Nut Allergies, Pesto, and Other Italian Foods

Last week, at one of my family’s favorite Italian delis, Positano's in Sparta, NJ, my mother noticed that Positano was selling homemade pesto. Innocently, she asked whether he used walnuts or pine nuts in his recipe (also known as pinoli in Italy and pignoli in the US, pine nuts aren’t really nuts, but seeds harvested from many varieties of pine trees). He answered “pinoli” – of course pronouncing it in perfect Italian – and then, unsolicited, he said it actually was not selling well and he was going to stop making it because of people with food allergies.

Almost on the same day, we got a nice email from a former customer who recounted a bit of her trip to Europe and the issues she came across in Italy:

I just wanted to let you know that your cards were very valuable as we traveled on land through Italy and Spain with our 13 year old daughter who is severely allergic to peanuts and all tree nuts.  We gave the cards to our server in each restaurant and they invariably sent the owner or manager of the restaurant over to speak with us to discuss our daughter's limited dining options.  We were very surprised (and disappointed) to find that pizza and pasta sauce in Italy was not nut safe but would never have known same without your cards.

So I wonder, are pesto and other Italian sauces/dishes understood as dangerous territory for everyone with allergies to nuts? Do people avoid them as much as I do, to the point that some local Italian delis might soon stop making them?

Pesto is certainly very dangerous to me. It has been my experience that the majority of low-cost eateries that incorporate pesto into regular dishes (sandwiches, pasta salads, pizzas, etc.) use common off-the-shelf varieties that trade the costly pine nuts for walnuts, since they are cheaper. Although not authentic to the original Italian tradition, walnuts provide the texture and crunch of the pine nuts, just without the cost. When I was younger, I got sick so many times from store-bought pestos, as well as those made by many restaurants and eateries, that I avoid it almost always.

What about you? Are there certain prepared-foods in your world that you always try to avoid? Write a comment on this entry and let us know!