Avocados make me gag, and have stomach problems for hours. The first time I tried guacamole I gagged, and spit it out and had indigestion for hours later. I was surprised until I found out it was made with avocados. I love cilantro 
Ooh! I’ve been pitted! Much fun!
What a tempest in a teapot. I specifically stated in my other post that the picky eaters that bothered me were the ones that affected others (like vetoing restaurants, every fricking time). Other than that, I don’t care. I’ll echo what Jess said:
Exactly. In the group of friends I mentioned before, there were a few people that sometimes did this. I remember a few instances where we were all travelling out of town, and there was this fantastic restaurant that we all wanted to try out. All except Picky Queen. Oh no. Picky Queen couldn’t find anything to eat on the menu except the white rice, or plain pasta. Poor Picky Queen.
Well, if it had been me, we would have eaten at the restaurant anyway, and Picky Queen would have found something to eat. I was getting sick of missing out on great restaurants, all because of Picky Queen.
Look—I’ve been on the recieving end of this too, as a vegetarian. As I mentioned before, sometimes the only thing I can eat at a restaurant is the salad and baked potato. Sometimes a plain baked potato. And I do it. No whining. I’m not going to spoil the evening for everyone else who has their heart set on the Great New Steak House, just because all they’ve got for me is a plain baked potato. I eat my damned baked potato.
If, as a picky eater, you are able to eat whatever the hell you are able to eat without being a whiny pain in the ass about it, and without squelching everyone else’s fun, then I have no problem with you. But when you are able to veto interesting restaurant choices every fricking time for the rest of the group, then you are, by definition, a pain in the ass, and I have no patience with you. (And just to repeat what I said in the other thread, sure, Picky Eater should be able to have their “turn” at picking a restaurant—that’s only fair. But not every fricking time.)
Amen to that! Dio, you truly are acting like a jerk.
You can have mine. I’ll just order a nice noodle dish for myself. Not grossed out by sushi, just don’t like it enough to pay what they charge for it.
And cilantro DOES taste like soap. Ironically, its seeds (aka coriander) make for yummy baked goods.
My texture-triggered gag reflex doesn’t kick in much anymore. I used to have a problem with cashews, then it became only after a certain number of cashews, and now I don’t know because I figured I wasn’t meant to eat that many cashews.
Cilantro tastes like soap?
Some of you guys must use really odd-smelling soap.
Just out of curiosity, what did you think guacamole was made with?
MORE soup for you, one year!
Really, the food thing just makes me kind of sad. It’s like the people that won’t watch black and white movies or movies with subtitles…I don’t hate them, but it seems like they are missing out on so much, and it makes renting a movie a bitch. Or hearing people talk about how they just can’t read novels. I know a good percentage of the world has learning disabiltiies (just like the cilantro-soap thing is genetic), but I also know that a lot of people havn’t gotten over their childhood prejudices. 80% of food allergies are physchosomatic. Most people don’t get MSG headaches.
Picky eaters just strike a bad cord in foodie, because we consider our food dislikes to be a challenge, not something to wallow defensively in. We can’t understand it, it makes us kind of sad to see our friends miss out, and it sometimes makes us upset when it ruins our greatest pleasure.
I agree totally with this (and also with much of what Diogenes said - if not quite so vehemently).
Twenty or thirty years ago, people didn’t like things. These days, they CANNOT TOLERATE things. Methinks folks are getting a bit too precious. If you have a genuine allergy, diabetes, etc then sure. But for the rest of you, I get a twenty-five year old video in my mind’s eye of my dear old mum saying, “Shaddup and eat yer vegetables”.
When I was about ten or twelve, I realised that the number of foods my childlike palate didn’t like was going to become a social and practical problem as I got older. With this in mind I gradually and voluntarily weaned myself on to many of them. while this seemed like a pain in the arse at the time, looking back it was actually no big deal. It just involved usually not much enjoying a few pieces of individual food maybe five or ten times. I did it with olives. I did it with tomatos. I did it with loads of other stuff I forget now. I’m so glad that I did too. Now I like everything in the world except peanut butter. It’s one thing I really hate. But if a host gave me a peanut butter sandwich (not likely) I would be able to eat it. Grin and bear it. I wouldn’t die.
Eating something you don’t like isn’t the end of the world. Most food you probably cook or buy yourself anyway. Maybe a spouse or other close family member cooks for you, and they know what you don’t like. It’s only when you go to dinner with other people, and then only when they happen to present you with that food you don’t like that there is a problem. So seriously, what percentage of the total meals you consume would this be? 1%? 0.5%? Deal with it.
I’m a psychologically picky eater. Or there are very specific things I seriously do not like. Something. (in the last few months I discovered one of them is black pepper. I actually like spicy food, which I thought I hated. What I hate is black pepper, remove the black pepper and bring on the other spices! Wee! Its been a great discovery, I’m freed to eat all sorts of lovely food! I know what that awful itchy, coughing, my brains want out of my head to go throw up feeling is - its not “spices”, its a spice. )
Anyway, I’m picky, I know it. Unless its Indian, I’ll find something I’ll eat and shut up about it. (If its unplanned Indian I mention I don’t eat it and ask if it would be too much trouble for the group to pick something else, or I can go home. If its planned Indian I either pass on the experiance or eat bread and be social while there, and eat my meal at a slightly different time.)
