What am I allergic to (Mexican restaurant edition)?

October 18, 2023 11:16 AM

Very occasionally, when I eat at a restaurant, usually a Mexican or Tex-Mex restaurant (but not always), I have a brief (10-15 minute) spell of sneezing and runny nose. (But not spicy-food results.) It doesn't happen often, but often enough that I have mentally correlated it with Mexican restaurants - but some restaurants never set it off. There's ...

I know you're not my allergist (I don't have an allergist at this point), but what ingredient can you think of that might be setting it off? Difficulty - there are no visible ingredients that I don't also cook with at home!

Example: I ate at a local cheap Mexican place a few weeks back that I don't eat at regularly - had the Taco Tuesday ground beef tacos special, chips, and salsa, and had no reaction. Today, I ate at the same restaurant, had a shredded beef chimi, beans and rice, and chips and salsa (possibly different varieties of salsa), and had a sneezing fit when I left. I couldn't see anything visible in the food that I wouldn't also have used at home - flour tortilla, beef, onions, tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, cilantro, avocado (in the salsa), peppers, garlic, etc. This leads me to believe it's a seasoning or something that's setting me off - help me think of what seasonings or other ingredients might be in use in a Mexican restaurant that I wouldn't be using at home and wouldn't be in common use in other restaurants!

(This is by no means a life-threatening thing, or even really an issue as it usually passes quickly, just a curiosity thing.)

posted by jferg to Food & Drink (33 answers total)

Probably some aerosolized spices. Maybe chorizo hitting the grill?
posted by amanda at 11:17 AM on October 18, 2023

Response by poster: Will try not to threadsit, but while that is possible, it almost always happens a few minutes after I leave the restaurant (I should have been more clear about that), which is why I think it's more about something in the food than something environmental.
posted by jferg at 11:21 AM on October 18, 2023

Cilantro in the salsa seems like an obvious candidate.
posted by rhymedirective at 11:33 AM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Could it be higher fat content (restaurant food tends to have a bit more of everything - oil included) that's causing some silent reflux? Reflux can irritate sinuses which can then trigger sneezing and coughing. Might be the link. Might not!
posted by eekernohan at 11:37 AM on October 18, 2023

Response by poster: @rhymedirective: That was absolutely my first thought too, as well as avocado - but I cook with both of those things at home somewhat regularly.
posted by jferg at 11:39 AM on October 18, 2023

Best answer: Maybe some less common (in American cooking) herb like culantro or epazote that may also not be in every dish you're ordering?
posted by sevenless at 11:41 AM on October 18, 2023 [7 favorites]

You might be able to go back to that place during off hours sometime and ask them - I had meal A one day with no reaction, then meal B with tons of sneezing, any idea what the difference might be?
posted by trig at 12:06 PM on October 18, 2023

Light exposure can trigger sneezing. Maybe you stepped into the sunlight and that was a trigger.

I also have sneezing fits during certain times of the year when dry grasses are blooming in the late summer and fall, and when the Santa Ana winds blow the fine dust around during the same season. So, maybe stepping outside into a cloud of fine dust or pollen.

Sudden cold temperatures can also trigger sneezing.
posted by effluvia at 12:10 PM on October 18, 2023 [3 favorites]

I don’t know, but I often get an intensely itchy nose when eating out and have never worked out why. It’s happened so often that I now don’t know if it’s just somehow self-reinforcing and caused by association, or if there’s genuinely an ingredient or cooking method that causes it.

I used to experience photosensitive sneezing but this is a very different sensation, it’s more like the skin on the outside of my nose is itching, rather than the interior tickle or a sneeze.

I don’t eat chilli at all, because I’m hypersensitive to it, so it’s not caused by that, though maybe there’s some related sensitivity causing the itchy nose.

Which is no help to you, really, but still, nasal solidarity and all that.
posted by penguin pie at 12:20 PM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

What about cumin? I see a lot of recipes without cumin out there, but it is very common in Mexican/Tex Mex food. There might be a tiny amount in a spice blend, but then a restaurant where they do their own might use more, causing your sensitivity. For me, it fits with the difference between ground and shredded beef, because I would probably use a lot more cumin for a rub for a barbecue than as seasoning for ground beef. I don't know why, that's just what I do out of habit.
posted by mumimor at 12:25 PM on October 18, 2023

Best answer: I see that you think it’s more likely food than environmental, but it could be a cleaning product that is more commonly used in certain types restaurants for whatever reason.

