How to say in French....
 

How does one say in French ,"I am allergic to Walnuts, but other tree nuts are ok"? My husband is allergic to walnuts only, and I'd prefer to not have something "lost in translation" since google translate seems to give the same word for "nuts" and "walnuts". I plan to have this printed on a card to show the waiter/server especially since we are going to Dordogne - the land of walnuts! Thanks in advance.

My phone translater app has "noyer" for walnut...and if you put "noyer" into Google translate, you get "walnut" in English...but I'm sure Kerouac will know for certain.

SS

My advice would be to not take chances. There can be errors in do it yourself translations. Contact any one of a number of online companies that prepare allergy translation cards for you, all sealed in plastic, that you can hand to the waiter. They have any number of standard cards for common things, but they will prepare ones specifically tailored to your needs. Here are a couple of ones you might look at:

http://www.selectwisely.com/

https://allergytranslation.com/

There are also outfits on line that will let you download free allergy card templates you can print out yourself, but since you have a different problem you might want to have professional help with the wording.

"Je suis allergique aux noix, mais je peux manger les autres fruits à coque".

Fully agree with Pvoyageuse.

Certainly here in the Dordogne you will come across 'noix', which are walnuts. Virtually anyone you speak to will assume that you mean walnuts. A shame that your husband can't eat them, as they are very good here, chocolate covered, caramelized, in walnut cakes.

Something to remember here also is that walnut bread is popular. When I spoke to our baker some years ago about someone who was allergic, he understood that they wouldn't want to eat this, but didn't seem certain that knives, bowls, etc. would have been kept separately. This may have changed, as awareness of allergies has increased, but if your husband is very allergic, you might want to inquire about how bread was made.

Thank you for the translation! He's not deathly allergic, thankfully, so he can eat things that are prepared in the same kitchens as walnuts. He just can't eat the nuts themselves (probably oil too though we've never tested that.) However, I will try the walnut products!

You could also try printing out some photos of walnuts and other nuts to show exactly what is and is not permissible

I've done exactly that. We are now armed with the sentence in French as suggested by Pvoyageuse and I have interspersed it with graphic to show what is and is not permissible. Thanks again for your help and suggestions.

Walnuts rarely show up in food anyway in France, unless it is specifically marked "aux noix" -- and that would almost always be a salad. Since it would also probably be a very good salad, you could still get it by just asking "sans noix."

I hope that chestnuts (<I>marrons</I>) are not a problem because they are much more common in both savoury dishes and desserts.

Just remember that walnuts are common in the Dordogne as there are many groves in that region. Morsels can be sprinkled over salads and desserts as decorative garnish, not necessarily mentioned on the menu. Also, some salade composees may have a walnut oil dressing. So make sure you check for "huile de noix" also.

So,

What exactly is the difference between walnut and nut ?
For me they are both 'noix'.

My hat to Pvoyageuse, I didn't know we could talk about 'fruits à coque'.

Thus, help a poor Belgian enhance his knowledge of nuts ...
Which are well known in Bastogne.

Noix is the blanket word that covers all nuts, but it is also the specific name for the walnut, which is what can cause confusion even among the French. On a menu, however, "noix" always refers to walnuts. If there are other nuts like pecans, almonds, cashews or hazelnuts, their names are mentioned specifically.

Thanks Kerouac.
So Nuts would translate into 'fruits à coque' and walnut into noix.
Ps confusion extends towards Belgians too....