One Weird Fruit that will CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

vegaslounge

...provided you go into anaphylaxis when you eat it, like I did!

So yeah, yesterday I found out I have a severe allergic reaction to jackfruit.





My supervisor brought some in and, having never tried it before, I had a piece. Well, technically I had one-and-a-half bites before my mouth, lips and tongue swole up and within a few minutes I was incredibly weak and dizzy and could barely stand. My coworkers basically forced a couple Benadryl down my throat so luckily my airway stayed open (I was hyperventilating but I think that was due more to panic than anything). As my supervisor is driving me to the ER, apologizing profusely for accidentally trying to murder me with a piece of freakin' fruit, I develop sudden– I mean SUDDEN– neuropathy running from my fingertips to elbows. I could literally feel it happening, like water running down my arm. Weirdest damn thing. My hands started clenching and I couldn't open them, and I developed a tremor that seemed to travel clockwise from my right arm to head to left arm to legs before cycling back again.

So, long story short, they pump me full of IV Benadryl (which was AMAZING, Holy Hell...) and steroids while I try to explain just what the Hell a jackfruit is. Not the most common food in my little pocket of SE Georgia.

Turns out in rare (very rare, Google shows like two medical papers on it) instances, people with birch-pollen allergies (which I do know I have) can have these kinds of reactions with jackfruit. Raw apples, cherries, peaches and plums make my mouth itch and peel but NOTHING like this.

So, important thing is that I'm fine now and I also know to avoid jackfruit in the future. If you have a birch-pollen allergy, you might want to steer clear as well. Again, it's not a very common cross-allergic reaction but evidently it does happen.

The real tragedy? It didn't even taste very good! All of that should have been worth more than for "slightly slimier mango, which already tastes like the Devil's Pine-Sol".

Alatariel75

Holy cow, that's TERRIFYING!! I'm so glad you're ok!!

amusedmonkey

You forgot to add in the title "you won't believe what this woman did when she tried it".

You have the best stories! Please keep posting. I'm glad you're alright.

livingleanlivingclean

Jeepers! That sounds incredibly scary - glad your workmates and supervisor worked quick to help you, and got you to the hospital!

PaulaWallaDingDong

vegaslounge wrote: »

...provided you go into anaphylaxis when you eat it, like I did!

So yeah, yesterday I found out I have a severe allergic reaction to jackfruit.





My supervisor brought some in and, having never tried it before, I had a piece. Well, technically I had one-and-a-half bites before my mouth, lips and tongue swole up and within a few minutes I was incredibly weak and dizzy and could barely stand. My coworkers basically forced a couple Benadryl down my throat so luckily my airway stayed open (I was hyperventilating but I think that was due more to panic than anything). As my supervisor is driving me to the ER, apologizing profusely for accidentally trying to murder me with a piece of freakin' fruit, I develop sudden– I mean SUDDEN– neuropathy running from my fingertips to elbows. I could literally feel it happening, like water running down my arm. Weirdest damn thing. My hands started clenching and I couldn't open them, and I developed a tremor that seemed to travel clockwise from my right arm to head to left arm to legs before cycling back again.

So, long story short, they pump me full of IV Benadryl (which was AMAZING, Holy Hell...) and steroids while I try to explain just what the Hell a jackfruit is. Not the most common food in my little pocket of SE Georgia.

Turns out in rare (very rare, Google shows like two medical papers on it) instances, people with birch-pollen allergies (which I do know I have) can have these kinds of reactions with jackfruit. Raw apples, cherries, peaches and plums make my mouth itch and peel but NOTHING like this.

So, important thing is that I'm fine now and I also know to avoid jackfruit in the future. If you have a birch-pollen allergy, you might want to steer clear as well. Again, it's not a very common cross-allergic reaction but evidently it does happen.

The real tragedy? It didn't even taste very good! All of that should have been worth more than for "slightly slimier mango, which already tastes like the Devil's Pine-Sol".

So sorry all that happened with a food that didn't even taste good. There's a story floating around of a kid who was alergic to peanuts and wanted a peanut butter cup so bad, he wigged out, ate one, used his epi pen and told a teacher to call an ambulance. I imagined that being a possible future outcome of this. Guess not.

