I just overheard a coworker saying “Oh, I would never try that in my life!”, in a discussion of food. (This was about consuming a steak cooked less than medium well). It made me wonder what life is like for those who refuse to try new food, especially those who refuse to try mundane things like fried shrimp.
Why limit yourself? It seems like such a closed-minded way to view food. Help me understand?
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Why limit yourself? It seems like such a closed-minded way to view food. Help me understand?
I don’t think there’s much of a choice to it. When my brain rejects a food (usually based only on smell) there literally isn’t anything I can do about it. Even if I do push through and take a bite, it will always taste horrible.
My own picky eating is also in large part fuelled by some sort of authorexia tbh. This definitely isn’t the norm for picky eaters though. It’s just when I was a kid I was slightly averse to fish but my parents snuck some into my food anyways. When I realized I had a meltdown so large that I still can’t even eat anything that even remotely smells like fish. Not even seaweed or vegan fish replacements. But it’s even more that I can’t allow anyone to have any control over what I eat. So I’m pretty particular about enforcing that I don’t want olives, or mayonnaise, or other mundane stuff just to make sure I actually have a say in what I eat.
Going vegan was actually really awesome for that reason. I get constant assurance that my food choices are respected, and it’s a ruleset that people are more willing to respect.
I wouldn’t call myself a “picky” eater per se, but my peanut/tree nut allergy makes me apprehensive to try new food. Especially if there aren’t clear labels for things like peanut oil and cross contamination.
technically, that’s “picky”, but practically you’re fine.
I’m not interested in going out of my way to try new food cause I just view eating as something I have to do to survive, not something I enjoy doing. My anxiety prevents me from outright refusing food from someone, but often if it’s one of the many things I know I don’t like I’ll just say I’m full and deal with it. I most likely ate enough the rest of the day to survive till tomorrow anyway.
Some foods taste like litteral dirt. It’s a genetic quirk some people have. Beets, carrots, mushrooms, grapes, all taste like mud. I can’t taste the “sweetness” at all. Nuts also have a chalky flavor, but I couldn’t tell you why (strangely seeds, legumes, and beans are tasty af). Parsley tastes like soap. Licorice tastes like old socks. People like to attribute pickiness to the foods I don’t like, but why should I force myself to eat dirt and soap? That doesn’t stop me trying new things. Eel is delicious. Shrimp heads are meh. Dirty rice is great. Conch is fantastic. Lobster is bleh. Ostrich is gamey. Gator is good. Fennel heads are amazing. I’m always trying new foods, but when I turn my nose up at “normal” food with carrots, or nuts, or mushrooms I’m called “picky” because people are quick to throw out that word.
If the texture/flavor triggers my gag reflex and I can’t physically swallow, the question is not “why am I limiting myself?” but rather, “why would I attempt to abuse myself?”
Trying new food can be risky, its not cheap and if you cant eat it you just wasted your money and the food. Food also takes time to prepare which you may not have the time to make or order something else which then can snowball into larger issues. Not to mention the social pressure/judgment to finish a meal you wish you could force down your throat and getting accused of being dramatic and wasteful.
I like to try new foods here and there but I need to be able to get a small portion to avoid waste and know theres a back up I can eat to avoid skipping a meal altogether. It also needs to be with a crowd that I feel safe enough with not to get shat on if I cant eat it.
That being said I can only imagine making a blanket statement that I’d never try something if I already know it’s very similar to something else that I can’t eat.
It sounds like some of the people around you are very rude. No one in my circle would care one bit if you ate something and stopped eating because you didn’t like it. I’m sorry you have people around you that do this.
Autism.
Textures & temperatures are problematic. I stay with what I know so minimise the chance of freaking out.
Autistic and the total opposite here for home cooking. The (allegedly greater) magnitude of those flavors and textures makes trying new things so enjoyable that it’s worth the risk.
That said, I used to be similar, having a rotation of a few select meals; I’d get “hooked” on a specific food for an unreasonably long time. But nowadays, I get the benefits of both.
