Hi Folks- I have found some resources to help me communicate my food allergy (pine nuts) while in France, Germany, Belgium, & The Netherlands. However, I am a little worried about two related issues. One is that pine nuts, unknown to many, are often an ingredient in pesto sauce- how do I say "pesto sauce" (as in "I'm allergic to")in German, French, Dutch? I haven't found any translation that I'm confident will convey the meaning. My other concern is that there may be other foods commonly served in these countries which contain pine nuts, so i'm asking if anyone is aware of any? Thanks for any help!
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
I've never encountered pine nuts in any German, Dutch or Belgian restaurant, so I doubt it will come up. In most of the typical tourist locations in Belgium and the Netherlands, most of the wait staff should speak English. But just in case, you can say "Ik ben allergisch van..." (pronounced "A-lergh-isk"). I'm not sure if there's a specific word for "pine nut", but "pine" is pronounced the same (but spelled "pijn"), and nuts is "notten".
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9215 posts
In Germany, pesto is pesto. It isn't something that would be mixed with anything else. It is a sauce that would only be served on pasta, so that shouldn't be a worry that you will get this accidentally. The only time I have seen them in anything else would be perhaps a salad or I recently had this in a bratwurst, but this was sold as a Roman bratwurst at a reconstructed Roman fort. You can google the spelling and pronunciation for pine nuts in any language you like and then just write this down. You can even look on Wiki for translations. So, in German it is: Pinienkerne
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Here at chez Tom, they usually serve a very American bowl of cereal for breakfast.
Posted by
Houten, Utrecht, Netherlands
73 posts
Pesto usually contains pine nuts, so you are right to be cautious. In the Netherlands, any waiter will understand allergic and allergy, pesto is pesto, but pine nuts are "pijnboompitten". You can find them in salads and off course carpaccio.
Are you allegic to all pine nuts, or just Chinese?
Posted by
OP
Madison, WI, USA
101 posts
Hi Ronald- I don't know whether I have a multi-cultural pine nut allergy & (short of some potentially lethal experimentation) no idea how to find out ;-) I must say your inclusion of "of course carpaccio" is EXACTLY why I'm posting to this board- I had no idea pine nuts are an ingredient in carpaccio. Americans seem to have a penchant recently for putting them in absolutely everything, & I'm concerned other countries' cooks do as well. Of course, it's easy to recognize them when they are whole, but it's impossible when they are ground up in sauces or flours. Thanks all for the tips! If you think of any others, they are appreciated, too.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
151 posts
Hi Layni, in French: "Je suis allergique aux pignes" or "Je suis allergique aux pignons" I think either "pignes" or "pignons" will convey the message - I'm not sure which is the better term. (juh swee allerjeek oh peenyon). Also - several years ago I bought allergy cards for my niece who was traveling in several countries in Europe. The cards had photos and can be translated into pretty much any language you wish. She used them throughout Europe and said it was terrific. The company's website is http://www.[INVALID]wisely.com/index.htm. I called them before I ordered to get advice and they were very helpful and understanding of what an important issue this can be. I don't think it was too expensive and well worth the money. Have a wonderful trip!