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The strange and not-yet-totally unraveled mystery of what's being called "pine nut mouth" began for Oakland, Calif., massage therapist Maura Hennessy on Super Bowl Sunday.

As Hennessy whipped up homemade nachos, she noticed that no matter how much paprika and cayenne pepper she added, they wouldn't get spicier. Worse, the whole concoction tasted bitter.

The next day, she noticed apples and peanut butter tasted bad as well. In fact, everything she ate that was normally sweet or spicy tasted bitter and metallic. The troubling condition, she says, lasted a week.

After a desperate attempt with some mouthwash - which only made the taste worse - she turned to the Internet, where she found any number of possible causes, including brain damage. Finally, she came across something that made sense. It was an online post on Stanford University's Wellsphere. The culprit, it appeared, were some pine nuts she'd snacked on a few days before the Super Bowl.

According to various sources, pine nut mouth is the result of a sensitivity to imported pine nuts, which are actually the seeds found in cones of pine trees. While it's not life-threatening, it can be, in Hennesey's words, "brutal" for the seven to 10 days sufferers experience it. Last year, 53 people reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that they suffered some form of "pine nut mouth." In France, some 800 cases have been reported to the USDA's counterpart since 2001.

But except for a few blog mentions on foodie Web sites and a short 2001 study available on the Internet, very little is known about "pine nut mouth."

Polly Campbell, food writer and restaurant critic at the Cincinnati Enquirer, began to research the problem after experiencing the syndrome following a Christmas dinner at which she ate a salad loaded with the seeds.

Two days after the dinner, everything tasted bitter.

"It was like eating a grapefruit seed or Campari without any sugar in it," she says. "And it got worse the more complex the flavor was. Red wine just tasted terrible. I had to spit it out."

Her doctor didn't know what to think. Her dentist had no clue. Her husband and daughter, who'd also eaten the salad, weren't suffering. Ten days passed before it went away.

She, too, turned to the Internet, discovered the term "pine nut mouth," and blogged about her experience on the paper's Web site. Soon, others people started complaining. Today, hers is one of several sites where people go looking for answers about why things suddenly taste bitter.

The common denominator discovered in the online discussions is that sufferers have all recently eaten pine nuts. Most are blaming large importers of nuts from other countries, and many are pointing to China. Others are blaming specific stores where the seeds were purchased, and still others theorize the offending seeds may have been rancid.

After being contacted by the Bay Area News Group, Gregory Moller, a professor of environmental chemistry and toxicology at the School of Food Science at the University of Idaho, Moscow, spent a weekend researching "pine nut mouth," and wrote a short paper outlining possible causes of the syndrome.

His scientific conclusion?

Increase in world demand has globalized pine nut production and introduced unfamiliar variations to the human food system, he says. "Some of these species may be mildly toxic to some people."

He's quick to point out that toxic doesn't mean deadly. "It could," he says, "just give us an upset stomach."

Moller explains that the pine nut doesn't come from one type of pine tree. Of the 100 to 150 pine species worldwide, 29 types of trees have seeds that are used as food, he says.

The people complaining about "pine nut mouth" on American blogs may have a palate that is not used to, say, a nut that comes from a Chinese white pine or a Russian pine. Usually the back of the package notes where the nuts come from, but not from which type of tree.

Think of "pine nut mouth" as a bizarre food sensitivity that sufferers have after ingesting a natural chemical in a newly introduced pine nut species, he says.

While people are talking about it online, they're not necessarily going to their doctor for treatment.

Mina Nquyen, chief of Kaiser Permanente's allergy clinic in Oakland, a department to whom many turn with bad reactions related to food, had never heard of it.

If someone has a nut allergy, she says, usually that person starts wheezing and getting hives. Nut allergies are frequently deadly.

"I am not sure if (pine nut mouth) is a true food allergy," Nguyen says. "It's probably a side effect of the nut."

Until more is known, however, Moller and Nguyen suggest that people who have suffered from "pine nut mouth" stay away from the seeds or, if you can't go without, pay attention to where they are grown.

"At the end of the day, we as individuals are responsible for what we eat," he says. "Choose wisely."

For food writer Campbell, that means staying away from pine nuts at all costs.

"I am never going to eat another one," she says. "This is the first thing in my life I said I would ever give up. I never give up anything. But I can live without them."

