# What's with the nasty-ass food old people eat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239 "2013-10-14T18:35:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/1 "2013-10-14T18:35:39Z")
So much of their preferred fare seems to be a ranch dressing or mayonnaise based “salad” of some sort. What’s with that? Was creamed fat cheap during the depression? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/2 "2013-10-14T18:43:11Z")
Something to look forward to for you, I hope. And FYI, anyone who lived through the depression would be over 80 at this point and entitled to a little respect. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/3 "2013-10-14T18:45:30Z")
How old? I pretty much eat now what I ate when I was “young” except I try to eat less of it since as I age I gain weight a lot easier. And I don’t know what you mean about mayonnaise based salad. Sorry: more information needed, OP. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/4 "2013-10-14T18:49:53Z")
Ranch dressing is delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/5 "2013-10-14T18:53:44Z")
I suggest that the OP’s experience with folks over fifty is limited and from a great distance. We’re pretty fuckin’ weird from way over there. You have no idea how weird until you’re within spittin’ distance. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/6 "2013-10-14T19:02:52Z")
I think a lot of it is that you keep making (and eating) whatever food was popular when you were learning to cook for yourself (or eat for yourself). For example, whenever my grandmother has people over for dinner, she usually makes an aspic. For those that have the pleasure of not knowing, that’s a gelatin with vegetables in it (she likes to use asparagus). Pretty weird these days, but that was high-society food in the 50s. Same with mayo-based salads. Waldorf salad is just apples, walnuts, and mayo. Carrot salad is just shredded carrots, raisins, and mayo. Potato salad is often just potatoes and mayo. Just a holdover from the past when something that fatty was not considered unhealthy. And I think the health aspect is a big part of it. My grandmother doesn’t blink at adding a full stick of butter to every dish on the table - that was just how everyone ate around her when she was growing up, even if that’s horrific to more health-conscious people of my generation. EDIT: and in response to **Roderick Femm** , merely being old does not entitle anyone to any respect. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/7 "2013-10-14T19:05:57Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I suggest that the OP’s experience with folks over fifty is limited and from a great distance. We’re pretty fuckin’ weird from way over there. You have no idea how weird until you’re within spittin’ distance. Don’t spit on people, it’s rude. You should know that by now. \>\_\> ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/8 "2013-10-14T19:23:14Z")
Food has changed a lot over the past several decades. Pizza and chow mein were at one time the height of “exotic” fare. Nowadays you see guys in wife-beaters eating sushi and dipping their Wonder bread in extra virgin olive oil. One day some whipper-snapper is going to call your food “nasty-ass” simply because it doesn’t have any Soylent Green in it. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/9 "2013-10-14T19:25:42Z")
I used to take grandma to do her grocery shopping. I liked my grandma, and grandpa let me drive the '51 Studebaker. Every week she bought fish in a little wooden box. I have no idea how she served it, or what kind of fish it was. Salted cod or herring, maybe. Other than that, the old people I know eat pretty much the same food as everyone else. I think there’s probably more difference in geography and income than in age. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/10 "2013-10-14T19:29:54Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Every week she bought fish in a little wooden box. I have no idea how she served it, or what kind of fish it was. Salted cod or herring, maybe. Mmm, kippers (smoked herring in oil). On saltines. A favorite snack I got from my Scandahoovian mother. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/11 "2013-10-14T19:35:44Z")
In case anyone hasn’t seen the [Gallery of Regrettable Food](http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/), you should, it’s crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/12 "2013-10-14T19:39:26Z")
Ranch dressing was developed in the 50’s and didn’t become popular until the 70’s. Of course, if you were in your 20’s in the 70’s, then you’re in your 60’s now. The other point of that being that if you went back to the Great Depression and brought them Ranch Dressing, 1\> They would have never seen it before, and 2\> They’d likely consider it somewhat exotic. Minnesotans of the era, of course, would complain that it was too spicy. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/13 "2013-10-14T19:41:31Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Something to look forward to for you, I hope. And FYI, anyone who lived through the depression would be over 80 at this point and entitled to a little respect. I’ll respect my elders, but god damn it I will _never_ respect mayonnaise. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/14 "2013-10-14T19:53:27Z")
Sense of taste is enhanced? Medical conditions? I’m just throwing things out there. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/15 "2013-10-14T20:18:14Z")
