Is there something wrong with me? Does anybody else suffer from this problem? Let me back up. Throughout my entire life, I have eaten and enjoyed eggplant. I recall one day at my old apartment, I proposed cooking an eggplant dish with then-roommate Erin. She said she was allergic to eggplant — “It makes my mouth itchy.” Well that’s unfortunate, I thought. Then today I made this baked eggplant, sauteed spinach, fresh mozzarella and sundried tomato crostini, and found myself smacking my mouth afterwards, annoyed by this fuzzy, tingly itchy feel on my tongue.
burned by bruschetta
The eggplant itchy mouthfeel syndrome! Did Erin pass it on to me by co-habitation? Does one acquire it with age or with increased eggplant consumption? Whatever it is, what a total bummer.
I did a little research and found that an eggplant oral allergy was identified by the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology. Also, an article purporting that oral allergy syndrome, as it were, may be worsened by the presence of ragweed, which occurs after August 15 — uhh, now. Incidentally, this is also the best time of the year for eggplant! In many stripes and sizes. I know you’re all eating them as I write. Grilled and drizzled with olive oil, battered and fried, roasted and chilled or baba ghanoushed. You cannot resist those pearly teardrops of purpleness. So tell me, all you otherwise eggplant-happy eaters, are you experiencing what I’m experiencing? (Imagine me in pink headband and fringed sleeves: “Are you experienced? Have you ever been experienced (with the itchy oral eggplant syndrome)? Well, I have.”)
Truth be told, the itchy feel wasn’t so unpleasant that I couldn’t go on with my evening and forget about it completely after some drinks. I’d say it lasted a couple of hours. Also, I was drinking white wine along with this dish, and wonder if the alcohol could have possibly agitated whatever chemicals were going on in my mouth or dried out my tongue too much.
itching to attack
Aside: If you’re wondering why these photos look eight times more sophisticated than my usual ones, it’s because I stole my boyfriend’s digital camera to snap them while he was out (and since I left my camera at someone’s house). Ben recently got a new lens, too, and is very excited about having the same camera and lens as “the Smitten Kitchen Lady,” aka Deb. I know — Hooray, finally an upgrade! Well, I don’t know how long that will last. I barely know how to hold the thing, so consider this post a rare visual treat.
162 Responses
Aoife
The pictures look really great. As for the itchiness, I do get that occasionally get that, but it’s never bothered me enough to track the potential allergens. Besides, eggplant is so delicious, who can resist?
deb
Ooh, what’d ya borrow? It looks like a macro!
Probably for different reasons, but I get the same reaction from fresh pineapple, and though I like it, I find I swerve around it when its served because I hate the nudgy feeling in my mouth.
Sarah C.
hm, sounds like the same thing that happens to me after I eat Kiwi. You have developed and allergy my friend. Sucks!
Meredith
This sometimes happens to me after eating walnuts. Not eggplant, though.
Laura Wehrman
I have that, too. And with strawberries and kiwi. They make my tongue itch. Not enough to stop from eating them.
Judy
I used to have that with eggplant, bananas, and some other tropical fruit. One day when I was 25 I had half an avocado and had a severe enough allergic reaaction that I had to go to the hospital. Apparently these minor food allergies can get more severe as you get older so BE CAREFUL! I no longer eat anything that used to make my mouth a little ‘itchy’ or swollen…too dangerous and not worth the discomfort.
lorelei
my friend miranda has this problem unless the eggplant is really well-cooked. have you tried that?
dustin
Sounds like you have a nightshade problem. I have it too. It isn’t necessarily an allergy — it is a sensitivity issue, kind of like poison ivy.
You’ll probably find that it is worse in younger eggplants, especially when not thoroughly cooked.
Tomatoes are the same way, as are peppers and everything else in the nightshade family.
