Bitter much?

A couple of days ago, I noticed something strange—every time I ate or drank something, I’d get a mildly nasty bitter aftertaste in my mouth. Not a big deal, but it’s persisted for a couple of days. So, last night I googled “bitter taste”, just in case it was something to be concerned about.

According to one website, there are over 60 diseases that might cause a bitter taste, ranging from dental caries to cadmium poisoning. Cadmium? I haven’t been licking any batteries lately, so that’s probably not it. And my dental hygiene is above par, believe me.

And besides, it’s not a constant bitter taste—it’s only after I eat or drink. So I change my search strategy to say “bitter AFTERtaste”. And there it is. My answer.

Pine nuts.

I made a pasta dish earlier this week and threw a few pine nuts in there. Apparently, in recent years, people have reported developing a bitter taste after eating pine nuts. No one’s really sure why it happens, but it’s not permanent.

Who knew?