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Adding to the list of foods that taste great to some folks and terrible to others (cilantro, how you doin'?), here come innocent looking pine nuts.
"Pine mouth" is spreading from the U.S. to Britain and it's driving some eaters crazy, including a reporter from Britain's Daily Mail who downed a handful of the nuts. "Though I regained my taste after eight days, the only thing I could drink during that time was water," he says. "Drinking wine was like swallowing liquid metal. [emphasis ours]" Yeouch.
We've definitely sampled some pine nuts gone to the dark side, but this sounds out of control. Let's use Slashfood Science: Take the poll and learn more after the jump.
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Weird Household Uses for Food
Peanut Butter
We were so inspired by the peanut butter carpet cleaning tip* and the bonanza of baking soda uses, that we went digging through our kitchens to seek out other tasty multi-taskers. Read on to find out how milk and vinegar nix stains, butter can save your precious baubles, and corn starch gets you and your kids out of knotty problems.
* The Peanut Butter Tip: To get gum out of a carpet, scrape up what you can, using an ice cub to stiffen it if necessary. Then rub a small glob of peanut butter into the fibers, and wipe up the whole mess with a cloth. To get rid of any left-behind PB, just dab it up with a mixture of 1 tsp of dishwashing liquid in 1 cup of lukewarm water. (Thanks to DIY Life for the tip!)
Got a tip on a multi-tasking food? Share it in the blog.
Rachel Been
Milk
Oh no! You forgot to put the cap on your pen and now there is ink seeping into your shirt. No worries -- just grab some milk and soak the area. Depending on the type of ink, this process can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours. Patience is a virtue.
Got a tip on a multi-tasking food? Share it in the blog.
Pepper
Everyone knows Clorox's catchy ditty about keeping clothes bright, but all you need is pepper. Add a teaspoon of pepper to the wash before you add in your clothes and it will keep the colors from fading.
Got a tip on a multi-tasking food? Share it in the blog.
Sugar
At your next BBQ don't spend money on anti-pest candles that never work. Simmer 2 cups of milk, a 1/4 pound of sugar and 2 oz. of ground black pepper for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour the mixture into bowls and put them where the flies will be attracted to them and then drown. You can also place around the house. No more buzzzzzing at the windows.
Got a tip on a multi-tasking food? Share it in the blog.
Sugar
At your next BBQ don't spend money on anti-pest candles that never work. Simmer 2 cups of milk, a 1/4 pound of sugar and 2 oz. of ground black pepper for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour the mixture into bowls and put them where the flies will be attracted to them and then drown. You can also place around the house. No more buzzzzzing at the windows.
Got a tip on a multi-tasking food? Share it in the blog.
Soda
Next time your drain is clogged and you don't have time to run to the store for some Drain-O just look in your fridge! A 2-liter bottle of soda will do the trick. Just pour it down to clobber the clog.
Got a tip on a multi-tasking food? Share it in the blog.
Shortening
For a natural solution to diaper rash, try coating the area with a thin layer of shortening. It will act as a moisturizer.
Got a tip on a multi-tasking food? Share it in the blog.
Salt
Grease stains can be a huge pain when it comes to doing laundry. Before you wash, work a generous amount of table salt into the stain and then launder as usual.
Got a tip on a multi-tasking food? Share it in the blog.
Potatoes
Too much to drink last night and now you have puffy eyes? Apply a thin slice of cold potato to your eyes and leave on for five minutes. Then splash with cool water, put on your makeup (or just some moisturizer -- this means you, too, guys!) and head to work!
Got a tip on a multi-tasking food? Share it in the blog.
Oranges
Don't you hate it when you have to start a fire and little bits of newspaper are flying everywhere? Next time, air-dry orange peels, which contain flammable oils that burn longer, and use those instead of the paper. The delicious smell is a bonus.
Got a tip on a multi-tasking food? Share it in the blog.
Some have reported their taste buds to be off for up to two weeks.
Scientists believe there may be "a chemical constituent in the nuts that causes the taste; possibly the nuts have gone rancid," but can't pinpoint much beyond that. As one expert states, "just as caffeine increases some people's heart rate more than others, some people may be susceptible to these oils, and some not." Thanks, guys.
[Via the Daily Mail]
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5-19-2009 @4:01PM Sarah said... My GP said it was a symptom of copper overload in the system... so not only pine nuts but everingestion of several foods high in copper can cause it.
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5-19-2009 @6:41PM nix1942 said... I lost my taste and smell about 4 years ago and I nor the doctor's know what to attribute it to. I don't ever remember eating Pine Nuts. Has anyone out their have the same problem..
