654197 Tue Sep 22 13:07:43 -0700 2009 9 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 5049839 I'm writing a story for The Baltimore Sun about people who experience a bitter or metallic taste in their mouths after eating pine nuts. It can last for two weeks. Seems to be associated with Chinese and/or Korean varieties of the nuts. Any sufferers out there? Tue Sep 22 13:07:43 -0700 2009 1110938 LauraVoz 1 5056976 Me! A few days ago (week?) I woke up in the morning and had a weird bitter taste in the back of my mouth, sort of like the rear 1/3 of my tongue. I figured it had to do with a lozenge I had taken (which I had taken because my mouth had been weirdly slightly inflamed for a few days). Anyway, it didn't go away a couple days later and I noticed things like a chocolate bar seemed to enhance the bitterness. So onto google I went and read about pine mouth, and I had been cooking with, and randomly snacking on pine nuts the week or so before that. Safeway brand "Whole Pine Nuts - Baking nuts". Product of China. The bitterness has probably decreased to about 1/2 in the 3-4 days since I looked it up, and unlike some of what I've read my affliction wasn't *terrible* just slightly annoying. Thu Sep 24 23:27:29 -0700 2009 5049839 1090965 DizzyEdge 1 5077298 I am a local reader of the Baltimore Sun. I am so relieved to see that this will be a Sun article. I think many more people have experienced this, but don't have the resources to explain why they experience this terrible taste. This will draw more attention to it! For the past two nights, I have been making green beans with pine nuts and parmesan cheese. This is my favorite vegetable. I confess, I have done some snacking in between throwing them in the pan. Today at breakfast, I couldn't stomach my english muffin. I was convinced that cleaning products had gotten into them since they were on the counter, near where I was spraying. That's what it tasted like, cleaning products. All day it has been unbearable. Every time I begin to chew, it all comes back, leaving a lingering taste for at least 20 minutes. Even when I had a glass of wine. Two years ago, the same thing happened, sending me to a trip to the doctor, convinced I had an allergy. The doctor had no explanation for me, leaving me feeling like I had made this up. I remember it lasting for at least a week. The strange thing is, I have eaten pine nuts in between episodes, leaving me to wonder what it is. My pine nuts were purchased at Giant and are of the Chinese variety. I am on day one of the bitter taste in my mouth and not looking forward to eating this week. Sat Oct 03 19:36:32 -0700 2009 5049839 1113742 smfret 1 5101502 Hi -- don't know whether or not you're still looking for people who experienced this... I'm having a bout of "pine mouth" right now. I made some pesto sauce over the weekend and, while I was making it, I tossed a couple of handfuls of the pine nuts in my mouth. Everyone ate the pesto, but it seems that I'm the only one who developed this horrible after-taste - and it's truly horrible - so I'm going to assume that quantity might be a factor. It's odd that the bitter after-taste develops a couple days after eating the pine nuts. I was ready to make an appointment with my doctor, but glad I did a little research on the Internet before I did, because I'm certain it's the pine nuts that's causing the problem (and my doc would have probably thought I was crazy). I bought the pine nuts at the local grocery store (SaveMart) but didn't retain the package, so I have no clue about their origin -- whether they're from China or Korea or ??? I'm on day 2 of "pine mouth" and I'm feeling very hungry. Everything tastes disgusting, so I"m just eating a bare minimum to stave off the growing hunger... Ugh! Tue Oct 13 21:25:44 -0700 2009 5049839 1116176 jagronley 1 5121109 I'm suffering from a horrible bitter taste in my mouth and my wife was ready to drag me to the emergency room for cadmium poisoning until we read all of the posts on this being a side effect from pine nuts. We had a big salad with pine nuts my wife roasted over the stove for dinner 2 days ago. I had the leftover pine nuts as a snack at work the next day. Now (2 days after the first batch) almost everything I eat tastes VERY bitter. Pineapple and other sweet acidic things fare better than other items, but not by much. The strange thing is that my wife isn't suffering the same symptoms. Perhaps it is because I had the extra pine nuts as a snack the following day. Weird... Wed Oct 21 16:54:20 -0700 2009 5049839 1118179 jgary 1 5121150 I stopped eating pine nuts a few years ago because of this. I thought at the time they were just rancid nuts but the experience of having a lingering bitter aftertaste in my mouth put me off them for good. I make my pesto without them and no longer add them to salads, etc. Wed Oct 21 17:09:00 -0700 2009 5049839 101907 ms. clicquot 1 5125553 there is a discussion about that on the Quebec (including montreal) baord. search for "pine nuts" Fri Oct 23 11:08:01 -0700 2009 5049839 108538 hala 1 5125920 The pine nuts used by European and Middle Eastern cooks are from a different species of pine tree. Unlike pine nuts from China or Korea, these usually don't cause a lingering bitter taste in the mouth. Fri Oct 23 13:17:30 -0700 2009 5049839 1114540 cheesemaestro 1 5126700 Hi from Aussie. I was so glad to find out about pine mouth today. My taste problem began on Saurday and finally seemed to have cleared by Wednesday. Then on Friday it returned. Yuk. I have similar symptoms to your other contacts. I innocently bought pine nuts in the week before the Saturday to make a homemade pesto. I also sprinkled them on my salads a few times and I am sure my recurrance occured because I pigged out on them on the Thursday Silly me! Now I know this horrible taste will last about another 4-5 days.The packet stated that the nuts were packaged in Austalia from imported product. I might ring the company to ask from where the nuts came. Fri Oct 23 20:08:55 -0700 2009 5049839 1118714 WILLSY 1 5196572 i've had pine mouth for about two days now - from pine nuts purchased within the last mouth or so at trader joe's. a question for chowhounds out there from the curious cook side of me: so this pine mouth has a bitter taste, right. has anyone found any foods that combat the bitterness (or even complement it)? I'm thinking about the flavor bible (which i don't own) but wondering what that book suggests for complementing bitter flavors? if i find any good combinations i'll post about them, but for now i'm just hoping this goes away by thanksgiving. Fri Nov 20 10:47:32 -0800 2009 5049839 138878 aahnnt