We've been fascinated by a post David Lebovitz recently wrote describing a strange bitter taste every time he ate or drank. The culprit? Some pine nuts he'd eaten days earlier, of all things! Has this ever happened to you?
We'd never heard of this before, but apparently it's a fairly widespread phenomenon referred to as "pine mouth." Eat the wrong batch of pine nuts and you'll taste a phantom bitter or soapy off-flavor in all your foods and beverages. It can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, but doesn't seem to have any harmful health effects - other than making food taste wrong, of course.
The kicker is that no one seems to know how or why this happens. And why it happens with some pine nuts and not others. Some people point a finger at Chinese pine nuts, a particular variety of pine nut with a higher oil content (according to On Food and Cooking), but there's no actual evidence supporting this. It's also possible that the funky pine nuts are old or have oxidized, but again, research has been inconclusive.
It's also doesn't seem to be caused by any of the following: food allergies, heavy metals, pesticides, or fungal contamination. Good to know!
While we aren't exactly thrilled to be rolling the dice every time we eat pine nuts, we also aren't likely to stop eating them any time soon! Hopefully a research scientist will take pity on all of us poor pine nut lovers and figure out the mystery.
Here are a few more stories about "pine mouth":
• Pine Nut Syndrome on David Lebovitz
• Taste Disturbances after Pine Nut Consumption (abstract) from the European Journal of Emergency Medicine
• Pine Mouth Revisited on Epicurious
• Pine Mouth Puzzle on Mail Online
Do you have a pine nut horror story to share?
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(Image: Flickr member Jason Hutchens licensed under Creative Commons)
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I have had a first-hand experience with pine mouth. I've always enjoyed pignolias and have never had a problem with them until recently. I bought a bag from Whole Foods and ate a few raw while cooking up a recipe that called for them. The next day, everything tasted bitter. The bitterness persisted for approximately four days. The nuts in question originated from Asia. On the bright side, they might be a good dietary supplement -- nothing tastes good when everything tastes bitter. Except maybe an IPA.
We had a discussion here about this topic a couple months ago:
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/ingredients-pantry/ingredient-spotlight-pine-nuts-111685
and it was reassuring/ disturbing to know "pine mouth" is so common.
I got pine mouth for the first time a couple of months ago after making homemade pesto. My husband, on the other hand, did not get it. It made evrything taste so awful that I honestly don't ever want to take that gamble anymore.
It's weird that I got it and my husband did not and I had no idea what it was so at first I thought it was some liver damage or something!!!
Yes, lasted two months. I never for sure found the culprit, but I suspect it was the pine nuts. I eventually went away.
aggh i had it too! it was terrible, lasted about five days for me, and until i realized what was happening it was the complete opposite of a dietary supplement for me-- I kept trying to eat different things to chase away the taste! Blech. I love pine nuts, but I have to admit I've been a little wary of them since the experience.
happened to write this blog post while i was in mid-pine-mouth. tasty even through the bitter!
http://theweekendgourmande.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/pasta-with-sausage-and-fresh-mozzarella/
We've had pine mouth before also!!
An interview with someone who has been afflicted with the "disease."
http://www.theyoungandhungry.com/1272317481/seth-gets-pine-mouth/
I've had it before, it lasted about four days for me. It sucked!!
Never heard of this. I have heard that you should store pine nuts in the refrigerator though, because the oils degrade quite rapidly.
Pine nuts are definitely one of the more quickly spoiling nuts. I've learned to store mine in the fridge...after eating some that had gone rancid. They tasted like paint!
I had a friend who got pine mouth and for weeks afterward could taste it. This is why I put walnuts in my pesto.
Me too. I don't think they were old nuts...newly purchased from Trader Joe's and from Korea. Mine lasted about 5 days. My husband didn't notice a thing and claimed I was making it up. I wonder if it affects more?
This happened to my mother about a year ago. We made a pesto-like sauce with pine nuts, and everything she ate tasted bad for about a week. I ate that pesto too and didn't notice any ill effects. She does smoke, so we wondered is some interaction with the cigarettes was the reason she got pine mouth and I didn't.
linfish - it happened to my husband and not to me though we ate the same homemade pesto, so some people might be more sensitive.
I too now make walnut pesto instead.
Not only pine nuts but after I ate hummus one time the next couple of days had everything I ate tasting metallic. After deducing that it was hummus I stopped and the metallic taste went away after a few days. Not a fun taste.
Hmm, wonder if this has any benefit to a dieter?
Yes!! Though I have no idea where the pine nuts originated. I'll have to keep my eye on the source when I buy them next. We've been a little less excited about using them in food since. Such a shame!
AHHHHH! Now I'm afraid of eating pine nuts. Thanks for the paranoia.
Has anyone experienced this after toasting their pine nuts? I tend to toast mine before using them (usually about once a week!) and I've never experienced it.
I also tend to buy mine from the bulk section at our local grocery store. I'm unsure of their origin, but maybe it has something to do with how they're packaged or processed when they come all the way from Asia?
Had it happen to me too. I steer clear of pine nuts now.
Throwing my pine nuts away. I'm scared! Kinda not worth it!
A friend of mine had it happen to him, and it lasted for a month. After about a week, he was so averse to the very idea of food or drink that he had nothing but protein shakes, which he drank through a straw strategically placed on the very back of his tongue. I was never a huge fan of pine nuts, and now I refuse to eat them. There are plenty of other nuts in the sea.
Anyone throwing away pinenuts can send them to me.
My GF and I both had this after eating fabulous rough pesto from the local pub (had it plenty of times before and always been fine) so now we stay away from it which is gutting! It lasted about a fortnight though so not worth the risk :-(
Someone asked about toasted pine nuts (I know this is old, but I thought I would still put it out there). I toasted some pine nuts for dinner on Monday night, had the leftovers on Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning everything tasted bitter. My pasta, a plum, granola. It's awful. I emailed the store I bought them from to let them know about it.
I will not take the chance again. As far as I'm concerned, pine nuts don't exist. :-( Unless I can somehow afford American-grown ones!
I had pine mouth about a month ago! It was so gross. I feel like it's inaccurate to say that it makes foods taste bad. I felt like it made my mouth taste bad any time that I wasn't eating! It lasted about a week. I still have the rest of the bag of pine nuts in my fridge (from the Whole Paycheck bulk bin), but don't have the nerve to give them a second try.