# Why is it that the so called exotic food seems worse than the standard dishes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-the-so-called-exotic-food-seems-worse-than-the-standard-dishes/768185 "2016-10-10T21:16:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-the-so-called-exotic-food-seems-worse-than-the-standard-dishes/768185/41 "2016-10-12T21:31:53Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Ooo, that reminds me of that practical joke I fell for more than once as a child: topping Jell-O with mayonnaise or Miracle Whip. True story: the first time I met my almost-father-in-law (it was a near miss!) He served a salad made of spring onions, carrots, and bean sprouts in lime jello. Seriously. 1950’s haute cuisine, lol! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-the-so-called-exotic-food-seems-worse-than-the-standard-dishes/768185/42 "2016-10-12T22:04:57Z")
You mean like this: [When gelatin molds attack](http://www.catesgarage.com/food/diet/ultimate.html) ? I recall that kind of stuff just dropping out of style for the suburban hostess with the mostest as I was getting big enough to try it and make gross faces at it. The rest of that gal’s site is a trip too. For those of us of a certain age. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-the-so-called-exotic-food-seems-worse-than-the-standard-dishes/768185/43 "2016-10-12T22:11:09Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Dude, TMI! ! ! STAND-ALONE PUNCHLINE THEATRE Patient to Psychicatrist: “Yeah…we’ll never be able to eat at THAT restaurant again!” ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-the-so-called-exotic-food-seems-worse-than-the-standard-dishes/768185/44 "2016-10-12T23:04:01Z")
This thread is making me hungry. There are all sorts of foods that I love now that wouldn’t appeal when I was younger. I got adventurous and learned to enjoy things. Some foods _do_ have some objectionable qualities. Prosciutto is kind of funky. Oysters look weird and are slimy. Brussels sprouts are sort of bitter. Beer, whiskey, wine, gin & tequila are pretty strong flavors. Ok, I’m still not a tequila fan. Tons of fermented foods can be a touch stinky. Fine cheese can be difficult to approach. On the other hand, I don’t care for sweets. At all. Really. No, thank you. Decline. Refuse. Folks have different tastes and enjoy and dislike different lists of things. [QUOTE=LSLGuy] I recall that kind of stuff just dropping out of style for the suburban hostess with the mostest as I was getting big enough to try it and make gross faces at it. [/QUOTE] The hostess with thd mostest serves the grosstist jello moldstist. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-the-so-called-exotic-food-seems-worse-than-the-standard-dishes/768185/45 "2016-10-13T02:24:28Z")
If you give me prosciutto on a plate, or with a bit of sweet melon, I’m all over it. If you saute a chicken cutlet until slightly underdone, then slip it in the oven with some grated Parm and a slice of prosciutto on top and bake it just until the prosciutto is crisp, THAT is heavenly. Prosciutto in an Italian hero? THAT’S the deal-killer. Maybe I have unnaturally dull incisors, but I always end up with prosciutto trailing out of the sandwich to my mouth. Also, the texture does NOT match the other ingredients of a good Italian hero, which should be cappicola or good ham, Genoa salami or sopressata, Provolone or fresh Mozz, mortadella (optional), oil & vinegar, and whatever vegetables you like – roasted peppers, tomato, onion, lettuce, etc. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2016, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-the-so-called-exotic-food-seems-worse-than-the-standard-dishes/768185/46 "2016-10-13T05:17:45Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Prosciutto in an Italian hero? THAT’S the deal-killer. I’d eat it right up. My issue there would be that the delicate flavor would be lost in the other ingredients. Rereading my previous post, it’s not clear that the list of foods are things that I adore but have characteristics that I can understand others may not be able to get over. Thought of another polarizing one: cilantro. Sure, it can taste soapy. And, sure, there’s me, eating it by the fistful. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-the-so-called-exotic-food-seems-worse-than-the-standard-dishes/768185/47 "2016-10-13T18:05:00Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > You mean like this: [http://www.catesgarage.com/food/diet/ultimate.html](http://www.catesgarage.com/food/diet/ultimate.html) ? > > I recall that kind of stuff just dropping out of style for the suburban hostess with the mostest as I was getting big enough to try it and make gross faces at it. No, I mean a dish of plain Jell-O topped with a blob of mayonnaise. When I was a kid I assumed that had to be some kind of mean practical joke. When you’re a kid, you tend to categorize the things in your life into specific roles, and the role of mayonnaise was “spread it thinly on bread to make a bologna sandwich”, while whipped cream (or Cool-Whip) was served in a blob on top of dessert. And, for that matter, Jell-O was _dessert_, not “salad”. So kid me sees Jell-O (dessert), and automatically identifies the white blob on top as whipped cream, picks up his spoon, and gets a mouthful of mayonnaise. :eek::mad: ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-the-so-called-exotic-food-seems-worse-than-the-standard-dishes/768185/48 "2016-10-13T18:43:58Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > No, I mean a dish of plain Jell-O topped with a blob of mayonnaise. When I was a kid I assumed that had to be some kind of mean practical joke. When you’re a kid, you tend to categorize the things in your life into specific roles, and the role of mayonnaise was “spread it thinly on bread to make a bologna sandwich”, while whipped cream (or Cool-Whip) was served in a blob on top of dessert. And, for that matter, Jell-O was _dessert_, not “salad”. So kid me sees Jell-O (dessert), and automatically identifies the white blob on top as whipped cream, picks up his spoon, and gets a mouthful of mayonnaise. :eek::mad: I had the same kind of thinking as a kid. Don’t we all. Fortunately for my psyche, practical jokes were not part of my household growing up. So I never got fed a blob of mayo on my dessert. I did something similar to myself once though. Put a lot of “ketchup” on my hot dog. Which turned out to be a thickened Tabasco-ish sauce. 6 year old me was _surprised_! You misunderstood who I was referring to. I posted right after this guy: > [@TruCelt](#): > > True story: the first time I met my almost-father-in-law (it was a near miss!) He served a salad made of spring onions, carrots, and bean sprouts in lime jello. > > Seriously. 1950’s haute cuisine, lol! He had quoted you, but I was replying to him. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-the-so-called-exotic-food-seems-worse-than-the-standard-dishes/768185/49 "2016-10-13T19:25:31Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I had the same kind of thinking as a kid. Don’t we all. Fortunately for my psyche, practical jokes were not part of my household growing up. So I never got fed a blob of mayo on my dessert. When it happened to me, it was while eating dinner at somebody else’s house. Apparently, although she grew up in the appropriate era, my mother never got into the Jell-O mold “salad” thing - the only things she put into Jell-O were other sweet foods, like fruit, and it was always presented to us as “dessert”. So that’s where my brain categorized it, and I had no clue that other kids’ moms might have a different view of the purpose of Jell-O. > [@](#): > > You misunderstood who I was referring to. I posted right after this guy:He had quoted you, but I was replying to him. Oops! :smack: Oh well, got to share an amusing story 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-the-so-called-exotic-food-seems-worse-than-the-standard-dishes/768185/50 "2016-10-13T21:32:01Z")
All good. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-the-so-called-exotic-food-seems-worse-than-the-standard-dishes/768185.md?page=2)