Bob, “Yeah, I’ve tried a few mystery novels but they just aren’t for me.”
Phil, “What? Here, read this one!”
Bob, “Is it a mystery novel?”
Phil, “Yeah.”
Bob, “But I don’t like mysteries.”
Phil, “You don’t know what you’re missing!”
Bob, “Yeah I do, I don’t like mysteries.”
Feel free to replace ‘mysteries’ with ‘gansta rap’, ‘romance novels’, ‘death metal’, ‘performance art’ or whatever. Some people DO KNOW what they are missing and it shouldn’t put YOU on the defensive. I don’t see anyone being ‘proud’ about not liking foods, just comfortable not eating every god-damned thing under the sun.
Had it. Ate it. Wasn’t wild about it, don’t care for any more.
Herring? 3 different ways at the same meal.
Eel? Yup
Oysters? Yup those too.
Or moving to land animals
Reindeer? cooked so rare (blue rare) that I think it still mooed when I hit it with a fork.
Why did I eat these foods that I don’t care for (or prepared in manners I don’t like?) Simple I did not want my hosts to think I did not appreciate the lengths they went to prepare a special meal. The funny thing about it was the herring that I was told I would like the least is the dish I liked the most. ::: shrug:::
[post party]
post #2000! yea me!
[/pp]
I’m a hard-core foodie, and I’m picky about some things. For most of my life I didn’t like shrimp or shellfish, despite loving fish in just about all its forms. In the last several years I’ve realized that shrimp is just like asparagus for me–something wonderful when done right and horrible when done badly. My goal in the next decade is to expand to other shellfish, and to warm up to mushrooms. I don’t suspect that I’m ever going to truly love mushrooms, but I’d like to at least appreciate them.
Regarding picky eaters, I’m firmly in the eat-it-or-don’t-just-STFU camp. You can see it go too far the other way, though. My beloved CrazyCatLady used to be known for loudly denouncing foods she didn’t like, questioning the good sense and parentage of those who enjoyed those foods. She knew this bothered me, so she stopped doing it. Later, I had cooked asparagus 3-4 times for us before I finally found out that she hates it.
She deserves plenty of slack in this regard, though, based on her background. We thought her family, God love 'em, was going to starve to death while they were in New Orleans for our wedding. She has one grandparent who won’t eat onions in anything, and another who won’t eat anything tainted by black pepper. And yet, she’s pretty much a foodie these days.
I was honestly not aware of the soapy cilantro gene. How prevalent is that? It’s my favorite herb to cook with, so it might be worth warning people…
**yosemite, ** I probably shouldn’t have included you, but the point I was making is that quite a few people have been hammering about how people should suck it up and eat x or y. That seems to be beside the point.
Also, if someone always insists on going to Denny’s or being the deciding voice, why invite them?
Aren’t there foods or cuisines that you won’t try? How about some roast capybara, masai cow blood, or some pickled pig’s feet?
You’re a lucky soul. I can think of several off the top of my head.
It’e likely that the foodies among us notice these folks more simply because we’re more likely to suggest food choices off the beaten path, so we get to hear the protestations more often as those choices are shot down.
Here’s the thing, though - maybe you’re not the drama queen. I’ve never eaten with you, so I don’t know, but if you don’t make a big production number out of how you can’t eat bamboo shoots because pandas eat bamboo, and their stomachs are adapted to eat bamboo, but yours is not; if you don’t go “eew, gross!” when someone out to dinner with you orders squid for herself, not for you; if you don’t otherwise piss and moan about the food you don’t like, but politely decline it or order something from the menu that won’t offend you, then you’re not a drama queen. Really. I swear to God.
There are assholes on both sides of the argument. Generally, they’re not only assholes about food, but assholes about many things in their life. If you’re not an asshole, then you’re just not. Don’t worry about it. Eat what you like.
enipla - Look, no one in my life has nagged me to eat things that I didn’t want to (except my mom, but that’s her job.) If I’ve declined something because it just doesn’t sound good to me, my friends let it slide and move on to something else. I’ve never had to deal with the nagging foodies that some people have described in their posts. But here’s the thing: I’m not saying they don’t exist. I just hang out with different people, and that’s all. If you’ve been lucky in your life and you’ve never had to deal with a true PIA (or if you’ve at least been spared having to eat with them), then count your blessings. Don’t doubt their existence just because you haven’t met them.
I can understand that people have gag reflexes, dislike the taste of whatever food, etc…
But honestly, such a statement is just weird. As someone else pointed out, it’s similar to saying “all meats (chicken, duck, mutton, beef…), regardless of how they’re prepared, taste the same”. Actuallly, there are more different in taste between seafood than between meats, IMO. I mean…salmon tastes the same as crab??? Calamari is similar in taste to oysters???
