Ack! Can't believe I have to post this - cheese allergy??

[lakeswimr]

Was the cheese they cut brand new, right out of the wrapper or had it been previously cut?  Clean gloves and cutting board won't take away xcontam that may have already been there if it weren't a brand new piece of cheese right out of the wrapper.  It could also be factory xcontam.  Maybe it is wrapped on shared equip with some allergen.

I tend to think things like this are usually xcontam and less likely to be brand new allergens, although new ones can pop up any time.  Good luck figuring it out. 

[GoingNuts]

My local cheese shop sells a pistachio-studded cheddar, among other nut-related things. 

[aggiedog]

lakeswimmer, true.  Maybe I'll try again when they get a new block.

McC, I agree.  Seems like straight up cheese to me.  (scratch head)

It's not a huge deal, per se, so much as if she starts to have minor reactions to other things I can start to figure out common ingredients.

[rebekahc]

A few other places in Vermont have started making tarentaise cheese.  Here's what one said...

This is one cheesy do-gooder. Made from a recipe created by John Putnam at Thistle Hill Farm, who was inspired by the French cheese Abondance, this is Jeremy Stephenson's reinterpretation. Spring Brook Farm makes great cheese while hosting city kids for rural education programs. Raw, grass-fed cow milk makes for neon yellow cheese replete with spicy notes and a prickly pineapple finish. Look for little crunchy clusters if you're lucky. Looks good, tastes good, feels good - and drinks good with Cabernet. 2011 American Cheese Society Winner

The bold is mine - maybe this "prickly pineapple finish" = itchy lips?  I'm assuming they're meaning the cheese tends to make one's mouth feel like pineapple does?

[booandbrimom]

Cheese can contain histamines, which can cause a reaction that mimics allergy:

http://www.allergyuk.org/common-food-intolerances/histamine-intolerance

This would explain why it's just one cheese. Does she also get migraines? My son gets these and they can be triggered by high-histamine foods.

Perhaps there's a relationship to food allergies because these kids have a higher histamine level than the norm? Don't know that part.

[aggiedog]

Hmm, interesting.  She does get migraines.  Well, she's had 3 of them, but she's only 10.  I wonder how the histamines get in cheeses?  Are they a byproduct of certain enzymes?

[maeve]

Yup.  XC.

Some cheeses-- especially specialty/artisanal types, may be "washed/cured/sealed" with different things during production, too-- so while I don't KNOW of a cheese that requires a walnut-based ingredient, that doesn't mean that there isn't one.  KWIM?

We recently ran across something that surprised the heck out of us-- DH pointed the label out to me, because I would NEVER have figured cheese to be a risk for almond XC, but it was.  Apparently some kind of "amaretto" wash during curing-- I'd heard of ports and stouts used that way, but never flavored liqueurs.  Well, you learn something new every day, I guess.

Also-- pistachios are a known risk because of that one kind of Italian cheese with them in it-- mortadella?  (ironic name, that)

I have to agree with this.  I believe that Gourmandise cheese is made with walnuts (at least a variety of it).  So depending on what type of artisanal cheese is being made, it's likely that it could be nut cross contamination. 

The other thought I had was the rennet used and sometimes albumin (egg) is added, so the reaction could be something other than milk or nuts.

[CMdeux]

Hmm, interesting.  She does get migraines.  Well, she's had 3 of them, but she's only 10.  I wonder how the histamines get in cheeses?  Are they a byproduct of certain enzymes?

Yes-- they are a natural byproduct of cheese production. 

Aged cheeses tend to have the highest histamine levels, since they are evidently a product of the aging process. 

[aggiedog]

Called the dairy.  Tarentaise and gruyere are considered "alpine cheeses" and are made similarly, and are both aged.  I am now suspecting the histamine issue, which is more common in these types of cheeses.  This particular tarentaise has a natural rind and is not rinsed/coated with anything. 

I'll try again if they get a new block, but I"m thinking histamine. Interesting about the migraines, too, since she is my only kid to get any kind of headaches.  She's had a couple I was very close to bringing her to the ER.  Just the fact that I knew what it was and that some nausea meds made it better kept us home.

[LinksEtc]

This is probably not what you're dealing with, but I guess it's worth posting ...

http://www.asthmaallergieschildren.com/2013/01/21/sometimes-the-answer-is-only-skin-deep/

[Macabre]

Wow, that's a great link Links.  Penicillin in sausage skin. Who knew?  What a helpful site, too.  Thank you!