If I were not on day five of an episode with no relief yet in sight, I probably would treat reports of Pine Nut Syndrome with a lot of skepticism. The condition sounds quite fantastical. Eat some bland little white nuts, and for the next week or two or more everything -- and by everything I mean everything; cheddar cheese, peanut butter cup ice cream, fresh squeezed orange juice, Good & Plenty, tap water even -- tastes astringent, metallic, ashen, in short, disgusting. Alas, it is just as bad as it sounds, and no fantasy. In my refrigerator I have a quart of buttermilk, a pint of cream, a dozen eggs, two pounds of unsalted butter, 8 ounces of Kerrygold salted butter, a dozen limes, a dozen juice oranges...and zero taste to make anything of this bounty. If that is not a warning to stay away from pine nuts for ever and ever....