LEARN MORE ONLINE

Stanford's Wellsphere: http://tinyurl.com/yf3z798

Polly Campbell's blog: http://tinyurl.com/ycox6bk

Epicurious: http://tinyurl.com/lnu6z4

Slashfood: http://tinyurl.com/y95ercg

Chowhound: http://tinyurl.com/mmppgr

Salmon has such a rich flavor, it often is best to keep it simple when cooking it. However, as a fan of black pepper, I love to coat a salmon fillet generously with that fragrant, hot spice. Sometimes it's just freshly ground black pepper from my peppermill. Sometimes it's cracked pepper for an appealing look. Sometimes, it's a blend of peppers such as white, black and red.

Specialty peppers also take well to fish. Head to your nearest spice merchant to find them. I especially like the mild Aleppo red pepper from Syria or the Espelette from France.

A good side dish with this salmon is lightly steamed asparagus. Or serve it simply on top of baby greens tossed with an herb vinaigrette.

Tips

Not a fan of spice? Coat the fillets with chopped fresh herbs instead.

Cook the salmon in a heavy cast-iron skillet, and you can finish it by roasting it uncovered in a 350-degree oven about 8 minutes.

Beverage suggestion

These spicy flavors call for a fruity, slightly sweet wine such as riesling or gewurztraminer.

SPICY PEPPERED SALMON FILLETS WITH HORSERADISH DRIZZLE

Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 8 minutes

Makes: 4 servings

4 salmon fillets, about 6 ounces each

1 to 2 teaspoons freshly ground or cracked pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup sour cream or creme fraiche

3 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon milk

4 sprigs fresh dill or parsley

1. Sprinkle salmon with pepper and salt on both sides; pat lightly so spices adhere. Heat olive oil in large skillet over high heat; add salmon, skin side up. Cook to sear, about 2 minutes. Carefully turn with spatula. Cook to sear, about 2 minutes.

2. Reduce heat to low; cover skillet. Cook until salmon is almost cooked through, about 4 minutes, depending on thickness. Transfer to platter or plates.

3. Meanwhile, mix together sour cream and horseradish in a bowl; stir in enough milk to make drizzling consistency. Drizzle over salmon; top each fillet with a dill sprig.

Nutrition information

Per serving: 330 calories, 51 percent of calories from fat, 18 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 114 mg cholesterol, 1 g carbohydrates, 39 g protein, 241 mg sodium, 0 g fiber

"The Country Cooking of Ireland" by Colman Andrews (Chronicle, $50)

What it is: Colman Andrews is such a gifted writer he can make Irish cooking not only sound delicious but also seem exciting, even news-worthy. That hasn't happened since the first potato landed on those green shores all those centuries ago. This book is more than a collection of recipes. Andrews captures the Irish spirit by writing about everything from ancient fables to of-the-minute consumer trends. You really sense the people behind the recipes. Andrews, co-founder of the esteemed Saveur magazine, expertly weaves broad observations of Irish culture with illuminating quotes and amusingly quirky details. (Che Guevara descended from one of the "tribes" of Galway.) Of Irish stock himself, Andrews can trace his father's side back to counties Tyrone and Donegal.

Praise and quibbles: Andrews presents 225 clearly written recipes ranging from brotchan foltchep, an ancient recipe for leek and oatmeal soup, to corned beef (it's really Irish, he insists) and colcannon, to a smoked eel tempura and wok-smoked salmon. His recipe sources range from 18th century manuscripts to the menus of hotels and restaurants across today's Ireland. Reading this book, you can see why salmon merits its own chapter as the "magical fish" while potatoes get their due as the "definitive food."

Why you'll like it: As with so many cookbooks today, "The Country Cooking of Ireland" is a big, big book. It's 384 pages, heavy, loaded with glossy color photographs and, at $50, not destined to be sitting out on a flour- and oil-splattered kitchen counter. But it is a compelling book, a master work that draws you back again and again to learn more about Irish cooking.

LEEK AND OATMEAL SOUP (BROTCHAN FOLTCHEP)

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 1 hour 5 minutes

Makes: 4-6 servings

In "The Country Cooking of Ireland," Colman Andrews calls this "a modern version of the famous soup, also called brotchan (or brochan or brothchan) roy, or 'the king's soup,' that is said to have been the favorite dish of Ireland's celebrated sixth-century spiritual and literary icon, St. Columkille. It is ... quite possibly the oldest traditional Irish dish for which it is possible to reconstruct a recipe." We adapted the recipe and added more broth for a souplike consistency.

2 tablespoons butter

4 leeks, trimmed, sliced thinly

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups milk

1/2 cup Irish steel-cut oats

1/2 teaspoon each: ground mace, salt

Freshly ground pepper

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat; add the leeks. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are very soft, 12-15 minutes.