Picky eaters are a bunch of world-class, self-absorbed, pussies unless they are actually allergic to something. You don’t have to like everything. I don’t like the texture or taste of chestnuts but I don’t mention it when my father-in-law makes a big deal out of roasting them on Christmas and passes them around. I eat them because they aren’t going to hurt me and I control my gag reflex, it doesn’t run my life. I would gladly eat pickled goat brain if a generous host served it to me.
When my mother married my stepfather, he warned her that his son was a very picky eater. My stepbrother came to live with us. On his first night there, my mother made chicken enchilladas. My stepbrother and came in the kitchen and said “Oh Miss Debbie, I don’t really like Mexican food”. My mother replied: “That’s fine Andy, you don’t have to eat anything you don’t want to”. A few minutes passed and Andy said “What can I have for dinner?”. My mother replied: “I don’t know Andy. We are having chicken enchiladas but you don’t like Mexican food. We aren’t having Mexican food tomorrow so you should be Ok.”
Andy ate those chicken enchiladas that night and seemd to enjoy them. I don’t think that he had ever tasted them before. Today he is grown and will eat just about anything.
Come out of your close-minded, food bigoted little world, and try to learn something and try new things.
It doesn’t make sense to anyone except the person who wrote it. We have a name for people that experience a completely different reality than everyone else.
Exactly. And no one is defending such behavior. I find it horrible to act in such a manner.
On the other hand, we do see posters with the ‘shut up and eat it’ attitude. So the only ass-holish behavior we see is on that side. I don’t see anyone saying, ‘Don’t eat that’, just ‘No thank you’. Maybe people should worry about their own behavior before critiquing what other people eat.
Food-bigoted?! What world do you live in? It’s fucking FOOD (for the twelfth time tonight)!! There’s nothing special about it. Some of it tastes good. Some of it doesn’t. Anything other than general nutritional efficacy is a bonus. How deluded about it do you have to be to consider someone who doesn’t care to “stretch” their little world to be “bigoted” about it? It’s not a suspect class. It’s FOOD!
Geez, some people seem to worship the stuff…it’s not my fault you’re food sluts.
It’s hard to understand something highly personal like that unless you’ve experienced it, isn’t it? I can’t imagine not being able to distinguish between the colours red and green, either, but I know there are people who can’t. Millerjust might be the taste equivalent of colour blind, at least as far as seafood goes.
The “upset” comment, btw, wasn’t really directed at you so much as it was to the world in general. I’ve been on the receiving end of “try it, you’ll like it” from people who won’t listen to me when I tell them that I have tried it in the past and didn’t like it then. You’d think I broke their favourite dolly or something.
And would someone for pity’s sake explain to me what a “foodie” is? Today is the first time I’ve ever even heard this word, and it’s been tossed all over this thread like confetti.
Eh? You’re the one being close-minded and bigoted. I’ve tried bananas. I can’t stand bananas. It’s not like you’re going to magically make a banana taste better unless you make it not taste like banana. And then what’s the point? Yes your fucking banana split may be the best in the world, but I’m just going to eat the fucking ice cream off the top, so please just give me a few scoops of ice cream. I’m not demeaning your banana-split making abilities, I just can’t stand god damned bananas. Get. Over. Yourself. You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You’re the same decaying organic matter as everything else.
Oh well, yeah. I’d try to eat around it, or eat something else that was there.
(However, I adore mushrooms-not those soggy canned ones, but the real big grilled portabellos, stuffed mushroom caps, mmmm. And raw shrooms make for a wonderful snack!)
I learned when I was five not to whine about other peoples’ food. My dad was eating hardboiled eggs with his dinner, and I started whining about how they stunk (well, they DO!) and how gross they were and blah blah blah. Dad finally got so fed up he stormed out and went for a walk. In the process, he shoved his chair away from the table, and the jarring motion sent my plate of hamburger stroganoff straight into my lap.
Nowadays, we tease each other-my mother and my sister are always asking me if I like a little soup with my crackers-but I don’t gag at anyone’s choices.
Except the time my best friend ate an entire packet of mayonaisse…and nothing else. That was gross.
It’s the guy who has a strong opinion on every single Indian restaurant in town. The woman who will drive across town on her lunch break for a particular sandwich. The ones who are greeted by name by their butcher.
I’m sure you know at least one. The Food Network has reinforced our ranks in recent years.
food·ie:
A person who has an ardent or refined interest in food; a gourmet: “in the culinary fast lane, where surprises are expected and foodies beg to be thrilled” (Boston Globe).
So tuna and cod taste exactly the same to you? As in you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between something from Long John Silver’s and a tuna steak if I blindfolded you?
No offense inteded as I dislike seafood as a whole as well but I find that bizarre.
An equivalent would probably be someone saying to a movie-lover : “I only like hollywood action movie blockbusters, all other movies are all just the same plain boring stuff”.