Does it ever happen with takeout? That would suggest food vs environmental.
posted by maleficent at 12:25 PM on October 18, 2023

Response by poster: @sevenless: That's the kind of things I was thinking of. I have epazote at home but VERY rarely use it. I don't think I own any culantro, will have to check that out.

@maleficient: That's an interesting possibility. One of the workers did wipe down a couple tables near me today while I was finishing my lunch. I don't recall it ever happening with takeout but I'll keep that in mind.

Thanks for the other outside the box ideas, but it's not light-triggered sneezing, a.) it's not _immediately_ upon leaving the restaurant, b.) it doesn't happen when leaving other buildings, and c.) it happens at night too. I also don't think it's _outdoor_ environmental (pollen, dust) as it correlates with restaurants, not walking outside in general, even in the same area.
posted by jferg at 12:34 PM on October 18, 2023

Best answer: There's also different versions of thyme, marjoram, and oregano. Maybe some kind of mint or mint marigold? As trig suggests it may be worth asking sometime what "uncommon" herbs or spices may be in your order.

Or maybe visit a good Mexican grocery if you have one and see if something sets you off.
posted by sevenless at 12:59 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]

How long has this been happening?
posted by kensington314 at 1:06 PM on October 18, 2023

Are you drinking something other than water?
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:08 PM on October 18, 2023

Response by poster: @kensington314: Several years, but really only maybe a couple times a year.

@JoeZydeco: Today, just water. Usually I only have water or iced tea, but don't specifically remember about other times it's happened.
posted by jferg at 1:12 PM on October 18, 2023

I'm guessing there's something about cooked chilis that is setting you off. The ground beef tacos probably use chili powders and the salsa uses raw chili, but the shredded beef chimichanga probably use some kind of rehydrated chili like anchos or guajillos. These might get toasted, then rehydrated, then pureed and then cooked. The combo of the oil and chilis might mean that the capsaicin is hitting you a little later and a little stronger. I think Mexican and Tex Mex restaurants do this process more often than we would do it at home, where we'd normally just use some dried spices.
posted by vunder at 1:22 PM on October 18, 2023

Best answer: I'm going to vote for this not having to do with food: it happens only very occasionally, not at every Mexican restaurant, and not due to any specific food item you've identified. Additionally, most or all of the spices and ingredients in Mexican food are going to be found in other cuisines, like onions, garlic, salt, oregano, cinammon, maybe some chocolate now and again, maybe some cumin. If you find that you get the sneezes when you eat at a super-regionally specific restaurant, this may be different, but you didn't say that to be the case and I doubt it's the case from the foods you described as examples. Most of the things you eat at a Mexican restaurant are likely to be in the average home pantry. Some chiles may be an exception here, but they're likely to also be in the food at places that don't give you the sneezes.

Personally, I'd bet that once in awhile you hit on a restaurant that stores its take-out containers in a way that they get really dusty or get some kind of cleaning chemical on them. Restaurants are terrible at keeping things clean or keeping cleaning chemicals off of things that they shouldn't be on.

Maybe there is a coincidence that this happens for you at a few Mexican places, or maybe it's just an association in your mind and so you only remember or notice it when it happens after eating at a Mexican place. Our minds are great at lying to us. See, for example, all the people who have terrible nightmares after eating MSG in a Chinese restaurant but not after eating MSG in a bag of Doritos.
posted by kensington314 at 1:27 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: @kensington314: Yeah, I'm honestly thinking the cleaning product direction may be the most likely culprit, since there's not anything jumping out from others suggestions and I do cook with a pretty wide variety of herbs/spices/etc at home - I was mostly just hoping there was some secret ingredient I wasn't thinking of.

And yeah, it certainly may be confirmation bias regarding Mexican restaurants - those are just the bulk of the specific instances I can recall right now, and it was fresh in my head today.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions - if anyone thinks of a secret Mexican food ingredient that I might not know about, definitely follow up!
posted by jferg at 1:39 PM on October 18, 2023

See if you can find some Fabuloso to smell. IME, Mexican restaurants usually seem to use the lavender one. Although it doesn’t smell anything like lavender to me.
posted by MexicanYenta at 1:54 PM on October 18, 2023 [8 favorites]

I’m also thinking it could be Fabuloso. Super strong smelling and always sets off my allergies.
posted by sucre at 1:58 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]

My mother's husband was a chef with Mexican roots and he would make homemade salsa in the house that involved dicing and boiling fresh jalapeño peppers. The boiling jalapeño steam would make my mom sneeze a whole lot, and it would mildly irritate my nostrils as well.
posted by effluvia at 2:25 PM on October 18, 2023

I'm eager to hear whether takeout food has ever caused this reaction for you. Perhaps an experiment! I love experiments.
posted by MiraK at 2:38 PM on October 18, 2023

I don't have an answer for you, but I don't think you are crazy.

