Sake

 Somebody introduced a bottle of Sake into the house as a Christmas present - that's what's often called Japanese rice-wine.

It's never appeared on any lists so I thought I would check out the ingredients. It's fermented rice - so basically rice except that a special yeast is used for fermentation.

There's nothing wrong with rice - no salicylate in it, nothing green, red or orange. What could possibly go wrong?

Here was a chance to widen my range of alcoholic beverages, I thought. Currently it's just whisky, gin and vodka that's "allowed" and of the three I only drink whisky as it's the only one with any kind of taste. I'm never sure about it because it does pick up chemicals when it's stored in wooden barrels - hickory barrels in the case of Bourbon I believe.

So I tried a small glass of sake. Wikipedia advises that it is not really a wine and is a little stronger. Tastewise, it's like a dry sherry. Terrific, I thought. We could keep a bottle of Sake in the sherry cupboard (if we had a sherry cupboard, that is). The taste is not massively appetising - it's no substitute for red wine or a good Chardonnay. That's so far as I can  remember as I have - with a few exceptions - only ever sniffed any wine for the last eight years.

That was yesterday. Today I'm not so sure. It seemed to have quite a kick. Maybe get some in for next Christmas.

RAS

Swollen tongue syndrome

Last night my tongue suddenly swelled. This hasn't happened for quite a long time. At first I thought I had an ulcer - then I realised my tongue was getting somewhat unwieldy. The prime suspect is a chocolate biscuit I picked up. It turned out to have an orange icing filling. The second suspect is quite a large glass of whiskey a friend gave me. Whisky should be okay - although I note one of my lists merely states it is low, rather than zero. I also suspect a lot depends how it is distilled. Anyway the chocolate biscuit tasted disgusting - I used to like the taste of orange. I can't think why now. So I didn't finish it.

I took a montelukast and the problem faded away. Odd.

No whisky for me to bring in the New Year. Happy New Year!

RAS

Christmases I have known

The countdown is under way to Christmas and I've decided to stock up the whisky for the day. Sadly I've had all the viruses I need during the autumn and am unlikely to have that excuse for enjoying a glass or two of wine on Christmas Day.

When elderly relatives are present, it's really not right to go round looking for cold and flu viruses. They need to be banished from the Christmas table - the worst thing is when somebody ends up in hospital with flu straight after the festivities.

I've been perusing my postings for the last few Christmases and it turns out that drinking wine never worked out. Here is a selection:

This was the reality of the first Christmas Day on a restricted diet, tough turkey! And that's with massive appreciation to everyone who tried so hard:
http://allergy-diary.blogspot.com/2007/01/12th-night.html

These were my reflective thoughts on Christmas Eve at the end of the first year:
http://allergy-diary.blogspot.com/2006/12/happy-christmas.html

12 months later things were getting easier:
http://allergy-diary.blogspot.com/2007/12/happy-christmas.html

By 2009 I was learning to create tolerance before Christmas - by rigorous abstention - combine it with a virus and enjoy some wine:
http://allergy-diary.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-report.html

...but it wasn't wholly successful.
http://allergy-diary.blogspot.com/2010/01/gout-and-marzipan.html

And last year I reported, briefly, that my indulgence in wine created a holiday that was "quite difficult".
http://allergy-diary.blogspot.com/2011/01/trying-tomato.html

So maybe I'll be sticking to whisky - but I'm sure the turkey will be tasty. And if anyone wants tips on how to make the most of Christmas dinner, here's how to do a salicylate free poultry roast:
http://allergy-diary.blogspot.com/2009/03/roast-chicken.html

RAS