When I found pine nuts for only $16/lb at Trader Joe's, I thought I'd hit the jackpot. I made pesto, and even snacked on the pine nuts while I cooked.

Then I had a terrible, 2-week long experience with 'pine mouth'.

Everything tasted awful: coffee, muffins, cereal, meat, vegetables – even water tasted bitter. And during the first few days, before I realized what was happening, I threw away tons of perfectly safe food that I thought had spoiled.

I never found out how common pine mouth was, but I was really upset that the risk wasn't better communicated.