2. Add the broth and milk. Raise the heat to high; heat to a boil. Sprinkle in the oatmeal. Add the mace, salt and pepper to taste. Return the liquid to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low. Cover; simmer until oats are tender, 45 minutes.

Nutrition information: Per serving: 241 calories, 48 percent of calories from fat, 13 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 67 mg cholesterol, 10 g carbohydrates, 21 g protein, 812 mg sodium, 3 g fiber

What do cocktail writers drink when on winter holiday? Anything they want.

And so it was that I came to try the deliciously elusive Anne Marie's cocktail. I ordered it at Portland, Ore.'s classy Driftwood Room based on a single, peculiar ingredient: Zirbenz Stone Pine Liqueur, made from pine fruit (premature pine cones). I'd never noticed it on menus in Chicago, and mixed in this sparkling wine-based cocktail, its piney, fresh scent and taste was like sipping a breath of Alpine air.

Zirbenz isn't new. It's been bottled in Austria since 1797 and has a long history of being quaffed after a run down the slopes. After being picked up for limited stateside distribution in 2006, it was initially marketed in ski resort meccas like Aspen and eventually made its way to Chicago. Along with another centuries-old, tree-tapped spirit, the elusive French Liqueur de Sapin (derived from pine needles), it's begun to inspire a breed of modern distillers to try their hand with domestic versions.

Among them is Stephen McCarthy, who runs Clear Creek Distillery in - where else? - Portland. After numerous trips to Alsace, France, where he sampled and researched that region's native spruce-bud eaux de vie, McCarthy labored for more than a decade over his own recipe. His blend uses Oregon's native conifer, the Douglas fir.

"I just made this up out of thin air," said McCarthy, 67. He distills his Douglas Fir Eau de Vie twice, a classic Alsatian technique that he says "locks in" the tree's aroma and flavor. The taste (pine, honey then mint) is acquired, but nice - like Zirbenz but lighter.

After five years of perfecting, McCarthy is producing 300 cases a year. "We're just blowing right through it," he said.

Order online at clearcreekdistillery.com.

ELKHORN TODDY

This cocktail from The Violet Hour uses Demerara syrup, a simple syrup made from Demerara sugar (1 part sugar to 1 part water, simmered until the sugar dissolves). Or use regular sugar.

2 ounces Bulleit Bourbon

3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice

3/4 ounce Demerara syrup

7 drops Angostura Bitters

1/4 ounce Douglas Fir Eau de Vie

Build Bourbon, lemon juice, syrup and bitters in a snifter; top with 3 to 4 ounces hot water. Float eau de vie on top.

"Burgundy," my late mother-in-law once said to me. "Whatever happened to Burgundy?"

My reply was snarky: "It's still part of France last time I looked."

"No, no, no," she said, proceeding undaunted. "Burgundy, the wine. You used to be able to go into the stores and always find wine with Burgundy on the label. Not anymore."

"Well, yes," I replied. "Now it's called 'pinot noir.'"

Mary was not mollified. She wanted to make her famous boeuf bourguignon as she used to back in the 1960s with a wine labeled "Burgundy."

Gallo's Hearty Burgundy to be exact.

I must admit I feel funny using the term Hearty Burgundy without quotes around it. I know it's the trademark name of a wine brand, but I also don't want to anger my French friends who insist the only wines that can be called Burgundy must come from Burgundy in France, not from somewhere in California. So pretend there are imaginary quote marks, OK?

Gallo introduced Hearty Burgundy in 1964. In a November 1972 cover story on the growing American wine scene, Time magazine quoted the Los Angeles Times wine critic, Robert Balzer, as saying, "Gallo Hearty Burgundy is the best wine value in the country today." That line put the wine on the map and in the glass.

"It's part of many people's first experience with wine," said Kristina Kelley, a Gallo spokeswoman.

I had thought Gallo's Hearty Burgundy was long gone, but it's still out there, part of the Gallo Family Vineyards' Twin Valley line.

Kelley said the wine was originally made from grapes grown in California's North Coast, mostly zinfandel, petite sirah and carignan. Now the wine sports a California appellation and is made from zinfandel, syrah, sangiovese, pinot noir, grenache and cabernet sauvignon. It's a distinctly non-Burgundian blend, but the price is right: only $5 for a 750-milliliter bottle and $8 for a 1.5-liter jug.

