# Picky eaters
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [December 28, 2020, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053 "2020-12-28T00:12:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Dbug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dbug)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/1 "2020-12-28T00:12:04Z")
I am a picky eater not by choice but by necessity. I have texture issues and food allergies but a lady I work with said I can fix it. No I can’t any one else picky by necessity
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### Author:  [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/2 "2020-12-28T00:36:30Z")
Do you have a medically diagnosed food allergy, or just an aversion to certain foods. They aren’t the same thing.
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### Author:  [@Dbug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dbug)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/4 "2020-12-28T00:40:34Z")
Diagnose severe intolerance to almonds citrus and raw tomato allergic to walnuts mild sensitivity to dairy and wheat
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/5 "2020-12-28T00:43:39Z")
Not really ‘picky’ then, is it?
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### Author:  [@Dbug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dbug)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/6 "2020-12-28T00:45:59Z")
I think she may of meant the texture stuff but I’m not entirely sure
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### Author:  [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/7 "2020-12-28T02:23:52Z")
I was a world-class picky eater as a kid- mostly taste. I’ve since gotten somewhat better but there are definitely some things that I’ll never be able to eat because of the texture. Tomato soup, for example. That said, we went to a local Korean restaurant a few years ago and my dad wanted to try a soup; the waitress advised against it as she said the texture was an acquired taste. So he got something else.
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### Author:  [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/8 "2020-12-28T02:39:35Z")
Genuine curiosity: how is tomato soup _texture_ different from other soups? I don’t think of it as having a unique texture. Is it only tomato soup with chunks in it? (I can see how a non-smooth tomato soup could have a unique texture.) Again, I’m not questioning your aversion, I just am not sure I experience the distinction.
I am not very picky – I have few things that I won’t eat. But my preferences around some things have gotten stronger as I’ve gotten older. I’ve always loved garlic, but I seem to not like garlic powder anymore. The smell is very off-putting now.
I also don’t enjoy certain seafood as much. I think I’m more sensitive to “fishy” tastes.
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### Author:  [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/9 "2020-12-28T03:16:00Z")
You know, I don’t know. I just know the texture is wrong - maybe because tomato has a texture and soup doesn’t?. My mother had very little patience for picky eaters, but she never tried to make me eat it again, so my reaction must have convinced her tomato soup was a big fat no.
Fish tastes the way dead seaweed smells.
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### Author:  [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/10 "2020-12-28T03:54:12Z")
My cousin’s daughter and I call it “texture conflict” – each texture is fine by itself, but not in the same food. Like chewy fruit in ice cream.
As for picky eater, I can’t remember ever (since I was 12) leaving anything on my plate, not rven Vietnamese larva or live Chilean seafood.
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### Author:  [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/11 "2020-12-28T05:37:24Z")
There are foods that seem to have almost no flavor, but a very displeasing texture, that I won’t eat. One is squid, especially raw. Another is a japanese yam that is ground up fresh and has the consistency and appearance of fresh mucus; the dish is called tororo. Of course, natto has a disgusting smell as well as a revolting texture. It’s funny to me, natto is fermented soybeans, and so is miso. I love miso, and I can’t be in the same room with natto.
But I generally pride myself on being willing to try almost anything, as taught me by my parents, who used very effective reverse psychology on both of us (“What’s that?” “Oh, you wouldn’t like it.”) It worked even though I knew they were doing it.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/12 "2020-12-28T09:01:56Z")
> [@kitap](#):
>
> Fish tastes the way dead seaweed smells.
As it happens I like seaweed as well as fish - although there’s a limit to how long they can be out of the water and remain edible.
But back to the OP - I’m a “picky eater” due to multiple food allergies. It’s not to be difficult, it’s to avoid the unwanted excitement of calling 911.
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/13 "2020-12-28T12:11:49Z")
My pickiness is mostly a dislike of certain flavors. For the most part, I don’t like spicy foods, especially really hot flavors. There are certain food smells that turn me off also - cumin being at the top of that list, and asparagus.
At what point does preference become picky?
To my mind, it’s like my one sister who will eat only one specific brand of potato chip. It’s not even a fancy or gourmet chip - just plain, ordinary, bagged, mass-produced chips. To me, that’s picky. Or the nephew who won’t touch a food item past its sell-by date - doesn’t matter that it’s perfectly good food - it’s all about the date.