My wife has broken out in hives several times after eating at some of the local Mexican places (or their take out). Not every time we go, but enough to make a connection, and they are the only places it happens. Her trigger is definitely not chili peppers or cumin, at least she doesn't react to the stuff we use at home.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 3:07 PM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Interesting! My husband gets a similar thing that we correlate with really fancy, good restaurant meals. Like 10-15 sneezes, and really stuffed up. Almost always after leaving the restaurant, certainly after finishing dinner, which argues against something atmospheric like cleaners. We have, however, occasionally noticed a totally not-fancy, not-amazing meal giving him the same reaction. And we've never figured a common ingredient that wouldn't show up in many other meals.

The fact that it's after the meal for both you is interesting!
posted by ldthomps at 3:17 PM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Mexican rice (and quite a few other dishes, depending on the restaurant) often contain what is generically referred to as Knorr (powdered chicken bullion). It might be an ingredient in that.

My first guess was also toasting or charring chiles, but if it only happens after you leave, that seems unlikely.
posted by ssg at 4:14 PM on October 18, 2023

I think you're settling in on a path, but I will suggest that if you're eating iceberg lettuce, it might be sulfites. Most places don't use them anymore, but I'm sure some do, and salad stuff, especially lettuce, is a possible vector. Gardenia sometimes has it, and I've gotten reactions off of other pickled vegetables. Runny nose is the first thing I get.
posted by Gorgik at 6:04 PM on October 18, 2023

Sazon or adobo were the first ingredients that came to mind. I have really only ever seen them used in Latin restaurants, but don’t often see either in non-Latin home kitchens. There are different varieties, so the ingredients might vary across them. Certain restaurants may prefer a certain variety (like the one with saffron vs the one with Annatto) but if it’s not available, they may use a different one. Or maybe different blends are used in different recipes. It could help explain the randomness.
posted by August Fury at 7:27 PM on October 18, 2023

possibly an allergy to pineapple?
posted by zippy at 8:06 PM on October 18, 2023

One of my friends starts sneezing when she drinks ice water. Do you drink more ice water when the food is spicy?
posted by gt2 at 8:38 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]

I'm going to disagree with the sentiment that many/all restaurants use the same ingredients as a Mexican place. No way. Mexican places use a wide variety of dried chilis for all kinds of stuff. What I think is, that much like many to all Mexican restaurants, they make their own salsa (not to be artisnal but because it's just so much cheaper to make) which involves boiling and then blending dry chilis (and sometimes blending dried chilis and spices without hydrating first). And like many restaurants they don't do this daily. But when they do, man, it's like homemade tasty pepper spray. So that's why it doesn't happen every day. And although you use those ingredients, I'd be impressed as hell if you are adding 3 types of dried chillis to boiling water and then blending a half gallon of it....

So final answer: store made salsa made on certain days.

Ps. Start a food diary. What, when, where. You'll figure out the pattern quickly.
posted by chasles at 6:46 AM on October 19, 2023

Can you go back to the same restaurant that most recently made you sneeze and order the exact same items that made you sneeze before but to go and take them home and eat them and see if you still sneeze?
posted by TestamentToGrace at 9:13 PM on October 19, 2023 [2 favorites]

Additionally, most or all of the spices and ingredients in Mexican food are going to be found in other cuisines, like onions, garlic, salt, oregano, cinammon, maybe some chocolate now and again, maybe some cumin

This is simply not the case. Mexican cuisine is incredibly complex and varied. Others have already mentioned marigold, culantro, and epazote. Actual Mexican oregano is a different plant from the European oreganos, but lots of restaurants and people use them interchangeably. Someone mentioned Sazón above, and that, bullion, or jarred sofrito are also possibilities; one chef could be taking shortcuts and another uses raw spices, e.g. Other common triggers that can show up unexpectedly in even generic Tex Mex are sesame, tamarind, chia, pepitas (squash seeds), manteca (lard), pine nuts, and of course a vast range of chiles that aren’t common in most other contexts. It could even be something like white onions, which are far more common in some Mexican cooking than in many other cultures.
posted by aspersioncast at 1:30 PM on October 22, 2023 [1 favorite]