Everyone in my family is allergic to duck. I found out when I was 15 and treated to a special duck dinner prepared especially for my birthday in the Poconos. I was so ill that I had to be rushed to the hospital. Years later, frying everything in duck fat became a huge fad in the U.S. and I ran across some duckfat fried potatoes that made me quite ill in a popular food establishment in Washington, D.C. The restaurant said that they had never heard of the allergy before. About 20 years later, while living in Oman, I tried a dish at a Chinese restaurant that contained some duck, with even more disastrous results. Later, in Morocco, some friends took us to their farm and offered us raw milk (I am lactose intolerant) and duck eggs. No matter how much I tried to politely refuse them, they insisted that I take the milk and eggs home with me for my "health." I gave them to a neighbor, because I was so afraid, I didn't want to handle the eggs. Everyone is always surprised when I list duck and rhubarb as my food allergies, but, although they are uncommon, they have proven many times to be true.