On the other hand, when I say I don’t like apricots or oysters or chilis, I’m not being picky - I just don’t like them. And I’d never demand that someone arrange their menu around my preferences or require that they not take me to a particular restaurant - that’s just rude.
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### Author:  [@fschwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fschwartz)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/14 "2020-12-28T13:09:23Z")
Have you had any genetic testing done to see what biochemical or food group you are allergic to? (I recommend CRI Genetics, no affiliation with them.) It won 't fix anything but it might answer some questions.
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/15 "2020-12-28T13:20:47Z")
> [@kitap](#):
>
> …we went to a local Korean restaurant a few years ago and my dad wanted to try a soup; the waitress advised against it as she said the texture was an acquired taste. So he got something else.
How else is one supposed to acquire the taste, besides eating some?
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### Author:  [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/16 "2020-12-28T15:42:14Z")
It becomes picky when it becomes a problem - not liking apricots or oysters or chilis will never be a problem. You’ll never be faced with a restaurant menu where every item has one or more of those things. And even if someone doesn’t make demands regarding menus or restaurants, that doesn’t mean preferences aren’t going to be taken into account. My son-in-law doesn’t like fish/seafood, so I’m not going to suggest a seafood restaurant if we’re taking them to dinner. That’s fairly easy - there are many different types of restaurant that don’t specialize in seafood. I also won’t serve only seafood if he’s coming for dinner ( (even on Christmas Eve) If, on the other hand he only eats burgers, chicken fingers and pizza, that’s going to eliminate a lot of restaurants\* and I would probably only invite them for cook-outs.
\*and BTW, there are people who eat chicken fingers and _no other type of chicken_, not even fried
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### Author:  [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/17 "2020-12-28T16:42:09Z")
Even people with allergic reactions to certain food, can eat the foods they are allergic to. Even though they shouldn’t.
What the OP describes is more of a psychological problem. And is what is more commonly called a “picky eater”. It’s a choice, not a biological condition. It may be a choice that is difficult to overcome, but nonetheless a choice.
There are lots of foods that I don’t like, but there are not really any foods that I can’t eat. (I have no food allergies).
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/18 "2020-12-28T16:45:33Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#):
>
> What the OP describes is more of a psychological problem. And is what is more commonly called a “picky eater”. It’s a choice, not a biological condition. It may be a choice that is difficult to overcome, but nonetheless a choice.
The OP mentioned food allergies, which, if accurate, would be a non-chosen biological condition.
There are certain foods that some people taste differently than others (cilantro is a notorious example). And there are “supertasters” who taste flavors far more intensely than most people.
Can “texture issues” have a physiological component, or are they strictly psychological?
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### Author:  [@Dbug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dbug)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/19 "2020-12-28T17:00:17Z")
In my case my texture stuff is due to autism spectrum disorder with mild sensory processing disorder and hightened since of smell and taste which is common in autism spectrum disorder
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### Author:  [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/20 "2020-12-28T17:13:34Z")
> [@doreen](#):
>
> That’s fairly easy - there are many different types of restaurant that don’t specialize in seafood.
A decent seafood restaurant will almost always have a steak on the menu. I also can’t eat any type of seafood.
My other thing is mushrooms. A friend dropped off some home made breakfast burritos. I had one the next day. I love BB’s. But I could not eat it. There was something not right with it. My Wife figured it out, there where diced mushrooms in it (which in itself seems a little odd for a BB).
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### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2020, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picky-eaters/929053/21 "2020-12-28T17:20:28Z")
I am not a picky eater by any means, there is almost nothing that I won’t try, and even if I don’t like it, I can still tolerate it if it’s what is available.
Except mayonnaise. For some reason, it just makes me nauseous. If there is just a bit, lightly on toasted bread or something, I can tolerate it. But if there’s any clumps or globs of it, just no. It’s both a texture and a flavor thing.
This does go for mayonnaise based food items as well, like aioli and most creamy salad dressings. If I substitute the mayo with yogurt, it’s not too bad, though.
> [@doreen](#):
>
> \*and BTW, there are people who eat chicken fingers and _no other type of chicken_ , not even fried
I have a friend who won’t eat chicken, at all in any way shape or form.
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