In the past managing nut allergies seemed much simpler as you could easily avoid the obvious foods that contained nuts such as, a packet of whole nuts, a Snickers bar, or Peanut M&Ms. These products were usually labelled and marketed clearly indicating that they contained nuts.
But now the food trends have changed, and consumers demand for products featuring ingredients perceived as natural and healthy, spurring the interest in a wide variety of nuts included as ingredients. Food manufactures are focusing their marketing campaigns on healthy snacks consisting of high protein, sourced from nuts; including whole nuts, nut oils, nut flavorings, nut flours and nut toppings.
This can leave it extremely difficult to know what foods to trust or avoid as many products now have a may contain statement, that didn’t in the past.
Here’s some foods that you may not be aware of that may contain nuts:
Mole Sauce
-
Mole Sauce is a traditional marinade and sauce originally used in Mexican Cuisine and generally contains fruit, chilli pepper, nuts, and such spices as black pepper, cinnamon and cumin. Ingredients that can be added can include nuts (such as almonds, peanuts, or pine nuts), seeds (such as sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, or squash seeds), cilantro, seedless grapes, plantains, garlic, onions, cinnamon, and chocolate.
Marzipan
-
Marzipan consists primarily of sugar or honey and almond meal(ground almonds), or sometimes with almond oil or extract. It’s often made into sweets such as chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imitations of fruits and vegetables.
-
It can also be used in biscuits or rolled into thin sheets and glazed for icing cakes – birthday cakes, wedding cakes, Christmas cakes. This is particularly common in the UK, specifically with fruitcakes.
-
Marzipan paste may also be used as a baking ingredient, as the filling in Stollen (a fruit bread of nuts, spices, and dried fruit, coated with powdered sugar or icing sugar) or Banket (a type of pastry or cookie that is typically prepared using a mixture of flour, eggs and butter or puff pastry as its base and filled with almond paste or persipan, dusted with sugar. Marzipan is also used in Tortell, and in some versions of King Cake. Traditional Swedish Princess Cake is typically covered with a layer of marzipan that has tinted pale green or pink.
Pesto Sauce
-
Pesto Sauce is a sauce originating in Genoa, Italy. It traditionally consists of crushed garlic, pine nuts, salt, basil leaves, hard cheese such as Parmesan cheese or Pecorino Sardo (cheese made from sheep’s milk), all blended with olive oil. There are nut free versions available so make sure to check the ingredients label thoroughly before considering it. Also I always ask the restaurant to show me the original food label packaging of the pesto to check the label myself as on one occasion when the staff confirmed it was a nut free version, I had a severe reaction. So always check yourself, you’re the expert of your own food allergies. You can also make your own homemade nut free pesto!
Chicken Tikka Masala Curries
-
Chicken tikka masala is a dish of roasted marinated chicken in a spiced curry sauce. The sauce is usually creamy and orange-coloured. Creamy curries, such as tikka masala, korma and pasanda, often contain cashew nuts and ground almonds as part of their ingredients as well as being cooked in nut oil. Therefore, you should be very cautious when eating in restaurants and cuisines that specialize in curries.
Gluten Free Foods
-
Some gluten-free flours include almond and coconut, therefore the gluten free bread, pastries and products may contain nuts.
Granola
-
Most pre-made granola cereals and bars will contain nuts such as almonds, cashews, hazelnuts and walnuts. However, there are some nut free recipes. Check out the recipe section for homemade nut free granola!
Veggie Burger
-
Most veggie burgers contain vegetables and beans however, to add flavour some burgers may contain chopped macadamias, cashews or walnuts.
Nougat
-
Nougat is sometimes made with finely chopped nuts such as hazelnuts.
Vegan Cheese
-
Vegan cheese can be made from different plant proteins and fats. It can be made from seeds, such as sesame and sunflower; nuts, such as cashew, pine nut, and almonds and soybeans, peanuts, coconut oil, nutritional yeast, tapioca, and rice, among other ingredients.
Alcoholic Drinks
Some alcohols may contain nuts such as:
-
Amaretto (flavoured with almonds)
-
Ratafia liquer, wine and biscuits (flavoured with almonds)
-
Bombay Sapphire Gin (almonds)
-
Charbay Nostalige (black walnut)
-
Frangelico (hazelnut)
-
Kahana Royale (macadamia nut)
-
Nocello (walnut)
It is not clear if these drinks will cause an allergic reaction in an individual with a nut allergy however the drinks companies state ”the nuts are infused into a distillate so there are generally no problems for people with nut allergies, however, caution should be exercised.”
-
Some vodka makers sell bottles infused with flavour from hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts and other tree nuts.