I make whatever at home because I know exactly what’s going into it and roughly how it’ll taste, and I’m naturally limited to a few vegan options at restaurants so I can live the dream of having one or two favorites I get every time. It’s a win–win.
On the spectrum myself and I am a foodie with an insatiable apetite for new and interesting. My general rule is if it was good enough for them, it’s good enough for me. I don’t always like everything, but I’ll try anything.
I agree Autism too and I always stick with the things I know. Cannot be dealing with unfamiliar textures.
Agree, I’m not a picky eater (but somewhat autistic) and eat basically anything, but there is some texture I can’t, like avocado or liver, I can literally puke.
wHy LiMiT yOuRsElF
You think I want to live like this? That I’m choosing to? Bewildering.
When offered a new food, you can take it or not.
Since you seem to identify as one who would CHOOSE not to eat it, explaining why you MAKE THAT CHOICE is probably more what they were looking for, as opposed to cryptic sarcasm that leaves us with more questions than answers.
Like I said, I don’t choose to be this way. I do wish I could try more things but most foods make me gag before they’re anywhere near my mouth.
You could choose to eat poop, but you would never because that’s disgusting, so would you really call that a “choice”?
Absolutely. And if someone asked why I choose not to eat poop, I would tell them because it’s highly unsanitary and carries diseases. Besides, the flavor is not enjoyable and it provides little to no nutritional value, so there really is no reason to eat it.
Your turn.
That is what you would say if pressed for a reason, but surely it’s secondary to your gut reaction of “ew”. Or perhaps your instinctual knowledge that it’s a bad idea to eat poop causes the gut reaction, I don’t know.
Yeah, if you forced me at gunpoint I’d (probably — I’m honestly not sure) eat whatever you put in front of me, but I normally don’t because the thought, and the sensory impression, are deeply viscerally unpleasant to me. I wish they weren’t, but I very rarely find myself able to overpower this reaction, and only with foods that doesn’t trigger it as strongly. I suppose next you’ll call me weak-willed.
Why are you so intent on me, and only me, justifying myself, because I was a bit snippy to OP or what? I’m disengaging now.
It seems that the question was not directed at you, based on your response.
You asked “picky eaters of Lemmy” and got a response from one.
I don’t think ARFID is the same thing as “picky”.
Eh, fair.
I’m a picky eater, but I will try things and do like a lot of different foods, but once I try something and don’t like it, it gets added to the “nah” list, and there’s a bunch on that list and some is “normal” stuff. For example, fuck green bell peppers, red bell gang all day.
I’ll eat my own cum but won’t touch ranch dressing. Do with that what you will.
I’d rather not have anything to do with that. Thank you.
wasn’t an invitation
Do with that what you will
Wasn’t an invitationI’m getting mixed signals here.
They are obviously ordering you to do with it what you will.
That’s more than enough information, thank you.
I… okie dokie.
So you don’t spit, eh?
Spitters are quitters.
That’s what I’m saying! Why waste a reward?
At least you’re not wasteful?
My nickname is ‘Closed Circuit’
Growing up, my family has always accused me of being a picky eater, and it comes up every time we’re eating together. Every family get-together, it’s always a big deal whether I’m going to eat the prepared meal or not. My sister especially likes to offer to make a separate meal just for me because I’m “sooo picky!”
I can’t get it through their skulls that I’m less of a picky eater than they are - I’m just vocal about the very few specific foods I decided I don’t like. Which happens to be in a lot of recipes my extended family makes.
I spent 20 years traveling the world with the US military and I made it a point to try local cuisine everywhere I went. I became a bit of a foodie, and some of my favorite foods are from foreign countries. Every time family members came to visit me in other countries, I’d spend half of their visit just introducing them to amazing cuisine in the local area.
We’d eat out practically every day to give them a taste of the local culture. And surprisingly, most of them didn’t care for it. They wanted their “American food” instead. They weren’t very adventurous when it came to trying new things. There’s nothing worse than going to a ramen shop in Japan or a döner shop in Germany and having your family ask if we can go find a McDonald’s instead.
