North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Jay Cutts" <cutts@cuttsreviews.com>]

Stephen,

Thanks for your input. I could not taste any of the simple tastes you
mentioned.  The rhubarb was not sprayed. It was from my own unsprayed garden.
 I've read that zinc is implicated in taste.  I had chewed a lot on the stems
and wondered if just that mechanical action had caused some damage.

There was no burning in the mouth or vomiting.  The loss took a couple hours
to become complete.

> Could you sense sweet, sour, salty, bitter, or did you lose complex flavor?
> Could the rhubarb have been sprayed?  The oxalic acid could theoretically
> have bound to enough zinc to have reduced your sense of taste - but I can't
> find any reference to that actually having happened.  If you had that much
> oxalic acid, I would think you would have had other symptoms - burning in
> the mouth, for instance, or vomiting. This is the sort of symptom I would
> take to a doctor.
> 
> ~ Stephen
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Jay Cutts
> Sent: Friday, December 11, 2009 9:20 AM
> To: North American Fruit Explorers
> Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Are all rhubarbs the same?
> 
> Rhubarb question:  I had a strange experience with rhubarb not too long 
> ago and wonder if anyone has heard of this.  After munching on some raw 
> rhubarb stalks on a hot summer day (which I remember doing as a kid), I 
> basically lost my sense of taste for a week.  It was a horrifying 
> experience, especially since I didn't know if the loss would be 
> permanent.  It's hard to describe how devastating it is not to be able 
> to taste anything.
> 
> I know that rhubarb contains oxalic acid, which is a tiny crystal that 
> can physically damage tissues.  I know that the leaves of rhubarb are 
> not supposed to be eaten for this reason.  I wouldn't want anyone to go 
> through the taste loss that I experienced, especially if it ends up 
> being long lasting.   Has anyone heard of this phenomenon?  I believe 
> that oxalic acid is broken down by cooking.
> 
> Jay Cutts
> > I had two rhubard plants side by side in a rhubarb-unfriendly climate and
> I'm surprised how different they were.  One was a lot more red and tastier
> but did not thrive; the other did somewhat better, tended to bolt, and
> wasn't as good (I simmered with sugar for tasting).  I don't recall now what
> the flavor difference was, I'd have thought rhubard is mostly just tart.  
> >
> > Lisa (previously in hot dry sunny Southern Oregon)
> >
> >   
> >> thinking of planting out a big patch of rhubarb.  I'm
> >> curious if there
> >> is really much difference between rhubarbs, especially as
> >>     
> >
> >
> >
> >       
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