Generally, people leave me alone, and I tip 20% min for putting up with me. Anyone who has a problem with me getting food I enjoy doesn’t have to eat with me, we can hang out with non food activities. Anyone who thinks less of me because I don’t like hot dogs or mushrooms doesn’t have to hang out with me at all.
“Fruit” (biologically, usually vegetable by the culinary usage) of the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. E.g., squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, bananas, etc. (I’m not sure whether bananas (and plantains) are actually members of Cucurbitaceae but they have exactly the same effect on her.)
Hey, asshole:
Not everybody is like you.
Your experiences do not map onto the population as a whole. Your motivations are not shared by everybody. Saying, “I was able to do such-and-such,” does not mean that everyone on the planet can do such-and-such, wants to do such-and-such, or needs to do such-and-such.
And there’s nothing wrong with that. How fucking hard is that for you people to grasp?
Many individuals have taste buds which perceive cilantro as extremely soapy in taste. It’s genetic. And if you taste it that way, there’s really no way to like it.
QtM, MD
Some of us dislike subtitles because of vision problems. Trying to read subtitles often gives me a major headache. Also, I’m ADHD and I have a hard time reading and focusing on a movie at the same time.
What’s it to you, anyways?
I do deal with it, but I wish people who want to force things down the throats of others would deal with their issues instead. I don’t know why some people are so narrow-minded and self-absorbed that they cannot believe that things they enjoy are not universally beloved.
I don’t believe I am a particularly picky eater. Like anyone, I do have foods that I don’t like. This is usually not a big deal. I don’t care for olives, but if they’re on a pizza or in a salad I may not even bother to pick them off. However, I have to draw the line at shrimp.
I realize that many people enjoy eating shrimp. I know, because they’re always telling me how great they are and trying to get me to eat them. Well, I hate shrimp. I don’t mean I dislike shrimp, I mean eating them literally makes me vomit. I’m not kidding. I’ve had shrimp a handful of times in the past few years, and it made me throw up all but once. The only time it didn’t was when the dish in question had just a very small amount of shrimp in it.
Why did I eat shrimp at all if I hate it so much? Well, one time it was an accident. I mistook some sweet and sour shrimp for sweet and sour chicken. But the other times came when I was put in a social situation where there was no graceful way to get out of eating the shrimp.
I believe it is very bad manners to make derogatory remarks about food that is being served or to whine about how much you hate it. This is behavior I will not engage in. However, sometimes people just will not take “No, thank you” for an answer. It never fails to surprise me how pushy some people can be. It’s rude to complain at the table, but trying to force people to eat things they don’t want to eat borders on abusive. Yet there are those who feel no shame at all about demanding that others eat some particular dish.
In these cases I am willing to resort to almost any kind of childish subterfuge to avoid having to eat shrimp. I draw the line at outright lying (although I’ve been tempted to feign an allergy), but I’ll do just about anything else. I’ll hide it under a lettuce leaf. I’ll slip it in a napkin and throw it away when I leave. I’ll mash it into bits and spread it around on the plate so it looks like I ate some. But several times in recent years even this petty trickery has not allowed me to escape. So what do I do?
I choke a shrimp down. I sit hoping that maybe this time I won’t have to puke. I begin to feel nauseated. I excuse myself as quickly and discreetly as possible, duck into the ladies room, and vomit.
That’s what happens to people that are polite, don’t complain, and eat what’s put on their plate. If there are “picky eaters” who would rather be rude than endure this…well…I’d be hard pressed to say that they’re the ones with the problem.
I just opened this thread and haven’t gotten past this post, so apologies if this point has been beaten to death.
This is the first thing I thought of. Americans are so fucking well-off that we not only have legit psych disorders like bulemia and anorexia, but now we have “issues” with our food? I imagine there aren’t too many people in Sudan that would have “issues” with food of any kind. Eye of newt fried in elephant semen? Can I get a double scoop?
Speaking of starvation, I suspect you’ll probably live if you skip a meal at a luncheon. If you don’t like what is being served, the only complaint I can see is if you’re charged for it. Otherwise, wait till the function or event is over and grab a taco on the way home.
Or try this. It may cure you. Go to North Korea, flip Kim Jung mentally-Il the bird and get thrown in a prison. Eventually you’ll even be able to eat the rat stew and Poodle goulash you’re offered for sustinance. If you’re hungry enough your body will take what is given, not the few items that taste good.
A while back George Carlin did a bit on anorexia and bulemia. Can you imagine what it would sound like if he was on a “gag-reflex” tangent?
I don’t know about the Sudan, but I was in college with a Kenyan who wouldn’t touch uncooked vegetables. This was no pampered socialite from Nairobi either, she was a rural Masai from a little village that didn’t even have running water.