But sure, I’m a picky eater because I’ve hated squash since I was a child, and that’s apparently a staple of every family banquet.
I love squash. Just some yellow summer squash fried up with a little butter, a pinch of salt, and some fresh cracked pepper 👨🍳🤌🫴. I could live on that shit. Sounds like your family has bad taste all around and they were fucking it up. But since you like most food, and mostly just not their food, and they are asking for McDonald’s in fucking Germany, tells me they told you that you’re picky cause you didn’t think a salad should include gummy bears and mayonnaise. It really doesn’t sound like you’re picky.
It kinda sounds like they are intentionally putting squash in everything just for the opportunity to pick on you.
I can relate. My mom would make little snide comments about how i was a picky eater and how i would check everything i took out of the fridge.
One time i got sick of hearing it and biting my tongue so i went off.
I told her, her cooking was fucking terrible and she never cleaned out her fridge so there would always be rotting food in there. She was a Brit who grew up in that countries decade long depression.
Hey same, except my mom’s mom went through the depression here in the states and it rubbed off on her.
She loves to call out how particular I am about food, when actually I love trying new foods! I simply don’t like getting food poisoning from whatever hot dish/casserole she made 4 months ago that has been sitting in the fridge. At Christmas one year she brought out canned whipped cream, rediwhip, and it was 3 years expired! I didn’t notice and was sick for a week!
I wouldn’t eat coconut for years because when I was 7 I was eating a bag of coconut shavings and my dad and uncle convinced me they were toenail clippings.
Autism, at least for me. If my brain decides to reject it there’s little I can do. I once ordered filet mignon in a fancy steak house, then couldn’t eat a bite of it because my brain decided it’s not good.
I’m a picky eater, but it’s mostly because of texture-related issues. (However, I am also picky about flavors.) Wrong textures make me want to gag. I don’t actually gag, because I’ve learned to suppress it.
I have no problem trying new things. I just often immediately hate the new things. However, I will try it again after enough time had passed. Sometimes, it will be prepared differently enough to be appetizing. Other times, I will start to like a flavor that I once hated. I have never had my texture preferences change.
Which texture do I hate? I call it the “wrong kind of mushy.” It’s hard to explain, because I do like some mushy foods. Mashed, baked, or boiled potatoes? Almost always gag inducing. Oatmeal? Wonderful. Hiding small amount of wrong mushy foods among foods with a better texture sometimes helps, but only if I like the flavor despite the mush.
Edit to add: I hate onions with a burning passion. Every way except powdered. Onions induce the strongest gag reflex, and many people think I’m weird for hating onions. I’ve come to hate the flavor of (anything but powdered) onion by association, so I often can’t eat foods that once had onion in them even after being completely removed.
I know exactly what you mean by “wrong kind of mushy.” I hated mashed potatoes as a kid. I like them as an adult but it took a while for me to like them.
I have no problem trying new things. I just often immediately hate the new things. However, I will try it again after enough time had passed.
This is literally all you can do. People have very little control over what they like (be that food, music, movies, books, whatever) all anyone can do is be willing to try new things, and occasionally retry, the things they don’t like.
I will eat pretty much anything, but strongly dislike carrots for their taste and oatmeal for its texture. I haven’t have any occasion to retry oatmeal but I retry carrots pretty frequently.
Boiled potatoes shouldn’t be mushy. If you boil potatoes to mush, then you mash them. Mashed potatoes.
Boiled potatoes should be relatively firm. Closer to an apple than a banana.
Source: Irish
You’re right, the texture is different, but I hate both. I also hate fried potatoes unless they are fried very crispy.
Interestingly, I like peeled, raw potatoes. (Just because I don’t like mashed potatoes doesn’t mean I won’t make them for others on occasion.)
