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

[Terry Decker]

I think Hrothny's solution to the problem is good planning, which is what 
you need to handle a range of allergies.  The "Wow" goes to her.

I started dealing with my wife's dietary issues about 12 years ago and I've 
slowly expanded it to other people.  The latest incarnation is applying what 
I've learned to the SCA feast.  The group I currently work with is small 
enough I can play with presentation and techniques and they have quite a few 
allergies and dietary issues.  This April, I put on the dog and did an 
Elizabethan feast for Outlands A&S Competition, producing a number of 
individually portioned dishes to round out the shared dishes and produced 
separate servings of modified recipes to meet the dietary issues.  It was an 
interesting exercise and I found that if I planned how to prepare the 
dishes, then the additional work was minimal.

In October, I'll be preparing a German feast using similar techniques.  I'm 
still working things out, but when I have them down, I'll put together a 
lecture paper for A&S symposiums and maybe a little hands on 
experimentation.

As for getting together in the kitchen, I wander afield and wind up in 
strange kitchens, so we may get there one day.

Bear


I say again, Wow!  I would love to spend time in your kitchen!

Shoshanah

On Monday, September 12, 2016, Terry Decker <t.d.decker at att.net> wrote:

>
>
> 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
>
>
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