# I cannot eat Old Bay seasoning, do you have a similar seasoning of your own? Sans tiny knives? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [December 22, 2022, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cannot-eat-old-bay-seasoning-do-you-have-a-similar-seasoning-of-your-own-sans-tiny-knives/976938 "2022-12-22T01:59:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cannot-eat-old-bay-seasoning-do-you-have-a-similar-seasoning-of-your-own-sans-tiny-knives/976938/21 "2022-12-23T18:04:59Z")
> [@dummygladhands71](#): > > But I’ll try to avoid the celery salt or seed. That’s my issue with it. I can’t deal with the taste of celery in any form; seed, salt, or the actual vegetable, it just repulses me. (I can’t even say it “tastes bad”, it is more like it tastes like poison, like I’m eating something dangerous.) I don’t think it’s an allergy, I just can’t handle it. Which is a shame because the crunch of celery is great and it’s a great source of fiber with almost zero calories. ☹ There is a little cafe in my building that I will sometimes get lunch from, they have some great food. And they make a fantastic macaroni salad. I normally hate macaroni salad, but the one they make is delicious. Except that if I get it, about halfway through eating it, my mouth starts getting numb. It’s almost like the feeling you get if you lick a 9 volt battery and it shocks your tongue. It’s kind of a tingling numbness. I have no clue what it is in the macaroni salad but I don’t get it anymore. Which is a shame because it’s freaking delicious. There’s some kind of tiny pickled vegetable in it (it’s not pickled cucumber though, it doesn’t taste the same) and I suspect that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2022, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cannot-eat-old-bay-seasoning-do-you-have-a-similar-seasoning-of-your-own-sans-tiny-knives/976938/22 "2022-12-23T18:32:07Z")
I don’t have a problem with eating most spices, but cooking anything with cayenne or spice mixes with ground peppers is problematic after a bad incident with piri piri about 30 years ago. I either have to wear a mask or have a fan on or I’ll start having asthma-like symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cannot-eat-old-bay-seasoning-do-you-have-a-similar-seasoning-of-your-own-sans-tiny-knives/976938/23 "2022-12-23T18:34:17Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > . Except that if I get it, about halfway through eating it, my mouth starts getting numb. It’s almost like the feeling you get if you lick a 9 volt battery and it shocks your tongue. That is exactly the flavor/sensation of Sichuan peppercorns, but I find it highly unlikely it’s them. That said, I bet there is something related that is perhaps more common, but I don’t know what it would be off the top of my head. ETA: Oh yeah, cloves also cause some numbing, but you’d notice if something is particularly clove-y. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cannot-eat-old-bay-seasoning-do-you-have-a-similar-seasoning-of-your-own-sans-tiny-knives/976938.md?page=1)