Would you notice or mind these styles of eating?

[Asimovian]

Brynda, I’m suddenly glad I never asked your opinion of how I eat pancakes and waffles…

[araminty]

This has been an interesting thread. It does bother me, a little, to see someone eat a meal I’ve made, or that a decent chef has prepared, in the “one food at a time” method. For me, a thoughtfully composed meal consists of items that complement each other in flavour and texture. For me, those complements come out best when alternating between the different items.

I also don’t think of the protein as the “best” part of the meal, so feel no compunction to save it for last. I also don’t mind if my foods mix - just because salad dressing isn’t “supposed” to go on the mashed potatoes, doesn’t mean it won’t taste good to eat them together.

I feel like these habits are part of a larger disconnect many people have with food and cooking, and that by eating in these prescribed ways, people do miss out on a chance to enjoy food at another level.

[Troppus]

I want to amend my answer. The partner with OCD made such an obvious fuss and ceremony that each meal became an obvious indicator of his mania outside the dining room. My next partner was selective about his food and segregated items he wouldn’t eat, but he was never obvious or rude about it. Seems like there is a method of eating selectively that does not call attention to oneself.

[zweisamkeit]

@Brynda

Why is eating one item at a time perceived as childish? Many of us ate that way as children, but then outgrew it, which probably contributes to that perception, as does the fact that few adults eat that way.

This is where I get confused. I know a lot of adults who eat one item at a time. Until this thread, I had never heard the idea that it’s something you “grow out of”. It’s totally separate from things like insisting no item touches the other*.

IMO, for an eating quirk to be childish or annoying, it needs to be distracting in a general sense. Eating one item at a time doesn’t strike me as so, but YMMV.

• emphasis on “insisting”. If it’s a preference that you do, that’s cool. If someone gives you a filled plate where some of X has touched the edge of Y and you internally think, “DAMMIT!” but don’t say anything and deal, that’s cool. Insisting on a different plate or whatever, not cool.

[Seanette]

@Brynda

My fiancé eats his meals one item at a time. For example, served meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans, he would eat all the meatloaf, then stir the gravy into the mashed potatoes and eat all of them, then skip the green beans. Lasagna and breadsticks? All the lasagna, then the breadsticks. Burger and fries? The burger, then the fries.

A friend inspects his meat for any speck of something like gristle or fat, and meticulously removes it. He looks like a surgeon, and his nose is about an inch away from his food. The surgery generally takes several minutes.

I know I can be way too picky about things, so I am curious if others would notice if someone ate this way. If so, what would you think?

I’d probably notice the inspecting the food from an inch away, but wouldn’t really take note of the one-item strategy. Of course, the one-item approach is how I eat, so I think it’s quite normal. (I’m also one of those who doesn’t like things mixing except for sauce/gravy and the item it’s supposed to be on.)

[Seanette]

@Tamerlane

I had a friend who often ate in layers, from the top down. Most famously top of the hamburger bun first, then the meat, then the bottom. He would do similar ( if less spectacularly odd ) things with other foods as well.

I found it less off-putting than amusing :).

I do the layer thing with pizza, lasagna, and such, but usually not sandwiches.

[Rushgeekgirl]

It wouldn’t bother me at all as long as they ate. I hate going out with some friends who only take a bite or two then just stop, letting all this food go to waste. They don’t even take it home. I want to eat it for them just so it’s not wasted.

[overlyverbose]

I wouldn’t mind someone eating one thing at a time. I’m sometimes guilty of this - if there’s something I don’t love on my plate but really ought to eat or I’m hungry enough to finish everything, I’ll eat my least favorite first. Next is the second to least favorite and so on until I eat the thing I like best last. That way I end the meal with a good taste in my mouth. I don’t do that with everything, though. It’s usually during Thanksgiving or other family meals where every person has contributed something. In my family, you might offend someone if you don’t try their dish whether you care for it or not.

One thing my husband does that drives me nuts is he looks like he’s rinsing with mouthwash when he chews. I can hear the food slopping around in his mouth and he makes these really exaggerated chewing motions with his mouth. I can usually tune it out, but if I don’t keep up the mental shield, it makes me both extremely irritated and distracted.

[Guinastasia]

At truly formal dinners, don’t they usually serve you only one item at a time, anyways? Your salad course, then soup, then a vegetable, then meat, etc. All separate?

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

Not any formal dinner I’ve been to. Salad, soup etc is served as separate courses, but the dinner would be plated.