Sue
Definitly an allergy. That’s awful…be careful!
cristobal
I have OAS and have for years. It includes mango, avocado, eggplant, celery. Many people (not me) also have a problem with wine. My allergist says that as long as you take allergy medication before hand, it shouldn’t be much of a problem. Eggplant sort of bugs me, but avocado is just awful. I love avocado, so load up on antihistamenes (sp?) 1/2 an hour before eating them.
Yvo
Eggplant definitely gives me that feeling except when it’s deep fried. Or maybe I just don’t notice it then because my mouth is coated in oil? Ew…. haha. It sounds much nastier typed than it did in my head. (wait, it’s still in my head…) Anyways, be careful with your allergies. I also get this itchy mouth feeling with coconut and a few of my other allergies, though it’s not that bad, you should be wary like Judy said.
PS Beautiful pictures! I want a freaking DSLR >:T My camera is just about to die on me. And it’s not yet 2!
Katsu
They’re called oral allergies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_allergy_syndrome
Ren
Having heard some time ago that during ragweed times certain foods (wine and cantalope) should be avoided ( I don’t have hay fever) I never paid much attention to it. Now having developed hay fever and see the difference it makes avoiding the foods listed on the site you mentioned! Runny nose etc. After the season I plan on trying back some of the foods hopefully with no problems! Thanks for the “heads up”!
Jen
I’m looking here because I noticed the last couple times I’ve eaten eggplant My throat closes up a bit and I get a bit short of breath. Cough some. Now I’m concerned. I’ve never noticed it before.
Karen
My mom always salted and soaked the eggplant in water about 15-30 minutes prior to cooking as it draws out something from the eggplant which can cause the itchy mouth (the water will be brown after soaking).
As Nigella Lawson said “When it comes to family, I do what I’m told.” 🙂
Nadia
I also have the itchy-mouth problem w/eggplant, fresh pineapple, and kiwi. But not strawberries, or bananas, unless the bananas are really unripe.
I have read that if you gently salt and drain the eggplant prior to cooking it, it reduces the itchy mouthfeel thing. Also, if I eat canned pineapple, it doesn’t happen. But who wants to eat canned pineapple?
April
My daughter wouldn’t eat eggplant if I threatened her with her life!!! However, she gets the itchy mouth with ALL fresh fruits. The first time she had a reaction was to fresh lemonade, I thought something just went down wrong but she would never drink fresh lemonade again. Then it was apples, she LOVES apples, now they make her mouth itch. Now it’s every fresh fruit she tries to eat, including grapes. She quit eating carrots too, but never complained that they made her mouth itch . . . hmmm.? She can eat any fruit if it’s been cooked or canned (processed). Now, she won’t eat candy bars or homemade fudge with pecans or any nut aside from almonds . . . almonds don’t make her mouth itch she says. Well, the other day, we went into a Five Guys Burgers & Fries (she’d never been). For those of you unfamiliar with Five Guys, they have boxes of fresh peanuts (in the shell) for their customers to snack on while their food is prepared. So, we (my husband and I) sit down to munch on peanuts while we wait, and she gets a whiff of them (not sure if I breathed in her direction or if a breeze blew some of the dust her way) and she started coughing . . . not bad and there was no other reaction BUT, with everything else she’s developed “itchiness” from, it terrifies me that she’s going to so into anaphalactic shock some time when I’m not expecting it. I’m making her an appointment with an allergist.
Oh, I don’t really like eggplant but the pics sure make it look tempting . . . might have to try it again sometime.
jake
I have had the above symptoms for about 10 years now. Yesyerday I ate eggplant concealed in a sandwich and not only did my throat feel constricted and scratchy, but my hearing seemed to fail…it sounded like I was underwater for most of the day… weird.
Not Eating Out in New York » Blog Archive » Baba Ghanoush: Eggplant Mush
[…] find it no coincidence that so many cultures like to tame eggplant by beating them to a pulp. My run-in with not-so-well-cooked eggplant earlier this summer has put me off the poisonous plants for a […]
Mel
I never knew so many people had this problem; I thought I was weird because my tongue hurt and my ears itch sometimes when I eat eggplant or cantalope. I feel so much better now!
