned me forever from eating aubergines.

I had known aubergines, one of the world’s most popular foods, were a member of the nightshade family (Solanaceae), along with potatoes, bell peppers, and tomatoes, and in my ignorance presumed a relationship to deadly nightshade.

Actually, an aubergine allergy is rare but can be caused by cross-reactivity, where an allergy to proteins in one substance can trigger a reaction to similar proteins in another. Aubergine is high in histamines, to which I already react badly thanks to hayfever.

I have physically recovered from the event but am now in deep mourning for the permanent loss of aubergines. No more parmigiana, moussaka, aubergine risotto … the list is endless, the heartbreak even longer, further augmented by a deep-seated unease at the potential extent of my genetic maternal inheritance.

After all, what good is a food writer who is allergic to food?

TODAY’S SPECIAL

The majority of Anne Abberton’s Fixx coffee business is B2B, to cafés and restaurants etc, but she still finds time for the niche items, including single origin coffees, also available on subscription.

The classic Lisbon makes for a very fine espresso but the latest single origin, Finca La Mercedes, San Salvador Volcán (El Salvador) is a light roast best drunk as filter, presenting with a lush mouthfeel, pleasing acidity and notes of nutty chocolate, apple and red berry.

€14.95 (online or in select retail outlets)

fixxcoffee.com

Cheesemaker chats

Boyne Valley’s Centre of Food Culture is staging Meet The Cheesemaker, a cracking series of on-farm events across the country celebrating world-class Irish farmhouse cheeses and their producers.

Guided tours of each farm and cheesemaking facilities, along with conversations with the cheesemaker and tastings, run right through until
autumn. Supported by Sheridans’ Cheesemongers, scheduled visits are as follows: Boyne Valley Farmhouse Cheese (June 7); Coolattin Cheddar (July 5); Leitrim Hill Creamery (July 13); and Killeen Farmhouse Cheese (Sept 20). Limited tickets, pre-booking essential.

foodcultureireland.ie/events