[Arrendajo]

@araminty

This has been an interesting thread. It does bother me, a little, to see someone eat a meal I’ve made, or that a decent chef has prepared, in the “one food at a time” method. For me, a thoughtfully composed meal consists of items that complement each other in flavour and texture. For me, those complements come out best when alternating between the different items.

I also don’t think of the protein as the “best” part of the meal, so feel no compunction to save it for last. I also don’t mind if my foods mix - just because salad dressing isn’t “supposed” to go on the mashed potatoes, doesn’t mean it won’t taste good to eat them together.

I feel like these habits are part of a larger disconnect many people have with food and cooking, and that by eating in these prescribed ways, people do miss out on a chance to enjoy food at another level.

This sums up my attitude (and confusion) exactly, araminty. The idea that the taste of one food spoils the taste of another is baffling, especially when I find the contrasting/complementary nature of different foods greatly enhances the dining experience. When I put a meal together, I am thinking “what vegetable goes best with ____? And how should it be prepared? And what wine will bring this meal to the peak of perfection?” It’s not like I only do this for special dinners when guests are coming – it’s how I put together every meal, even just for myself. I want to sit down to a meal and think “mmm this looks delicious!”
How does not mixing foods even work? How could a one-at-a-timer ever eat a salad? You’ve got all those different vegetables thrown together, and then some kind of dressing dumped on top. Horrors! Could he eat sushi, or would the taste of the rice ruin the taste of the fish? I get the impression most one-at-a-timers would simply not eat anything with such a complex mix of flavors and textures. How about spaghetti? Does the taste of the sauce ruin the taste of the pasta? Does the taste of gravy ruin the taste of mashed potatoes? Why not? If some of the gravy got on a pea, would the pea be ruined? Why? I simply can’t grok it.
And like you, I think it’s part of a larger disconnect people have with food and preparation, but I would go even farther. In my opinion, it is symptomatic of a disconnect some people have with the sensual world in general. I crave a broad, varied, novel sensual experience. I want to taste new foods, hear new music, read something I had never read before. And have new sexual experiences. I am wondering how many of the one-at-a-time eaters also avoid novel or compex sensual experiences in other areas of their lives? I am sure the reality is complicated, but in my mind they are missionary position only people.

[Cazzle]

There aren’t enough roll eyes in the world for that last post.

[prettydorky]

I don’t think I’d notice the one-at-a-timers. I would notice the food surgeon, but it would only bug me if it meant conversation had to stop.

My ex did this thing where he would look at me every time he took a bite. Like, he’d be looking at his plate, get the fork all loaded, then open his mouth and bam! Stare right at me as the food was going in. It took a few years for me to notice, but after I did, it was SO weird to me.

[VinylTurnip]

@overlyverbose

One thing my husband does that drives me nuts is he looks like he’s rinsing with mouthwash when he chews. I can hear the food slopping around in his mouth and he makes these really exaggerated chewing motions with his mouth. I can usually tune it out, but if I don’t keep up the mental shield, it makes me both extremely irritated and distracted.

Jesus Christ, I honestly don’t understand how some of you people cope with this kind of shit. If my wife consumed her meals clockwise, or circumcised her steak with tweezers and a jeweler’s loupe, or swished food around in her mouth while eating (Lord keep my dinner down, I beseech thee) I’d be on the phone with a divorce lawyer before the next cock crowed.

[scootergirl]

@Arrendajo

This sums up my attitude (and confusion) exactly, araminty. The idea that the taste of one food spoils the taste of another is baffling, especially when I find the contrasting/complementary nature of different foods greatly enhances the dining experience. When I put a meal together, I am thinking “what vegetable goes best with ____? And how should it be prepared? And what wine will bring this meal to the peak of perfection?” It’s not like I only do this for special dinners when guests are coming – it’s how I put together every meal, even just for myself. I want to sit down to a meal and think “mmm this looks delicious!”
How does not mixing foods even work? How could a one-at-a-timer ever eat a salad? You’ve got all those different vegetables thrown together, and then some kind of dressing dumped on top. Horrors! Could he eat sushi, or would the taste of the rice ruin the taste of the fish? I get the impression most one-at-a-timers would simply not eat anything with such a complex mix of flavors and textures. How about spaghetti? Does the taste of the sauce ruin the taste of the pasta? Does the taste of gravy ruin the taste of mashed potatoes? Why not? If some of the gravy got on a pea, would the pea be ruined? Why? I simply can’t grok it.
And like you, I think it’s part of a larger disconnect people have with food and preparation, but I would go even farther. In my opinion, it is symptomatic of a disconnect some people have with the sensual world in general. I crave a broad, varied, novel sensual experience. I want to taste new foods, hear new music, read something I had never read before. And have new sexual experiences. I am wondering how many of the one-at-a-time eaters also avoid novel or compex sensual experiences in other areas of their lives? I am sure the reality is complicated, but in my mind they are missionary position only people.