Wow, I don’t often come across other folks with both similar limitations and curiosity! (Except a reversal on the potato vs oatmeal textures)
Especially the onion thing, it’s crazy the gag reflex can be so strong, or that we can tell so easily that onion has once touched something. I find shallots particularly unbearable! (Though I do get sad because while I can’t stand onions, I can also taste the notes I assume most people can, and can tell how good they would be in certain contexts, like a perfect burger or as a bbq side. I want to know what that experience is like 😰)
We do sound similar. I love onion powder and add it to most things when I cook. I can tell why people like onions, I just hate them. I do kinda wish I could stand regular onions as well. But yeah, something about them lingers in food and just taints it.
Also, I only like oatmeal when I make it. Most other oatmeal is gross. I use the rolled oats, and I don’t cook it particularly long. Raw oats are edible, actually, so you don’t have to worry about undercooking. Might be worth a try if you want to like oatmeal. Cheers.
For me, personally, ADHD plays a part in my food. I crave routine.
ADHD and ASD have extremely high comorbidity rates (10% of ADHDers and 50% of ASDers have both). Might, uh, might want to check on that. Cause routine and ADHD fit like hand in shoe
Source: am AuDHD
I’m genuinely scared of eating eggs, don’t know why I’ve always been like that even as a baby. The texture, the smell of plain eggs are just unbearable and if I eat a food that tastes eggy I might have a slight panic attack. Mushrooms as well, I hate them with a burning passion. Can’t explain why.
Mushrooms as well, I hate them with a burning passion.
Mushrooms were completely disgusting to me until I realized it was white buttons and baby bellas that I hated. I discovered that what I really liked are enokis, shiitakes, and especially oysters. There’s a world of difference in flavor and texture, and I still have to use them in the right meals.
If I could recommend one thing, the next time you make a sauce (I’ve found marinara sauce on pasta works well):
- Take fresh oyster mushrooms (not referring to king oyster, but might work?).
- Remove the cap (don’t use the stem).
- Finely shred it by hand.
- Then put it in the sauce and cook.
When you tear it by hand and add it to sauce, the flavor is incredibly savory, and you don’t feel the texture at all because it tears so finely.
Same. Turns out I like every kind of mushroom except the crimini family, which taste like someone left a NERF dart out in the mud for six years. (Similarly, canned black olives are an abomination but every time there’s a fancy olive on a charcuterie board I like it.)
Canned black olives are the single ingredient I can think of that totally ruins a pizza for me flavor-wise. I’ve discovered I even kind of like mushrooms on pizza – and that it’s maybe the one context where I’m fine with baby bella. Shit, I’m even kind of okay with green olives on pizza.
Canned black olives are one of the three Hell foods to me along with chicken liver (odor) and cottage cheese (texture).
–You don’t know you don’t like ice cream until you’ve tried every kind. -Hobbes
Ah but that’s the thing, if I know there’s mushrooms in a dish I will not be able to put a single morsel in my mouth. There must be some psychological aspect to this but I swear, it’s like I’m physically unable to bring the fork to my face.
I do wish I liked mushrooms and eggs because people rave about them and they’re so versatile, it’s very frustrating.
Do you avoid eggs in any form, such as in a cake batter or egg noodles?
No because the egg taste or texture isn’t really noticeable. Like, I can have a quiche lorraine but I put a ton of bacon and ham to mask the taste. The texture is okayish as long as I put enough cream in the egg.
Egg noodles can be a bit iffy, I remember hating spätzle.
I like eggs but yeah their smell is incredibly gross.
High five, same here! Ever since I was a kid, if my family was making eggs, I’d hide in my room with the door closed to keep the smell from coming in. It’s nasty and overwhelming.
Then there’s mushrooms, that smell like dirt when they cook and have the texture of rubber. The only way I can tolerate them is if they’re finely chopped into tiny pieces and surrounded by other, better foods (like in a spring roll.) Chunks of mushroom are an absolute no-go, and I will pick them out if I am served them. It makes me feel bad, because I hate wasting food. On the flip side, local restaurants sometimes remember me by how I add “no mushroom” and “no egg” to all my orders.