Alex
This is quite a surprise to find so many people with these symptoms, afterall everyone I know pulls a strange face at me when I list the healthy foods I am allergic to. Sucks – strawberries, apples, kiwi, banana, plums, nuts, carrots, cherry tomatoes. My anxiety has gone through the roof – I am paranoid about anaphalaxia to the point of getting an epi pen recently and I have an appointment with an allergist next month. Why?! Why me? I just want the allergist to tell me that I do have oral allergies but not anaphalaxis. I want to get to the bottom of this and am going to look into naturopathy. If I get anywhere with wiping out these allergies I will let you all know.
Teresa
I’m happy to know I’m not alone. The only other food sensitivity I have that I know of is to ginger root. Gourmet ginger ale would probably kill me. Cheap ginger ale and gingersnaps make me itch. I have also broken out in hives. Does anyone else have this? I’ve been thinking for a long time about going to an allergist and now that I have a little one, I may just do it for peace of mind.
Quentin1212
I have that same Itchy Feeling it sucks for me becuz I GET IT OFF PRACTICALLY EVERY SINGLE FRUIT!!!! Grapes,kiwi,apples,oranges,strawberries, i get the itchy feeling..Only can foods do it for me…I still eat the fresh fruits on occasions even tho i no wat will happen its just so good
Dina
It’s not an allergy but a sensitivity/intolerance to either the chemicals in the food or the ragweed. Without getting too technical, an allergy will throw you into anaphylatic shock and can kill you whereas an intolerance is uncomfortable and more of a lifestyle challenge. Sort of like consuming less, eh?
Very beautiful photos – I might make them, as eggplants are in season down under, but will cook them a little longer as I, too, have the problem with nightshades.
Jodie
A year or two ago, I ate half an apple. It gave me an itchy, painful mouth and ears plus tingly lips, and then, within 20 minutes, brought on asthma. Apples had never been a problem for me before. After a scratch test, an allergist told me, “My, you do have a reaction to apples!” Last week, I reacted in the same way to small pear. Now, as I read the other comments, I worry this will broaden to include still more foods!
laura
all my life I thought that everyone had this affliction! I happened to mention it in passing to a friend last year and she thought I was crazy. this is when I knew that I must have an allergy!
BB
The last couple times Ive eaten eggplant I noticed I started coughing. Tonight I had eggplant and I couldnt stop coughing. I had to stop eating it and throw it away!
nadia
I’m itching while I type. Was worried cos i’m not an allergy sufferer at all so googled immediately. I roasted up some eggplants just now and became itchy. I remembered a friend saying they’re poisonous if you don’t soak in salty water. Guess that’s why it’s taken all these years to cook them myself! How long till the itchiness goes away?
Kate
I get a sore mouth from eggplant, banana, walnuts, strawberries and watermelon. I’m glad to see other people have this problem and I’m not imagining it.
Kate
Oh and pineapple also gives me the same reaction. I am just cooking eggplant now and testing to see if it makes my mouth hurt (which it is) so I now think it’s more than just cooking it the right way–it’s been roasting for 40 minutes now and is good and soft and still causing my mouth to sting.
Alex
GREAT NEWS!!!
I am cured:
I wrote a few entries up that I had oral allergy syndrome. Well, I went to the allergist and my allergy to Birch Bark Pollen was confirmed and responsible for the large majority of the foods I couldn’t eat. A latex allergy was responsible for the kiwi fruit, bananas, hazelnut and avocado reactions.