-
Some beers may contain peanuts, macadamia, walnut or other tree nuts.
-
Some Cocktails could be flavoured with peanut or other allergens so be aware of cross contamination when ordering drinks at bars.
Coffees – Cappuccino, Lattes
Cappuccino and lattes can contain allergen-flavored syrups such as hazelnut, almond, peanut. They can also contain different measurements of steamed and foamed milk, which could include almond milk, coconut milk or cashew milk. The equipment such as the steaming wand or spoons to mix your coffee would be used in a variety of different milks and milk alternatives to heat it up.
Ask the barista about the range of milk they offer and be aware if they contain the allergen you are allergic to as this may increase the risk of cross contact. You can then make the decision to avoid adding any milk to your drink or asking the staff to clean the equipment used to steam/foam the milk and use a fresh jug to pour it into your cup.
Fried Food
-
Many restaurants use vegetable oil with canola oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, palm oil, corn oil, soybean oil to fry their food however, some restaurants including Five Guys use peanut oil for deep frying. Peanut oil is known for its high smoke point and neutral taste which makes it appealing for frying food. It’s also low in saturated fat and high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, making it healthier for frying. Peanut oil is also popular in Asian cuisine, and some may even use it exclusively in the kitchen.
-
Peanut oil can be refined or unrefined. Research has shown that refined peanut oil will not cause allergic reactions for the majority of people who are allergic to peanuts and if anyone does suffer a reaction it is likely to be mild. However, unrefined (crude) peanut oil is more likely to cause an allergic reaction.
Make sure to ask the restaurant, food truck, or catering company, if they use peanut oil in their kitchen.
Soups
-
Peanuts and peanut butter are sometimes used to thicken a soup. Many Chinese broth soups contain almonds or peanuts to give the broth a hint of sweetness.
Sauces and Salad Dressings
-
Satay sauce, pesto sauce, tikka sauce, peanut sauce all contain nuts.
Ham and Cold Cuts
-
Some ham and cold cuts may include nuts as their ingredient for flavour. Mortadella, an Italian sausage or ham made of ground cured pork, pork fat, is flavoured with ground black pepper, myrtle berries and pistachios.
Honey
-
Some research suggests that honeybees pollinate plant species that are not native to their natural habitat. They can pollinate cashew plants, brazil nut plants, coconut plants, chestnut plants, macadamia nut plants, almond plants, however not peanut plants. Since most allergies are protein based, and pollen contains many of the proteins produced by the parent plant (eg nut plant), there is a chance that honey or pollen from those plants could cause an allergic reaction. A bee keeper mentioned on Beesource.com that their honey was collected when cotton and soybeans were blooming and therefore, one of their customers with a soy allergy reacted to their honey. As a result, they have now added an additional label to their seasonally honey to inform customers of the potential trace of soy. Check with your honey farm for more information regarding the pollen collected in your area.
-
Honey for allergies: As local honey is made using local pollen (local plant pollen in your area that may cause allergy symptoms or hay fever), ingesting this seasonal honey every day for 2 months before the pollen seasons is thought to desensitize you to that pollen. There are anecdotal stories indicating individuals have found relief from allergy symptoms by consuming honey however it hasn’t been scientifically proven in studies.
Chilli
-
Nuts might not be a classic ingredient in chillies however peanut butter can be used to thicken chillies or added for flavour in a chilli burger.
Egg Rolls
-
Peanut butter may be used to seal egg rolls.
Macarons
-
Macarons may contain a peanut filling
Macaroons
-
Macaroons are a small cake or cookie and made from ground almonds, coconut or other nuts with sugar and other ingredients.
Hydrolyzed plant protein
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
-
These proteins may be from peanuts or soy.
Other names for Peanuts:
-
Arachide
-
Arachis Oil/ Arachic oil
-
Arachis hypogaea
-
Beer Nuts
-
Cacahouète/cacahouette/cacahuète
-
Goober nuts, goober peas
-
Ground nuts
-
Kernels
-
Mandelonas, Nu-Nuts
-
Nut meats
-
Cold pressed, extruded, or expelled peanut oil
-
Hypogaeic acid
-
Spanish peanuts
This is not a complete list of all of the foods that may contain this allergen, we will continue to add to it through your recommendations so let us know what other foods you have come across in your area that directly contain or may contain this allergen in the comments below or through our social media pages.
Our mission is to develop an inclusive culture and empower individuals with dietary requirements to lead safe lives through sharing personal experiences, recommendations, lifestyle tips and allergy awareness.
get involved.
join the community.
check the social.
DISCLAIMER
The content of this website is intended for educational purposes only and should not be substituted for medical or professional advice. Please consult with your doctor for any health related questions or concerns.
