It looks good, it tastes like nothing one earth

[venta]

Here is a useful thing I just came across. At least, it is useful if you are planning to go to Japan and are not omnivorous:

Cut-out-and-keep cards explaining various dietary restrictions, in Japanese

I think these are a great idea, particularly for countries in which your average foreign person is all at sea with the language. It occurs to me that I haven't bought a phrasebook in a long time - maybe these days they have a handy set of stock phrases for common allergies/intolerances/choices?

Comments

[ringbark.livejournal.com]

A friend has the misfortune to have an intolerance to any and all egg products. She found out (the hard way) that many people think "intolerance" means "I can't have very much of it" and switched to saying "allergy" even though this is technically incorrect.
Also, she found out that apparently "any part of the egg at all" does not seem to include the white: "oh, there wasn't any yolk in it so I thought you'd be ok" - well, you thought wrong...
And so forth.

As for me, I can't eat blackcurrants without being very unwell. It's not a big issue, but I feel for thouse with more major issues:
Q. What fruit is on today's fruit cheesecake?
A. I don't know. Does it matter?
Q. Is there any bleackcurrant in this?
A. I don't know. Does it matter?
(nb - to stand a chance of a correct answer, ask an open question without giving them a clue what answer is better.)
Q. So, Ian, is it the flesh of the fruit that causes you to be unwell or the juice?
A. I have no idea, and I don't wish to be violently ill while I experiment on this one. Omitting all blackcurrant from my diet is just fine.
Q. Are you sure you can't eat blackcurrants?
A. Yes, quite sure, thank you.
et cetera, ad nauseam, literally sometimes...

[venta.livejournal.com]

A friend of my mother's is violently allergic to - of all things - potato. (Given that she's of my mum's generation, I'm surprised she's survived, because I suspect she had the allergy before anaphyllaxis was a word anyone knew).

Given that restaurants often use potato starch as a cheap way of thickening sauces - but deny it because it's not the classical way to thicken some sauces - this one can be a minefield. Potato also seems such a hugely improbably thing to be allergic to that I suspect she might have difficulty convincing people.

[the-alchemist.livejournal.com]

That's interesting - I get the opposite thing. People claim there's wheat flour in sauces because they can't be bothered to check, and when I make them check, it turns out to be cornflour.

[venta.livejournal.com]

In fairness, I am half-remembering this from being told ages ago, so I may be getting it wrong! It may have been one particularly up-itself French restaurant that had that problem or something :)

(However, you have accidentally answered something I've been wondering about for ages, which is "is cornflour gluten-free". I thought it was, but only because I couldn't find anything saying it did have gluten in (as opposed to something definitely saying it didn't). It's nice to have someone informed make an authoritative statement on it :) )

[leathellin.livejournal.com]

Personally I think cornflour is a better thickener anyway.
Also buckwheat - really quite misnamed.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Buckwheat isn't wheaty? I had no idea.

(I don't currently cook for anyone who's gf, but I try to consider occasionally what I might do in case a friend suddenly springs a gf gf on me, or something :)

[leathellin.livejournal.com]

Buckwheat - not even a grass.
Used to make galettes (the second kind in the Wikipedia article), and galettes are served in a french restaurant in Richmond where it is possible to have some form of pancake for all three courses :-)

[venta.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm familiar with the eating of buckwheat, just not its antecendents :)

Mmm... galettes.

[phlebas.livejournal.com]

gf gf
Gah!

[venta.livejournal.com]

Sorry!

I persistently read "gf" as girlfriend, despite any context. I spent a long time once wondering why on earth the_alchemist was making a fuss about wanting "girlfriend pizza" before common sense kicked in.