PSA: Pine Nuts

/ Tracy Abell

     

Sunday night Zippy made the best cilantro pesto. 
It was to die for.

Today we’re regretting it.

It seems some people react to over-consumption of pine nuts
by experiencing a metallic taste in their mouths.
People like us.
Two to three days after the fact.

So for instance, this morning’s smoothie tasted metallic.
Even my coffee didn’t totally mask the taste.

And in case you’re thinking a constant metallic taste 
would aid in weight loss (because who eats when everything
you stick in your mouth tastes like a handful of old pennies?),
I’m here to tell you the post-pine nuts sensation isn’t a consistent sensation.

Some things taste better than others.
For example, I just got done "experimenting" with
a slice of cold pizza
a handful of tamari-roasted almonds
a bowl of cereal
and a banana.

Nothing tasted all bad all the time.
There were glimmers of good.
Not really good, but okay good.
Except I kept hoping for something that was 100 percent good from start to finish.
Which means I ate more than necessary.

So be warned: if you want to make that delicious cilantro pesto, go easy on the pine nuts.
And if you decide to live dangerously, let me know if there’s anything that tastes 100 percent good.
Especially since this phenomenon apparently lasts eight to ten days.

                

18 thoughts on “PSA: Pine Nuts”

  1. Wow weird. I made pesto last week (basil and garlic), but I must not have put in enough pine nuts…thank goodness. Remind me to tell you my story of “too many beets.”

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    • We’ve never had a problem in the past. It seems this issue started happening in about 2001 or so. One woman wrote about serving a dinner party of 12 some sort of pesto, and only two people (herself included) ended up with the metal-mouth issue.
      It’s very strange.

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  3. Heh heh, looking forward to the “too many beet” story…

    I guess this wouldn’t be a good time to tell you what pine nuts remind me of? Didn’t think so. 😀

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    • I don’t want to scare you off pine nuts because they’re delicious. We’ve never had a problem with them before but either we ate more than usual, or the ones we ate were the issue. There’s all sorts of anecdotal stuff online. Twelve people ate the same pesto and only two ended up with the metallic taste.
      Who knows? But I do NOT think it’s a Tracy issue (we’ve got enough of those!) 🙂

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  6. We’ve never had a problem in the past. It seems this issue started happening in about 2001 or so. One woman wrote about serving a dinner party of 12 some sort of pesto, and only two people (herself included) ended up with the metal-mouth issue.

    It’s very strange.

    Like

  7. I don’t want to scare you off pine nuts because they’re delicious. We’ve never had a problem with them before but either we ate more than usual, or the ones we ate were the issue. There’s all sorts of anecdotal stuff online. Twelve people ate the same pesto and only two ended up with the metallic taste.

    Who knows? But I do NOT think it’s a Tracy issue (we’ve got enough of those!) 🙂

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  8. I love pine nuts and I’ve never had a problem with them. When I make pesto I use fresh basil not cilantro. Maybe cilantro interacts strangely with pine nuts?

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    • I’m not sure it’s the cilantro/pine nuts chemistry, although that might be it. Some people report getting metal mouth from eating plain pine nuts. I’m wondering if it was because we ate more than usual, esp Zippy who was popping them in his mouth as he cooked.
      The good news is the taste is subsiding a bit. (That beautiful tulip sure brightens my outlook!)

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  9. So weird. I had no idea. I like pine nuts but have never really had that many of them – just a few sprinked here and there in pasta. I hope things stop tasting like metal soon! So what tastes the best so far and have you now been freaking out on that?

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    • It’s very weird. Especially since it’s a relatively new phenomenon. It feels like science fiction…food altering taste buds and a panicked citizenry taking to the internet to determine the cause. Turns out a bunch of people thought they had brain tumors. Really.
      I bypassed my usual smoothie and just ate cereal this morning. It wasn’t too bad. It’s definitely getting a little better.

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  10. I’m not sure it’s the cilantro/pine nuts chemistry, although that might be it. Some people report getting metal mouth from eating plain pine nuts. I’m wondering if it was because we ate more than usual, esp Zippy who was popping them in his mouth as he cooked.

    The good news is the taste is subsiding a bit. (That beautiful tulip sure brightens my outlook!)

    Like

  11. It’s very weird. Especially since it’s a relatively new phenomenon. It feels like science fiction…food altering taste buds and a panicked citizenry taking to the internet to determine the cause. Turns out a bunch of people thought they had brain tumors. Really.

    I bypassed my usual smoothie and just ate cereal this morning. It wasn’t too bad. It’s definitely getting a little better.

    Like

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