The wine was a favorite of winery founders Ernest and Julio Gallo, Kelley said, "because it was the kind of hearty red wine they were raised on and it went well with their evening meal."

Today, Kelley thinks "there's always room for a food-friendly robust red wine." True, but is that wine Hearty Burgundy still?

I went looking for wines named Burgundy to match against Gallo's famed brand in a blind tasting. And I put them up against a real Burgundy from France. Burgundy or "Bourgogne" in French, is the basic appellation for wines made in the province. In France, most wines are named for their location, not their grape variety. Generally, the smaller the area listed on the label - and in Burgundy the naming can get right down to individual vineyards - the finer and more expensive the wines.

As for my mother-in-law and her "Burgundy" boeuf bourguignon, let me finish the story. She flat-out refused to buy any of the wines I suggested as a substitute: zinfandel, syrah, merlot. Eventually, she found a jug of something red and "Burgundy" - not Gallo - and glugged it defiantly into the pot. Didn't work. The wine was too light, too sweet, not at all hearty in any sense of the word.

BOURGOGNE VS. 'BURGUNDY'

I went wine shopping at a neighborhood supermarket and was both surprised and a bit pleased to find "Burgundy" wine a rather scarce product even in the value wine section. What I found came in a range of sizes, from standard 750-milliliter bottles to 4-liter jugs. The French Burgundian red was indeed a Bourgogne, but as is the trend these days with lower-priced French wine, the label is now adorned with the name of the grape variety, pinot noir. Interestingly, the real Burgundy won, but only by a hair.

2007 Louis Jadot Bourgogne Pinot Noir

Lightest in color of the four wines, with a slight scent of mushroom and cherry. The wine sported the most tannins, giving it something of a finish, but the flavor was little more than bland berries. Serve with grilled cheese sandwich, roast chicken.

$21.99 (750 milliliters)

NV Gallo Family Vineyard Twin Valley Hearty Burgundy

This California red was colored a deep plum. The nose offers hints of chocolate, berry and earth. The flavor is jammy, almost overripe. Expect lots of bright berry notes. Serve with macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, pot roast.

$5 (750 milliliters)

NV Inglenook Burgundy Classic Series

A "Burgundy" wine made in Argentina for a California wine-maker? Believe it. The wine is a clear black cherry in color, the nose is also of cherry with a touch of earth, and the candied cherry flavor is simple, one-dimensional. Tied with Gallo for second place. Serve with burgers, meatloaf.

$7.99 (1.5 liters)

NV Carlo Rossi Burgundy

Like cherry Kool-Aid, this California wine was watery, sweet, very one-note. Serve with barbecue ribs, smoked ham.

$16.99 (4 liters)

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 3 hours, 15 minutes

Serves: 6

This recipe, from chef Tom Colicchio, is courtesy of Food & Wine magazine. Flanken-style short ribs are cut across the bones instead of parallel to them.

Note: The prep time does not include the overnight marinate time for the short ribs.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons canola oil

6 flanken-style short ribs with bones, cut 2 inches thick (about 4 pounds); see note above

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, sliced

3 celery ribs, sliced

3 garlic cloves, thickly sliced

One 750-ml bottle dry red wine, such as cabernet sauvignon

4 thyme sprigs

3 cups chicken stock

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large skillet, heat the oil. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Add them to the skillet and cook over moderate heat, turning once, until browned and crusty, about 18 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a shallow baking dish in a single layer.

Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until very soft and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Add the wine and thyme sprigs and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour the hot marinade over the ribs and let cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning the ribs once.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Transfer the ribs and marinade to a large, enameled cast-iron casserole. Place on cook top, add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover and cook in the lower third of the oven for 11/2 hours, until the meat is tender but not falling apart. Uncover and braise for 45 minutes longer, turning the ribs once or twice, until the sauce is reduced by about half and the meat is very tender.

Transfer the meat to a clean, shallow baking dish, discarding the bones as they fall off. Strain the sauce into a heatproof measuring cup and skim off as much fat as possible. Pour the sauce over the meat; there should be about 2 cups. (At this point, you may cover and refrigerate the meat up to 2 days.)

Preheat the broiler. Broil the meat, turning once or twice, until glazed and sizzling, about 10 minutes. Transfer the meat to plates, spoon the sauce on top and serve.

Per serving using low sodium chicken broth: 406 cal.; 27 g pro.; 10 g carb.; 19 g fat (7 sat., 9 monounsat., 2 polyunsat., 1 other); 75 mg chol.; 297 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 43 percent calories from fat.