On curries

[bellinghman]

Last night, I was looking for some pre-made curry sauces (because I'm lazy) and remembering artela's moan about finding chilli in a masala, I thought I'd check the list of ingredients.

Of the 4 Indian manufacturers - and I include Pataks here because I've met them and eaten with them and I know they're not blacked up Yorkies - three of them list chillies as an ingredient in their masalas, whereas only Pataks don't, and they merely list 'spices' in the relevant place, so quite probably including them.

I think that if I were suddenly to develop an allergy to the noble fruit, I'd have to be extremely careful around any form of curry. Which would be a bugger, because I like curries, and I like also Thai food, and even some Chinese dishes have chillies in them.

No Malaysian, either.

Pretty please, tell me allergies aren't infectious.

Comments

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

Hmm - 'masala' basically translates as 'spice mix', so any given spice is fair game.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Very true. And given the British expectation of chilli in curry, it's quite possible that the pastes and powders made in India and exported to us are prepared with our tastes in mind.

[artela.livejournal.com]

Now you know why when someone suggests Thai or Gurkha restaurants as places to go to eat my heart sinks several nothces...

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Yes.

I note that you did manage to find places that worked back in Bedford, but I can also imagine that took a little looking and training.

Of course, chilli is not the only hot spice, nerely the hottest.

I assume it's the capsaicin that causes the problem. How are you with peppers (i.e. capsicums)?

[artela.livejournal.com]

Some problem, but not as "severe"...

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Which makes sense, since the capsaicin level in them is very low, but not totally absent.

On the other hand, I'd expect you to be allergic to anyone who has recently consumed some of the very hot sauces.

[artela.livejournal.com]

I only have problems with ingestion (although I have never tried handling chillis, and if I do handle peppers when preparing things for other people to eat I'm always very careful to make sure I wash hands and where I've worked and the knife straight away when I've finished). It's a severe stomach reaction to ingestion, but definitely an allergy as it responds to the antihistamines I take for my hayfever (ie. it's not as bad a reaction if I'm on anti-histamines) - it would be a terribly good way to diet, except I suspec that things wouldn't remain in the stomach long enough for me to get any nutrients out *LOL*. Luckily it isn't of the anaphalaxis level - just uncomfortable and needing of me not being far from a bathroom within about 1.5 hours of having eaten the stuff!

[k425.livejournal.com]

Allergies aren't infectious.

However, repeated exposure to an allergen may cause an allergy to develop. Which is how someone can have a bee-sting with no effect, a second bee-sting with a reaction, and a third bee-sting with anaphyllaxis. It's a reet bugger.

I understand the hell of reading the smallprint now I'm having to look for gluten in everything.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Among friends, I note intolerances or outright allergies to:

• Chilli
• Lactose
• Onion family (including garlic and chives)
• Gluten
• Wheat (not quite the same!)

I'm not sure which would be the worst for me. I did notice that peanut allergy is apparently not down to the level of exposure, since sub-Saharan African countries often have it as a weaning food and main staple, while still having very low levels of intolerance.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

I should note that if you're a friend with another intolerance (excepting to stupidity - that's a given) that I've not mentioned, I just haven't remembered it.

[artela.livejournal.com]

caerleon is violently allergic to anything in the salmon family.

[megabitch.livejournal.com]

And Warwick is very allergic to cumin. I don't _think_ we have any major food allergies (there are foods we dislike and won't eat, but that's different).

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

He can't be - it's the Welsh National Fish!

(And family - so that's trout as well, I assume. Bad news, but probably not as restricting as the chilli.)

[k425.livejournal.com]

oldbloke is allergic to brazil nuts (properly, they make his throat swell and he gets wheezy) but there's no reason you'd know this unless you're expected to know telepathically of friends' partners' allergies...

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Just Brazils, or is it that he got that far into the nut family and decided not to risk any more?

[k425.livejournal.com]

Well, he makes korma with almonds and cashews, and loves peanut butter, so I think it's just brazils. I like brazils myself but don't eat them any more because I don't want to take any chances with OldBloke!

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure almonds are really nuts either - they're peach kernels on steroids - and I'm not entirely sure about cashews. But I expect he's tried walnuts and hazelnuts and others, then, and if he is specifically off brazils, then brazils it is.

Ah, a check indicates that neither almonds not cashews are true nuts. On the other hand, nor are brazils, though all three are tree nuts. And peanuts are actually peas.

[k425.livejournal.com]

Picky picky! He can eat anything generally considered to be a nut - tree or otherwise - except brazils!

[glinda-w.livejournal.com]

it's not actually food, but it's in way too much food... aspartame. instant level-10-take-me-to-the-ER-now migraine.

had to be really really careful over there, most of the flavored (sparkling or still) waters have it. and yoghurt. couldn't eat the yoghurt at the Con breakfast, dammit.

my other allergies (at the anaphalaxis level) are medications: penicillin, and sulfa; many other meds give me severe problems, but it's listed as side effects rather than allergy, can't remember why, but can't have, among other things, most antibiotics (!), and any of the statins for my slightly elevated cholesterol.

and no, not infectious/contagious, thank ghods :)