She said that where she came from, people don’t eat raw plants. Her reaction to the salad bar was like that of a very provincial American when first confronted with sashimi. Even after four years in the US she was ordering hamburgers with no tomato and no lettuce.
Just to piss on the parade of anger:
Today is Valentine’s Day. In my family, we have a tradition, that I started a few years ago. On Valentine’s Day, everyone in the family can eat anything they want for dinner. Anything. It’s the only day where no request can be vetoed.
Tonight, my younger daughter will be eating chocolate pie for dinner. My older daughter will be eating a banana split for dinner. My wife will be eating her favorite Thai dish. My mother-in-law will be eating pickled herring and fresh baked rye bread. I will be frying myself up a porterhouse steak. Every single one of us has a food or foods that we refuse to eat. Tonight is the one night that won’t be a problem.
Good night, all.
No, dickweed. I agree some people can’t. This is fine. I mentioned diabetics and the like (read my post again, you illiterate moron). Not everybody wants to? Sure, but you gotta do things you don’t want to do. That’s life. Unless, of course, you are an insufferably self-centred prick like your good self. If you want to function in society normally, you might sometimes have to eat your spinach. Don’t worry, you are still free to eat your McDonalds Happy Meals 99% of the time (mind you don’t choke on the toy, God forbid).
This is a hard thread for me. I agree (at least partially) with the people being pitted; I’m a hardcore foodie, and it makes me sad to see such limited diets, whether it’s for a “medically necessary” (whatever that means) reason or not. I know exactly what even sven means when she refers to food and eating as her “greatest pleasure”. I love food, and I try new foods and combinations of foods every chance I get.
One of my favorite things to do is to invite a bunch of friends over and cook them a big dinner. I have at least one big party every summer where I choose eight to ten recipes that can be mostly prepared outside, and I spend all day cooking; it’s part of the party for me, and makes everything that much more fun for me. I like to make dishes with interesting, palate-grabbing flavor combinations and recipes with many, many ingredients. When you make food like that (Indian, Caribbean, etc.), it raises the likelihood that there’s going to be something in there that someone doesn’t like. And that’s frustrating to me, as a cook.
Of course it’s inappropriate to badger someone into eating something they don’t want to eat. That is truly appalling behavior. And it’s equally appalling when people whine and bitch about the food they’re served, particularly when it’s at someone’s home.
But if I make the effort required to make a dinner for a group of people (something that I love to do), it just makes me sad when someone won’t try something I’ve made, especially when their objection is something broad like “I don’t like spices” or “I don’t like vegetables”. I don’t make a big deal out of it if it happens (not often, thankfully). I may ask them what about the dish they don’t like, but that’s as far as it goes.
Meh. This has been long and rambling, but my main thrust here is just that it makes me sad when people’s diets are so restricted, especially when someone won’t venture out of their comfort zone and try something new. Not that they don’t have a right to decide exactly what they will and won’t eat, and not that I have to be the final arbiter of what is and isn’t good to eat. And especially not (to answer Lamia’s first paragraph of 4:50 MST for a second) that I’m so self-centered that I can’t believe that everyone doesn’t like the variety that I like. It just makes me sad, because I love food so much, and I want to share it with everyone.
What I like to eat is my business. If it upsets you that I don’t like a particular food, then I would kindly suggest that you deal with it. Don’t try to force it on me.
And if you hang out with people that are so picky that they ruin your meal, I suggest that you not invite them to share dinner.
When I was young, I did not like -
Asparagus
Bagels
Cream Cheese
Seafood
Mushrooms
Sauerkraut
Green Olives
Now I love all of those except seafood and mushrooms. Mushrooms I can take, but will avoid them. My Wife loves mushrooms, so we cut them up larger when cooking, then she can get mine.
I never had to make any valiant attempt to make my self like these foods. And frankly I think it would backfire.
I still try seafood when someone I trust says it’s exceptionally good. Not working.
When someone I don’t know wonders how I could possibly not like something, it’s aggravating. And none of their business. I don’t know why I don’t like it.
What’s your favorite color? Same difference.
QTM. Interesting. I don’t really like Cilantro much either. A Small amount is OK
Duffer, that’s not the issue.
You helped, though unknowingly, make my point. I love raw tomatoes, but only by themselves with a little salt. I can’t stand raw tomatoes on tacos, burgers, salads. The reason I don’t eat them that way is there are so many other ways to eat those foods. And if I get a burger with a tomato on it, I…wait for it…remove the tomato! (Sorry, that isn’t supposed to sound so personal, so please don’t read too much into it)
Education time. I’m not familiar with Masai diets. How abundant are veggies there? I would suspect the equivalent would be nuts or berries, but that’s just a WAG.
Also, in Kenya, was the non-raw plant thing cultural? Did it have religious or regional significance? I’m honestly curious as I’ve never heard of a culture that didn’t eat raw plant parts. Help fight my ignorance! 