Through a friend I was told about NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique)so went to see a NAET Practitioner in January 2008, Jocelyn DeVillers, who muscle tested me and we found that I had a weak muscle response to most items she tested. One by one we have used NAET to treat each item. After 9 natural treatments I have overcome so many more allergies than just the 9 we treated. After the sugar treatment (lactose is a sugar too) I cleared for absolutely every allergy to a natural substance! We then did a chemical treatment and now we are moving onto emotional sensitivites. I have learnt that emotion plays a great role in the development of allergies – traumatic experiences etc. I ate bananas all week for the first time in 6 1/2 years! I ate at Pizza Hut for my sons birthday the day after learning I was clear. I have so much energy now.
Good luck to everyone – clear your allergies. http://www.naet.com
Learn alot about yourself in the process.
Alex
Alex
…What I meant by a “chemical treatment” is that we treated my allergy to chemicals.
enjay
I’ve had the same problem with eggplant and sour fresh fruit..there is a solution to the eggplant one as far as I know. If you salt it well and drain it before cooking, and if roasting it (as I do for baba ghanoush), leave the roasted peeled eggplant in a strainer to drain off, the bitters drain away..it helps take the itch away!
Scott
I never had food allergies when I was young, but ate some sliced up strawberries on my cereal today and my throat felt really itchy as well as my eyes. That’s a new one for me. I hope I don’t get related allergies.
My intestines react violently to small amounts of uncooked and unprocessed onion. It’s like eating a fast-acting laxative since everything will be out the other side within about 60 to 90 minutes. I never had a problem until I was around 25, but my dad always avoided onions and my older brother warned me about what was coming with respect to onions. Luckily for me, small to moderate amounts of processed onions don’t make me react. Processed can mean thoroughly cooked, powdered, pickled or soaked in salsa (especially cooked salsas). I love onions, but it’s surprising how hard they are to avoid when eating out and people just think you’re being “picky” when you tell them to leave them out and often don’t follow the instructions and they have to be picked out of the food.
stephani
i too hate that itchy feeling having eaten it and loved it most of my life. I have found that soaking it does help but even more so younger, smaller eggplants are better. for me the allergy is based on the seeds and the chemicals in them so younger eggplant have less seeds making them easier to consume. While the itchy mouth does not overly bother me, I grow concerned.With many allergies, overtime a serious reaction can develop. Hope this helps.
Marissa
I realize this post is rather old, but I found this because I’m currently having these symptoms. Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, and I thought it was normal to have a light tingling itch. I never consumed a lot of it before, but I did tonight…
Basically my left sinuses itch like hell right now. This was 30 minutes after I ate…It began on the left roof of my gums, then down my throat. My left nostril started to itch a bit and so did the inside of my ear. I thought I was being delirious and scratched away the itches with my gums until I realized I could really be allergic to something.
I told my parents and I tried to figure out what I could be allergic to…I mentioned about how eating eggplants kind of made me a little itchy all these years and they were confused because they don’t experience it. So I kind of narrowed it down from there. I asked my parents keep an eye on me in case anything worsens, but using my sinus rinse kit helped alot.
I was always proud that I was never allergic to anything. Turns out something I thought was normal was an allergy all this time. Now I’ll rethink any slight reaction to food I may have. I think I get this with cantaloupe and honeydew too.