Actually, sense of taste seems to go as you age. I now shake enough pepper on my food to make me sneeze. That’s how I know it’s enough. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/16 "2013-10-14T20:28:09Z")
Well, I have to wonder how many old people the OP has observed eating? Whatever the size of that universe, from this he makes the huge generalization as to what we old farts eat? Not cool. I’m 86, and due to beating cancer twice, I now eat a very healthy diet. No red meat, just fish and chicken, brown rice and loads of veggies. Fortunately my wife is an excellent cook, and finds ways of making these foods delicious. Having done strenuous exercise all my life, I probably need more calaries than most people my age, but still no butter or margarine, no salad dressings at all (I eat my salads straight up), no added salt to anything, and all-in-all, a healthy and enjoyable bunch of meals. It may be that the OP’s experience is with single older people, who have to cook themselves. I know that is a PITA, and they may be more apt to go for the unhealthy stuff. Hey, I tell you, the Great Depression was no fun, and we ate a lot of potatoes, bread and starch because that was all we could afford. Once WWII started, and more people had jobs, of course food rationing started, so still not much good stuff that we did not grow or shoot ourselves. Be a little more charitable about old people. Some day, if you are lucky, you become one yourself. Meanwhile, get off my damn lawn! ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/17 "2013-10-14T20:39:27Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > So much of their preferred fare seems to be a ranch dressing or mayonnaise based “salad” of some sort. What’s with that? Was creamed fat cheap during the depression? Before you start dissin’ old people, what about the [disgusting shit Americans eat](http://www.businessinsider.com/american-foods-foreigners-find-gross-2013-10)? :eek: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/18 "2013-10-14T21:11:27Z")
In the last 20-30 years, America has made great efforts to remove fats from its food. …and replaced it with high-fructose corn syrup. Which means that in fifty years, nursing homes will be ringing with the sounds of seniors sucking on juice boxes. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/19 "2013-10-14T21:17:04Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > So much of their preferred fare seems to be a ranch dressing or mayonnaise based “salad” of some sort. What’s with that? Was creamed fat cheap during the depression? Cream-based dressings are nasty-ass foods for old people? When was the last time you ate a vegetable, sport? Just keep stuffing those Taco Bell, KFC and Mickey-D products into your gaping gob and then wonder why you’re diabetic at age 40. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239/20 "2013-10-14T21:18:07Z")
> [@KlondikeGeoff](#): > > I’m 86, and due to beating cancer twice, I now eat a very healthy diet. No red meat, just fish and chicken, brown rice and loads of veggies. Fortunately my wife is an excellent cook, and finds ways of making these foods delicious. > > Having done strenuous exercise all my life, I probably need more calaries than most people my age, but still no butter or margarine, no salad dressings at all (I eat my salads straight up), no added salt to anything, and all-in-all, a healthy and enjoyable bunch of meals. > > It may be that the OP’s experience is with single older people, who have to cook themselves. I know that is a PITA, and they may be more apt to go for the unhealthy stuff. This is all really fantastic, and I wish more people of ALL AGES ate like you! Wait, on second thought…I might be out of a job! :eek: 😃 I see a few things with my elder (70-95yo) clients. Mouth and tooth issues sometimes make it hard to eat. Transportation issues make it hard to get to the store frequently for fresh produce. Arthritis and mobility and balance issues make it hard to cook complicated meals. Reduced income makes it difficult to afford food that they might prefer. People who learned how to cook for a family find it difficult or “not worth it” to cook for just one or two. Multiple medications may reduce appetite or make elimination more difficult. Reduced senses of smell and taste, as well as changes in farming and food production\* make many formerly favorite foods suddenly unappealing. And so you end up with a lot of nuked, boring, bland, mushy meals. [Salty is one of the tastes to diminish, but our enjoyment of it actually goes \*up \*after age 50](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23289252). It’s also the easiest taste to add to food. And so you see a lot of oversalting and salty food choices (like Ranch Dressing) simply because a minimal or moderate amount of salt doesn’t taste like anything any more, and at the same time salt tastes even better to them than to young whippersnappers. \*About 10 years ago, I got a free range hand raised heirloom chicken as a bonus from work. My grandmother took a bite, and tears started streaming down her face. “Gram, what’s wrong?” “This…this…this is what chicken used to taste like!” she exclaimed. It was absolutely delicious, and it was indeed more chickeny than supermarket chickens. It was also $25 for a single fat, old chicken! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-nasty-ass-food-old-people-eat/671239.md?page=2)