Pesto

This morning is Bill's  English Language Learners ( ELL) exam so after 2PM we will breathe a sigh of relief. The school is empty due to Juneteenth holiday but he is going to the empty building to take the exam remotely--it's FOUR HOURS LONG with only 15 minute break for nourishment+bathroom break. 9AM-1PM Oiy vey! He's been studying and taking practice exams all weekend.

A friend gave me pesto from her garden. I immediately made pesto using walnuts and had a most severe allergic reaction to walnuts. I have had mild itchy mouth from walnuts (no big deal) but this was much more intense. My whole tongue was burning itching and weird. Had to take my emergency asthma inhaler antihistamine and go to bed. @!)*$(*@$(*

I will stash it in the freezer and use it in soups and sauces in December because they say cooking it will take away the problem. And off season should be fine.

This is because during allergy season I am MORE ALLERGIC to everything. 

I will save the pesto for December.

http://research.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/informall/allergenic-food/index.aspx?FoodId=53

Supplementary information on Walnut Allergyhide

English walnut (Juglans regia) is a tree nut of the family Juglandaceae. To this family belong also other tree nuts that are not present in Europe including Pecan (Carya illinoiensis), black walnut (Juglans nigra and Juglans californica) and butternuts (Juglans cinerea). Many processed foods may contain walnut including Sweets, snacks, baked goods, ice cream, soft cheeses.

Symptoms

Severity of walnut-induced allergic reactions ranges from slight oral allergy syndrome (itching in the mouth and/or tongue soon after chewing and ingesting a walnut) to severe and even potentially fatal systemic reactions (anaphylactic shock; hives and swelling of the throat, asthma). Severity of allergic reactions depends on which protein(s) in the walnut the patients has become allergic to.

Related foods (cross reactivity)

In general walnut-allergic subjects fall within the following categories:

Patients with birch pollen allergy that reacts to walnut (as well as to other fruits and vegetables).

In these patients walnut allergy is the consequence of cross-reactivity between pollen allergens and similar proteins in vegetable foods. This kind of food allergy is generally mild: in most cases oral allergy syndrome (OAS) is the only consequence of the ingestion of offending food. The absence of severe systemic symptoms is due to the fact that allergenic proteins are easily destroyed in the stomach. Moreover, they are heat-labile; as a consequence, patients tolerate heat-processed foods.