Too bad, I really love my eggplant dishes too! I’m now afraid this reaction will worsen with age… 🙁
Julie
Thank you for legitimizing my eggplant allergy! My mouth feels like it’s been cut up and such when I eat it. Thanks
Wilda
I just read this blog when I decided to find out if allergy to eggplant was limited to me. I read all of the entries on the blog and thought I should share my recent experience too. I have had an allergy to eggplant for over 20 years. It started with a scratchy throat. I would eat eggplant which I love and afterwards my throat would be bother me but never enough to stop my eating eggplant. Over the years it worsened. I began to cough and then cough more with every enjoyed dish. Rattatouie was one of my favorites. About 15 years ago I had baba gnoush and began coughing so uncontrollably that tears were streaming down my face and I had great difficulty breathing. Since then I have avoided eggplant, making sure I don’t eat things that may be in disguise, always telling restaurants that I have a severe allergy, etc. and have been able to avoid a worse reaction. Until, this past Thursday when I had a late afternoon lunch with a friend in Montreal. It had eggplant (a tiny thin slice along with a similar looking piece of zuchinni that had been lightly cooked). I noticed it after I had moved my food around a bit and saw that it looked somewhat darker than the other piece of vegetable. I removed it from my plate and ate the salad, including the zuchinni. Big mistake. The salad and the zuchinni had touched the eggplant and that is all it took–just the slightest bit can cause a disaster if you have a bad allergy to it and each time it gets worse. I began to show symptoms that evening at dinner but thought it was mosquitoes since we were eating outside. Later that night I got up because by lower bottom was painfully hot. I noticed that I had large areas of swollen welts and by morning my upper legs front and back, arms, back stomach, and most other areas other than the lower legs were the same–large red burning and itching areas of skin. I took Benadryl and my husband and I began our trip home to the USA in our RV hoping to check out some of the parks and area of 1000 islands in Canada and New York. We found a lovely park and had a good evening–with my discomfort continuing. That night I noticed my upper lip was beginning to swell on the right side. With more Benadryl it didn’t seem to stop. We had breakfast and packed up deciding that we needed to get to a pharmacy and see if they could help. They couldn’t–I was already doing everything they could help me with and to no avail at this point. The pharmacist told me to get to a hospital quickly for treatment. He gave us directions to the hospital about half hour away. I was already in distress when we stopped at the pharmacy. When we got to the hospital I was going into anaphalatic shock. The hospital triaged me immediagely–heart monitor, oxygen, and a drip of epenephrine and then prednisone. Within half hour the swelling of the lips had stopped and the itching was subsiding. They watched me for three hours to be sure there was not a return of the symptoms. The doctor gave me a prescription to take for the next three days of prednisone to prevent recurring symptoms. He told me if I had a relapse to get to a hospital immediately. This is Sunday evening. I still have swelling, the skin looks like I have been burned and the bad botox job that appeared in the lips is almost gone with some swelling still on the face and around the eyes. I am giving you the details because the reaction was not immediate–over days and with Benadryl it worsened. Now I will be even more careful. For me this is a death notice. It takes very little to set this off when you have a severe allergy and many of you seem to be moving in that direction. Be warned. Take it seriously and don’t play around with it. If you have any symptoms stop eating eggplant. I know of no method of preparation that will prevent this in the cooking of eggplant, old or young eggplant or small or large. Like those with peanut and other nut allergies it is a deadly food for us.
Good luck to all of you. Find another food and learn to like it just as much.
Laura
I’m not sure if this will help anyone, but I only realized my eggplant allergy when I ate it in a restaurant. My mom makes it all the time and one day I put together that in the restaurant they leave the skin on, but my mom takes it all off (she just says that’s the way her mom did it). My allergy isn’t to the whole eggplant, but to the purple skin. If I’m not careful and get a bit of that in my cooking, it feels like my lips are burning and my tongue and cheeks itch considerably.
Maybe someone else can benefit from slicing off the rind? It’s not too tough with a sharp enough knife.
Andres
I’m glad I found this blog. I didn’t know there could be such a thing as allergy to eggplants! My tongue doesn’t get all bumpy and itchy every time I eat eggplant, so I wonder if I’m only allergic to certain parts or certain types of eggplants. As far as I recall, I’ve never got that itchy feeling with japanese eggplants. Most of the time, I don’t get it at home (where I take the skin off and wash well),… so maybe it’s the skin, I don’t know! I’ll have to start paying attention.
I get the same annoying feeling with certain types of blue cheese. But I’ve never had any bad symptoms besides the bumby itchy tongue, which doesn’t last more than an hour or so.
Thanks for all the info. I’m glad I got an answer for my symptoms.