Grimmerick

My friend calls this Juicy crack, and says it's super delicious but smells like dirty butt on the outside.

lemurcat12

Scary! Glad you are okay, but sorry that happened.

skymningen

Good to hear you are all right.
Yeah... My only try at jackfruit ended up thinking similar taste wise. Luckily not suspense-wise.

GottaBurnEmAll

How terrifying! Glad you're okay.

vegaslounge

What made it even better is that my workplace is an 18th-century plantation so I was dressed like a Colonial woman the entire time. I kept thinking to one of my favorite strips from "Hark! A Vagrant".

jseams1234

emmydoodles83 wrote: »

My friend calls this Juicy crack, and says it's super delicious but smells like dirty butt on the outside.

That's Durian. They look similar.

rmgnow

I love jackfruit.
Stainy, oh so sweet though

GemstoneofHeart

Thanks for sharing! I've seen a lot of vegan recipes using this fruit as a sub for pulled chicken or pork. I have a lot of vegan friends so I will mention this to them since they often bring up the jackfruit fad.

janejellyroll

That is so scary and I'm glad you are okay!

I eat a lot of jackfruit (the canned kind, I use it as a meat substitute) and I will make sure to mention this if I am serving it to someone else. It didn't even occur to me that it could cause this kind of reaction.

vegaslounge

janejellyroll wrote: »

That is so scary and I'm glad you are okay!

I eat a lot of jackfruit (the canned kind, I use it as a meat substitute) and I will make sure to mention this if I am serving it to someone else. It didn't even occur to me that it could cause this kind of reaction.

Like I said, it's apparently very rare (I could literally find two papers about it with a quick Google, mostly concerning one case in the Philippines). I can eat peaches/cherries/etc– my oral allergy triggers– as long as they've been processed somehow (canned or cooked) so I'm not sure if the same would apply to jackfruit. Can't say I'm going to test that theory personally, however!

Penthesilea514

Scary- glad you are okay! I don't think I have had jackfruit, so I don't know what I am missing taste wise, but I am fine with my regular fruit choices at the moment

vegaslounge

Haha, so this afternoon I got a ride back to work to get my car and my poor supervisor was almost crying that I was okay. "Can I give you a hug? I really need to give you a hug!"

Jackfruit is now referred to a "Murderfruit" at my job. In fact, my manager's husband, a brewer, is using the leftovers (no one touched it after I did, lol) to make "Murderfruit Ale".

I'm designing the label. Healing process, and all.

PaulaWallaDingDong

vegaslounge wrote: »

Haha, so this afternoon I got a ride back to work to get my car and my poor supervisor was almost crying that I was okay. "Can I give you a hug? I really need to give you a hug!"

Jackfruit is now referred to a "Murderfruit" at my job. In fact, my manager's husband, a brewer, is using the leftovers (no one touched it after I did, lol) to make "Murderfruit Ale".

I'm designing the label. Healing process, and all.

I would buy that.

vegaslounge

PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »

vegaslounge wrote: »

Haha, so this afternoon I got a ride back to work to get my car and my poor supervisor was almost crying that I was okay. "Can I give you a hug? I really need to give you a hug!"

Jackfruit is now referred to a "Murderfruit" at my job. In fact, my manager's husband, a brewer, is using the leftovers (no one touched it after I did, lol) to make "Murderfruit Ale".

I'm designing the label. Healing process, and all.

I would buy that.

"It'll Shock Ya!"

snickerscharlie

vegaslounge wrote: »

PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »

vegaslounge wrote: »

Haha, so this afternoon I got a ride back to work to get my car and my poor supervisor was almost crying that I was okay. "Can I give you a hug? I really need to give you a hug!"

Jackfruit is now referred to a "Murderfruit" at my job. In fact, my manager's husband, a brewer, is using the leftovers (no one touched it after I did, lol) to make "Murderfruit Ale".

I'm designing the label. Healing process, and all.

I would buy that.

"It'll Shock Ya!"

"It'll Leave You Breathless!"

So glad you're okay.

Wynterbourne

jseams1234 wrote: »

emmydoodles83 wrote: »

My friend calls this Juicy crack, and says it's super delicious but smells like dirty butt on the outside.

That's Durian. They look similar.

I can second this. I love jackfruit. Durian and jackfruit look nearly identical, but durian has larger spikes. It is definitely durian that smells like butt.