"Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message
...
> JimLane wrote:
>
>> And when one of them dies or ends up in a hospital because they ingested
>> something you did not have the courtesy to consider letting them know
>> about, let us know about your attitude change.
>
>
> It is possible for people to be allergic to almost anything. Sometimes it
> is a well-known allergy like to peanuts, but someone somewhere might have
> a deadly reaction to something weird like saffron or Marsala. If guests
> ask me about the ingredients in a dish, I'm always glad to tell them just
> like I'm glad to talk about recipes and food here. It is one of my
> favorite subjects. But if a guest expects me to warn her that there's
> peanuts in the peanut brittle, dairy in the ice cream and ginger in the
> homemade gingerale, all I can say is that I'll be glad Darwinism is at
> work with no change in attitude. It's the responsibility of the guests to
> ask the questions necessary to safeguard health, not the host to consider
> every weird food reaction and provide warnings. Oh, and here's a polite
> gesture on my part: Don't take naps in the middle of busy highways; you
> might get hit by a car.
>
>
> --Lia
>

I know you think it was stupid of me to suggest warning guests that there is
ginger in homemade ginger ale. I would agree *if* the guests know before
drinking some that it is ginger ale. Many times, something like that will
simply be handed out or even served from a large punch bowl. I'm not so
incredibly stupid as to assume that someone allergic to something wouldn't
ask about it if the name gave it away -- just I would assume that someone
would know there are peanuts in peanut butter (but might not recognize it if
peanut butter were included as part of a recipe). I just think it's
courteous to ask guests if there is anything they are allergic to. If so,
you can point out a "problem" food -- neither you nor the guests have to
make a big deal of it, and you don't even need to change your menu.

MaryL