The more I bake, the more injuries I seem to develop. From being bitten by the chickens, obsessive hand washing causing deep cracks in skin and now allergies to things like spices and dish detergent. But this is a new one. Candy coating causing allergic reaction didn’t even seem possible.

It all started shortly after midnight about a fortnight back. I had been messing around with making chocolate eggs, specifically using compound chocolates. I had worked with them dozens of times in the past. Using candy coated deserts was easy as my attempts with tempering chocolate turned out like, well this:

Frankly, I suck at working with chocolate. I’ve burnt it, seized it, melted treats, turned it into chocolate that would never set, would bend or leave a melted trail of sadness when touching it.

In addition, I gave up on making treats when I learned about candy melts. No tempering required, most prefer it even though I personally found the candies sickly sweet with an odd texture. All was right with the world. I was getting shiny coatings, a nice snap, pretty color choices. I was learning how to seal things, a bit wobbly, but making progress!

And then…I went to sleep and started itching. Like poison ivy meets fiberglass and had a baby itching. I went to the mirror and I had these tiny little dots on my face, chest and hands. They reminded me so much of chicken pox. Did I have them again? Measles, mites? Bed bugs? My OCD began firing rapidly as I swallowed antihistamines hoping for the best. The itching calmed down enough to sleep and dream of critters crawling all over.

It didn’t go away. I went to the doctor which I try to avoid whenever possible. She said it was contact dermatitis. To what? That’s up to you to find and avoid. And the next few weeks, I spent obsessively washing and avoiding everything. My fear of contamination stopped me from baking. When I had to eat, I wore gloves to prepare and then another set to eat. The rash persisted. And then…it started to go away. Maybe it was something from the park.

I started to resume my candy making. And within a few moments, this time I began itching within a short time and my throat felt scratchy and started to close up like when I’m around perfumes. Could it be…this candy? Candy coating causing allergic reaction, is this a thing? I recall eating a bit the day I had the bad reaction. Actually, about 1/2 hour before I broke out.

When I left the room and started to feel like I could breath again. Washed my hands and they weren’t as fire and brimstone itchy. Little dots were already surfacing. Could it be the candy?

So I left the molds for my husband to take out. Then I begged him to wash the dishes that touched everything and looked up ingredients. Nothing looked out of place except…artificial vanillin. What is that? Quick google search reveals it is imitation vanilla and is made often from cloves. Cloves is the spice I discovered I am apparently have breathing and skin issues with this winter when making gingerbread and pfeffernuesse. If it gets on my skin, it leaves welts.

Interestingly enough, the perfumes I struggle with are likely a result of vanillin. It is a common ingredient in perfumes and makeups. I may have just discovered my mystery allergy trigger I’ve suffered with for years. Time will tell.

And in the meantime, it’s time to learn how to temper chocolate once and for all. For now, I’m steering clear of candy melts. Doctor said elimination one thing at a time is the only way to narrow down the cause without allergy tests.

So if you end up with weird rashes while baking, look at cloves and imitation vanilla. It is apparently a well known allergy to a few unlucky people. Time to learn how to temper chocolate once and for all!