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5-19-2009 @6:41PM RIPPER said... I WOULD NEVER TOUCH PINE NUTS.....SIGNED MRS. PINE
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5-19-2009 @6:41PM metroman said... Pine nuts from China (bought at Costco) Caused a bitter taste in mouth for weeks. Everything would taste bitter including liquids.
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5-19-2009 @6:59PM Gail Hart said... I had this unfortunate experience, contacted the distributor, they were very helpful, apparently quite a widespread problem.
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5-19-2009 @6:56PM Chris said... I am overweight because even when my tummy is full my mouth wants more. I have always said if I could find something to deaden my taste buds it would be a miracle. Maybe this is my miracle? Seriously, the medical community needs to check this out!
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5-19-2009 @6:57PM LucyA1024 said... Try ordering your pine nuts from Nuts Online (nutsonline.com) as I did. I eat them raw from the bag or in salads, and never have experienced any untoward effects. Never go for the cheapest of any kind of nut.
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5-19-2009 @7:55PM Karin said... Never had it happen until Mothers day. I ate some that were labeled Chinese Pine nuts...and with in 36hr every thing I ate had a metallic taste....I googled metallic taste and kept coming up with pine nuts which I knew I had had...
Its all better now but that was awful
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5-19-2009 @7:31PM Jen said... Not this particular affliction, but like the cilantro-haters who think the herb tastes like soap, I find the taste of pine nuts particularly offensive.
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5-19-2009 @7:16PM Sarah said... I have never had pine nuts, let alone knew that people actually ate them. I just don't think they would taste that good. I no longer have my sense of smell due to nasal sprays and idiot doctors who thought I had allergies. My sense of taste isn't that great either because the two senses go hand in hand. I just don't eat a lot of food to begin with and I'm hesitant to try something new. Be glad if you can smell. If pine nuts do that then just don't eat them.
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5-19-2009 @7:22PM Mariam Allen said... I lost my taste buds from a sinus infection that destroyed the nerve. Got some back, but not as good as it was. Could always taste sweet and salty but no flavor came with it. Losing your taste won't make you eat less, but will make you want to eat more trying to taste.
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5-19-2009 @7:26PM Janet said... I just recently purchased pine nuts and for the past two weeks have been complaining my dinner taste like burnt electronics. YUCK!!! I never dreamed it would be from an innocent lil thing like the pine nut. Guess those are going to be a treat for the squirrels I have in my backyard.
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5-19-2009 @7:26PM John said... What a coincidence. I just finished dinner. One course was sauteed spinach with pine nuts. It was delicious. I'm one of those who doesn't like cilantro. Tastes like soap to me. Here is a bit of trivia. The famous chef; Julia Child was asked if there was any food she didn't like. She said "Yes. Cilantro".
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5-19-2009 @7:27PM John said... What a coincidence. I just finished dinner. One course was sauteed spinach with pine nuts. It was delicious. I'm one of those who doesn't like cilantro. Tastes like soap to me. Here is a bit of trivia. The famous chef; Julia Child was asked if there was any food she didn't like. She said "Yes. Cilantro".
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5-19-2009 @7:41PM John said... What a coincidence. I just finished dinner. One course was sauteed spinach with pine nuts. It was delicious. I'm one of those who doesn't like cilantro. Tastes like soap to me. Here is a bit of trivia. The famous chef; Julia Child was asked if there was any food she didn't like. She said "Yes. Cilantro".
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5-19-2009 @7:45PM vaygollybum said... I have a problem with olives. When ever I try to eat one I taste something rotten. Hazelnuts taste great at first but leave a wierd after taste in the back of my mouth.
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5-19-2009 @7:50PM stephanie said... nix1942 - I lost my sense of taste and have had a burned tongue feeling for over 5 months now. I searched online and found it's called burned tongue syndrome. No known cause or cure. It's driving me crazy!
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5-19-2009 @8:38PM sue said... the key here is where they came from
Chinese Pine Nuts
this country has the worst record of contaminated foods in history
making a point not to buy their food products
would be an excellent idea
un conatminated pine nuts - would not do anything to ones taste buds
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5-19-2009 @8:23PM Jesika said... Just happened to me last week. I am SO glad that I checked it all out. I was sure I had some terrible disease! Mark my words...I will NEVER eat pine nuts again. I'm on day 5 of pine mouth and it is just starting to ease up.
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5-19-2009 @8:27PM Glenn said... To NIX1942 and others: I lost my sense of taste and smell about 4 years ago. My MD said nothing could be done if it did not come back in 8-12 months. It did not. So if Western Medicine cannot help, I went to a school where acupuncture is taught (MUCH cheaper than a practing acupuncturist). In about 10 sessions I got almost all of it back! Give it a try! Stomach meridian is the key. Tell them.
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