Is it safe to drink amaretto with a nut allergy?

January 9, 2004 9:39 PM

Can a person with a severe allergy to nuts drink amaretto safely? I remember reading it's actually made from the pit of a fruit (maybe apricots?), but I can't seem to find any details on the process.
posted by ferociouskitty to health & fitness (7 comments total)

Google says to stay away, as peanuts (!!!) are involved.
posted by majick at 10:22 PM on January 9, 2004

Peanuts aren't nuts though, they're beans. A person can be allergic to one and not another. I Am Not A Doctor.

Amaretto is flavoured with almonds so I guess it should be avoided if you suffer a nut allergy.

You also might want to research how to perform a tracheotomy just in case.
posted by bobo123 at 11:39 PM on January 9, 2004

I recall reading somewhere about using peach pits to flavour homemade amaretto; however all the recipes in a Google search call for almond extract...nary a peach pit to be seen.
posted by filmgoerjuan at 2:01 AM on January 10, 2004

Peaches and almonds are closely related, though; they're both in the genus Prunus. (And, IIRC, both peach pits and almonds contain cyanide in their natural state. Edible almonds are a mutation.)
posted by hattifattener at 3:42 AM on January 10, 2004

Err ... many fruits contain cyanide in their seeds, including apples, including the ones you eat. The quantities are so minute that you'd have to eat a hell of a lot of appleseeds to have any effect.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 6:05 AM on January 10, 2004

It all depends. I am allergic to some nuts and not others. Walnuts and brazil nuts could very well kill me. Peanuts (yes, I know, they are really a legume) and almonds I could eat all day long with no ill effect. Pecans, I seem to be able to tolerate. Other nuts... well, I don't want to risk it, in case I have a Walnut-type reaction. If you do decide to try it, make sure you have an Epi-pen on hand and someone to drive you to the ER.

Another food allergy thing I don't understand-- I am allergic to fish. Not as severely as nuts, but enough to stay away. EXCEPT for tuna. I can eat all the tuna I want. What's the deal with that? I figure I should be allergic to fish, or not.
posted by Shoeburyness at 2:26 PM on January 10, 2004

So Shoeburyness should stay away from nocino.

Interesting to note as well that the pit of apricots can be eaten. Opens just as an almond after drying.
posted by Dick Paris at 2:54 PM on January 10, 2004