Steve
I don’t get an itchy mouthfeel, my symptom is after eating the eggplant skin (which i love) about 30 minutes later I get a couple painful swelled sores on the side edge of my tongue towards the back of my mouth. They’re very painful for about 4 hours then disappear. I’ve noticed it only happens when I eat the eggplant skin, not the flesh.
Jackie Romanillos
About 5 years ago I went to an Italian restaurant and ordered an eggplant with garlic and oil entree. After eating 1/4 of it, I suddenly felt this discomfort in my tongue. I had to stop eating and push the eggplant dish aside. I felt like my tongue got scorched. All through my life I have always felt a bit of itchiness in my tongue when eating eggplant. Not so much the Asian type but the big Italian eggplant. Ever since then I have lost my ability to eat spicy/hot food. I hate it so much since I am a foodie!
I wish I can regain my ability to enjoy spicy foods!!!!
I am waiting for one day to regain my ability to enjoy spicy food!!!
sam
I just googled itchy mouth after eating eggplant, and am glad to find I’m not the only one. I just made a yummy dish and not only did my mouth get itchy and burn, but a tiny paper cut I had on my hand was killing me after slicing the eggplant. I have never had this before, but tonight I was lazy and didn’t soak in salted water first – I just peeled, sliced and grilled – it was fully cooked so I really think that soaking is the key – and wear gloves if you have ever had a problem and have a cut.
Strange thing about the night veggies, I just had a rheumatologist tell me to stay away from them because I have had swelling/pain in my hand joints. I tested negative for arthritis, but my joints are so swollen it looks like I have it. He said night veggies can cause that too, so be careful if you have the itch, it can worsen to painful/ugly joints – my hands look like a little old ladies knobby hands and I am only 39, though so far no other joints have been affected. Actually I was stunned that I tested negative for arthritis everyone who looked at my hands thought I had it. I will now have to see if eating the eggplant tonight makes my hands hurt in the near future. Think I will try to skip it or take a benadryl before hand if I simply can’t resist.
Laurel
Last night I had a weird reaction to a raw unpeeled carrot (well it was partially peeled). It was a pretty big carrot and I was eating the whole thing and as I got to the stem end my tongue started burning as if I had eaten a hot pepper. I drank milk to reduce the burning and this faded away after about 40 minutes. But then I developed a pretty severe sore throat, which I still have today. I was wondering if there might have been pesticide on the top end of the carrot, but after reading this, maybe it was an allergic reaction. I have never had a reaction to any food before in my life.
Kanika
OMG! The exact same thing happened to me last night. In addition, my top lip began to swell. Those collagen lip injecting woman would have been super jealous of my pouty mouth….
tara
the itchy thing only happens when i eat raw (or lightly cooked) eggplant. when it is fully cooked(baked or fried) i don’t have that experience. this also happens with almonds. when i soak them i can eat them, otherwise i have a reaction. i can also eat young coconut, but not mature ones. i have sooo many food issues.
Shiva
I first discovered my allergy to eggplant when I became aware that I had a slight shortness of breath and very slight tightness in my chest whenever I had eaten it. I thought, hmm weird. I should have taken it seriously since on an outing to a wonderful Greek restaurant the babaghanouge caused my gums, soft palette, and throat to swell and I was very short of breath. It scared me but, subsided so fast that I did not freak out too bad. Now I just look longingly at the beautiful eggplant and try to remind myself, “oh well, it doesn’t have any nutrition, anyway.”
Byron7
I´ve lots of food reactions. In case of eggplants it´s just to start my asthma 24h long. Never touch them again.
P. Parrish
I don’t seem to have allergies, but yes, eggplant often makes my mouth sore. So do walnuts sometimes and not completely ripe bananas. I notice in the posts that this combination is not unusual. Maybe there’s an enzyme present that sometimes can affect some people.
lucy
I looked up eggplant allergy just now because after my dinner of baked eggplant the bottom of my feet itched, then my neck and shoulders a lot-now my legs. Spreading! I never heard of being allergic to eggplant. I’ll soak next time.