I cannot eat Old Bay seasoning, do you have a similar seasoning of your own? Sans tiny knives?

Cafe Society
21

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. :frowning:

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.

22

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.

23

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.