I’ve had this annoying thing for a few years – some evil fairy responding to my previous thinking that allergies were a bit overblown.  Oh well.

Anyway, it means that I get itchy mouth & throat, swollen lips etc when I eat raw (ready for this?) apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, plums, almonds and potatoes.

No, I didn’t eat raw potato to figure that out; I peeled potatoes then stuck my finger in my eye with dramatic effect.  I’ve done that so often that I’ve been forced to question my intelligence.

The allergy isn’t life-threatening  – it just limits fruit consumption.  To oranges, kiwis, berries and bananas.

But yesterday I made a discovery!  I had read somewhere that eating fruit in season and recently picked will also reduce the effect of the allergy.  So I bought some locally grown 2009 vintage apples and tried one all peeled and chopped.  Nothing.  No itch. Bliss.

Today I’m going to actually bite into one through the skin and see if I can get away with it.  It’s hard to explain the simple joy of a fresh apple when you haven’t had one for a couple of years.