This ^. Yes indeed. I just prepared a wonderful meal while listening to new music, and when it’s ready we will sit together at the table and place a mix of chicken, beans, and veggies from my garden …all complimented with a wonderful spicy sauce right over perfectly cooked rice. I will surely ask my 16 year old boy to slow down while he makes “mmm…sooo. damn.good. mom…” barely understandable comments/sounds. My girl will ask, “What CD is this? I like it!” while moving to the rhythm of the music and picking out a couple of veggies that she may not like…yet. Later I will go to bed thinking about my lover and possible new sexual experiences :D. Now THAT’S living!

[Sudden_Kestrel]

@VinylTurnip

If my wife consumed her meals clockwise, or circumcised her steak with tweezers and a jeweler’s loupe, or swished food around in her mouth while eating (Lord keep my dinner down, I beseech thee) I’d be on the phone with a divorce lawyer before the next cock crowed.

Emphasis mine.

Meals must be very interesting at the Turnip household :eek:.

[Lust4Life]

@Brynda

My fiancé eats his meals one item at a time. For example, served meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans, he would eat all the meatloaf, then stir the gravy into the mashed potatoes and eat all of them, then skip the green beans. Lasagna and breadsticks? All the lasagna, then the breadsticks. Burger and fries? The burger, then the fries.

A friend inspects his meat for any speck of something like gristle or fat, and meticulously removes it. He looks like a surgeon, and his nose is about an inch away from his food. The surgery generally takes several minutes.

I know I can be way too picky about things, so I am curious if others would notice if someone ate this way. If so, what would you think?

I eat exactly the same as your fiance’, so at least theres two of us !

[overlyverbose]

@Arrendajo

<snip>
How does not mixing foods even work? How could a one-at-a-timer ever eat a salad? You’ve got all those different vegetables thrown together, and then some kind of dressing dumped on top. Horrors! Could he eat sushi, or would the taste of the rice ruin the taste of the fish? I get the impression most one-at-a-timers would simply not eat anything with such a complex mix of flavors and textures. How about spaghetti? Does the taste of the sauce ruin the taste of the pasta? Does the taste of gravy ruin the taste of mashed potatoes? Why not? If some of the gravy got on a pea, would the pea be ruined? Why? I simply can’t grok it.
And like you, I think it’s part of a larger disconnect people have with food and preparation, but I would go even farther. In my opinion, it is symptomatic of a disconnect some people have with the sensual world in general. I crave a broad, varied, novel sensual experience. I want to taste new foods, hear new music, read something I had never read before. And have new sexual experiences. I am wondering how many of the one-at-a-time eaters also avoid novel or compex sensual experiences in other areas of their lives? I am sure the reality is complicated, but in my mind they are missionary position only people.

You’re assuming that “dish” means a single ingredient side or entree, which for me, is largely inaccurate. Usually if I’m eating one by one, it’s working on a dab of sweet potato casserole (ick), then some green bean casserole (meh), then lasagna (mmmmm). It’s hardly that I won’t mix foods period; I just usually polish off the stuff I like the least first, then save what I like best for last (and, yes, we have strange Thanksgiving dinners sometimes).

I’m sure there are people who don’t want more than one ingredient at a time, but I imagine they’re few and far between.

And Vinyl Turnip, he coughs the same way - extraordinarily exaggerated. When he has a cold he sounds like he’s dying. Both are annoying, but the cough is actually the more annoying of the two, particularly if I’m trying to sleep next to him.

[Guinastasia]

@Brynda

Why is eating one item at a time perceived as childish? Many of us ate that way as children, but then outgrew it, which probably contributes to that perception, as does the fact that few adults eat that way.

You keep saying this, but all you’ve shown is that some kids eat that way and change, and some don’t. That doesn’t make it “childish”.

[Red_Wiggler]

I take a bite of this, then a bite of that and work my way around the plate. Each bite is usually a separate food because there aren’t many combinations on a single fork that I find appealing.

And if the conversation is good, I am completely oblivious to how a dinner companion is consuming his meal. Though someone performing a close order inspection of their meal would be subject to good natured ridicule if we were close enough friends.