[Sca-cooks] Allergies was Re: So... here's a challenge I'm taking on

[Terry Decker]

Wow, just wow.  I deal with vegetarian and vegan, even gluten free but
camper #3 would send me over the edge.

I give you props for not telling him/her to bring their own food.  I'd love
to see the menu you create.

Shoshanah


Camper #3 (yes, there is two columns here):
Asparagus         Bell/sweet peppers
Celery                Kale
Lima beans        Mayonnaise
Mustard             Raw onion (cooked okay)
Mushrooms       Almond flour
Ginger               Hazelnut
Peanuts            Most soups and stews (Brunswick okay)
Grapefruit         Oranges/tangerines/clementines/mandarins
etc
Ground beef is iffy     Chili
Sausage                      Seafood
Most spicy things
Most dairy - milk, soft cheeses, ice cream, yogurt, sour cream, whipped
cream (hard cheeses okay)

I agree, the list looks overwhelming, but with some categorization and 
delimiting, determining the allergies and culinary responses becomes easier.

First, the onion.  Since cooked is okay, this is an intolerance rather than 
an allergy, but it likely applies to all of the alliums to a greater or 
lesser degree.  Better to leave them out if you can.  One of the people 
attending my feast has this problem, so I make sure her portions are removed 
before the alliums go in and the vegetable broth I produce to replace meat 
broth for my ovo-lactarians doesn't get onions.  Asparagus is a member of 
the Alliaceae, which suggests this is a serious problem.

Bell peppers, chili and spicy things suggest capsaicin sensitivity.

Citrus fruits.  This is a sensitivity to the protein chains.  If they can 
handle the juice cooked, it's an intolerance rather than an allergy.  Avoid 
in this person's food or consider if you can use vinegar or verjuice.

Eggs and oil aren't listed, so problems with mayonnaise aren't with the 
basic ingredients.    Commercial mayos tend to use soybean oil, paprika and 
lemon juice.  Legume allergy, capsaicin allergy and citrus allergy.

Peanuts.  A legume allergy.  Due to modern hybridization share roughly 
40-45% of peanut allergen ara h 3.  Avoid peanut and soy products with this 
person.  Olive oil recommended as cooking oil.

Lima beans.  A singular bean entry suggests a dislike rather than an 
allergy.  Ask about other legumes to determine if you can use other pulses, 
like peas and garbanzos.

Almond flour/hazelnut.  Possible nut allergy.  Ask more questions to find 
out if this is a selective or general issue.

Mushroom/celery.  Common vegetable allergies.  Avoid serving to this person.

Mustard/kale.  Condiment or plant?  If it is just the condiment, then I 
would took at the other ingredients.  If it is the plant or mustard powder, 
then taken with the kale, it may be an allergy to cabbages, which might also 
suggest a problem with canola oil.  Since a singular allergy to kale is very 
rare, this might also represent a coincidental combination of eating kale 
and getting sick from something else.  While I wouldn't serve them kale, I 
would want to find out if they had problems with other cabbages.

Dairy.  Since they can eat the hard cheese, I would say lactose intolerance.

Ground beef, sausage and seafood.  While this might be a couple different 
allergies, it is also possible it represents a sensitivity to sulfites.

One that hasn't been touched on, but I would want to inquire about is an 
allergy to latex.  If they are allergic to latex, there is a strong 
probability that they are also allergic to vinegar.

Basically, for this person you need to avoid alliums, capsicums, peanuts and 
soy, nuts, dairy, citrus, brassicas and sulfites.  I would ask more 
questions to see if I could further refine or eliminate some items on this 
list.

Dishes with fresh or frozen meat, eggs, rice and other grains, bake goods 
without dairy or ginger, squash, tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, sweet 
potatoes, spinach, berries, stone fruit, etc. are all possible.   I'm sure 
we could put together a feast from that.

Bear