Pine Nuts

[Duke Ellington]

Recently I bought some pine nuts from Lidls and ate some in a salad. For many days after I had a really strange taste in my mouth and everything I ate tasted bitter! for about a week.
I went online to try to find some information and found that other people have had the same problem.

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/YOURIDEAS/forums/ShowThread.aspx?PostID=11187&PageIndex=3

Has anyone on this web site experienced the same?
At first I didn't even know why I had this bitter taste but having done some searching on line I read somewhere that its the pine tree resin and if the nuts are left on the tree for too long the resin will be found in the nuts! and i seems to be a problem with pine nuts imported from China.
I sound like I am nuts dont I  ;D

Duke

[Duke Ellington]

[Barnowl]

Did you fry / dry fry them first?

[Duke Ellington]

No I used the nuts straight from the pack.

Duke

[Barnowl]

No I used the nuts straight from the pack.

Duke

We always dry fry them and haven't suffered the same experience but that may be just because (unknowingly) we haven't bought Chinese.

Thanks for the warning - we now know what to look for on the label and avoid, but I think we'll go on cooking them just in case  :)

[Baccy Man]

At first I didn't even know why I had this bitter taste but having done some searching on line I read somewhere that its the pine tree resin and if the nuts are left on the tree for too long the resin will be found in the nuts! and i seems to be a problem with pine nuts imported from China.

Popular theory but take it with a pinch of salt. Basically people that believe that are saying pine resin tastes bitter so logically the bitter pine nuts must contain resin from the tree they were growing on.

There are 2 known issues with pine nuts that are actually based on well documented facts.

Firstly shelled nuts (and unshelled nuts in warm conditions) deteriorate rapidly, becoming rancid within a few weeks or even days in warm humid conditions. Pine nuts are usually only available in shelled form, but due to poor storage, can have poor flavour and may be already rancid at the time of purchase. rancid pine nuts have a sharp/bitter taste which is immediately noticeable. Cooking rancid pine nuts significantly increases the bitter taste.

Secondly some pine nuts stored at 16-18°C can contain triglycerides formed by unsaturated fatty acids. This results in taste disturbances (bitter, metallic taste) developing 1-3 days after consumption and lasting for up to 21 days. Some of the pine nuts known to be asociated with taste disturbances originated from China. However, in many countries packaged pine nuts are not required to state the country of origin or the species of tree they are sourced from so it is impossible to conclusively link the effect to a particular species of tree  or source country. There are only a small percentage of pine nuts on the market affected by this issue.

[Little Bee]

I too have or should i say 'am' experiencing the exact effects right now.
I love nuts and eat them by the handful
Recently purchased a bag of pine nuts and had quite a few a couple of days ago resulting in a very bitter taste now in the back of my throat where is worse when i eat anything....does this sound the same duke Ellington??

This happened before a few months ago but i didn't then put 2&2 together!!!

I only started eating them since i brought an advacdo wrap from 'Pret A Manger' and these little nuts was inside which i liked very much so went out and brought some.

[Duke Ellington]

Thanks Baccy Man you explained that very well indeed. I must admit that I believe in the rancid theory and some stores do have a reputation for acquiring  stock that is past its best!!

Duke

[artichoke]

When I buy pine nuts I put them straight into the freezer to avoid them going rancid. I rarely eat them raw because I like the slightly singed taste when they are dry fried. It's quick and easy to sprinkle frozen nuts into a hot frying pan, and so far I have never noticed any bitterness.

[tim]

At their cost, one has to get it right??

Useful info, but haven't suffered - so far.

[Duke Ellington]

hi there

just to make it clear...there is no bitterness while eating the pine nuts...the bitterness occurs two or three days after eating the rancid pine nuts and ......it makes everything you eat thereafter taste bitter.

Duke

[lewic]

Very weird.. agree with Baccyman lots of nuts are rancid by the time they get to the shops though.

I wonder if the high fat content, particularly if it was rancid, gave your liver and gallbladder a bit of extra work to do, and it may be bile acids you can taste?

Milk thistle should help if this is the case.

[PurpleHeather]

I just had to research this. Wikipedia has enough to say to put me off buying them at all now, here is a brief but of what they say about taste.

Risks of eating pine nuts

The eating of pine nuts can cause serious taste disturbances, developing 1-3 days after consumption and lasting for days or weeks. A bitter, metallic taste is described. In general, a minority of pine nuts on the market present this problem. Though very unpleasant, there doesn't seem to be a real health concern.

This phenomenon was first described in a scientific paper in 2001.[6] Since the article, experiences of the phenomenon have been reported by hundreds of people worldwide (US, Canada, South Africa, Finland, Iceland, Germany, and many more).[7] [8]

The pine nuts involved typically contain triglycerides formed by 16-18° unsaturated fatty acids. No contamination with pesticide residues or heavy metals was found.

Some of the pine nuts involved were imported from China. However, in many countries packaged pine nuts are not required to state the country of origin or the species, and thus it is impossible to conclusively link the effect to a particular species or source country.