Comments on: Aubergine Rhapsody

By: Barbara

Barbara — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:50:32 +0000

Otana–a lot of folks think of Benedryl as only being useful for a runny nose and sneezing–but it isn’t. It works by attacking histamine, which is the product of an allergic reaction all over the body, not just in the nose.

Definitely keep the liquid variety around for your food issues.

One thing you may want to think about when it comes to garlic and onion sensitivities and allergies–often what you are reacting to is the sulphur in these alliums. The sulphur will cook out and the chemical composition of it will change the longer the garlic or onion cooks. So, for your garlic bread, try roasted garlic instead of sauteed or raw, and use caramelized onions on salads instead of raw. See what happens.

If it seems to be the sulphur that bothers you, be aware that sulphur is often included in red wines and dried fruits as a color preservative, and you may react similarly to these foods as you do to garlic.

By: Otana

Otana — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 09:15:03 +0000

I came across this post through a link from a more recent post, but the advice for allergies is very much appreciated. I appear to have developed an intolerance for garlic and occasionally raw onion, which is extremely frustrating as a cook. Sometimes I just bite the bullet and eat it anyway because I am craving garlic bread or good pasta, but perhaps keeping Benadryl on hand would be helpful for the times that it completely lays me flat.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 19:30:24 +0000

Biggy–one thing you might try is getting smaller eggplant. Asian eggplants I have never had to treat the way you describe. They do not seem to have as much bitter juice in them as the European style ones do. Also–you can try using smaller European ones like the ones pictured in this post. The younger, smaller eggplants also seem to have less of the bitter juice that seems to bother you.

If eggplant irritates your mouth and throat–you might want to make certain that you do not have an allergy to them by having a simple blood test done. It takes ten days for the test results to come back, and it helps to know if you are allergic to something so you can decide to avoid it, or take steps to counteract the effects, such as taking benedryl. The only reason I mention this is because I recently developed an allergy to black pepper–which is highly inconvenient, to say the least. So far, it appears to only be a sensitivity, rather than a full-blown allergy, however, with food allergies it is known that an anaphalactic reaction -can- occur at any time, even if one has been able to eat and tolerate the food fairly well in the past.

So, that said–take care of yourself, keep benedryl handy (I use the children’s liquid kind if I happen to get a good bite or two of something with lots of fresh black pepper in it) and see if my suggestions help at all.

Pomegranate molasses is a great addition to the pantry, btw–I use it in vinaigrette for salads containing either strawberries or roasted beets all the time, and it really adds a great flavor to the salad. I also like to sneak it into various other sauces and preparations, just because it is so wonderful.

By: biggy

biggy — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 18:37:10 +0000

I’ve never tried grilling eggplant myself before, though I do love the flavor. I have eggplant… issues. The only way I can seem to eat it is if I peel them uncooked, slices them thin, douse them in kosher salt, and let them sit in a colander to drain for half an hour. Once drained and rinsed a few times, I love to make a nice parmesan with them, but failing that step, the fruit of the eggplant seems to irritate my mouth and throat something fearsome. Any thoughts? I wonder if the long roasting would have the same extractive effect as the salting…

Also — pomegranate molasses! Hmmmm!

By: kathyf

kathyf — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I love aubergines! That’s what they call them here, in England, too, which makes them sound much more exotic. Also they eat courgettes instead of squash, which are called calabacitas in New Mexico where I lived before.

Ordering from a menu can be confusing.