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?

EDIT:

I wasn’t going to do this, but I’m tired of replying to people and will post this at the top.

The person that prompted this question is a close-minded piece of crap. He has no sensory issues, just a shitty mindset, with ignorance and prejudice on display with no shame. I have the pleasure of hearing his annoying shit every night.

The knee-jerk reactions I have received from people in this post have had me examine my own knee-jerk reactions, attributing malice to that which may be misunderstanding rather than bigotry or hatred. This is what I am taking away from this post. That even I should take a chill pill every now and again; it’s not all a tragedy.

I will not delete it, because there are some very thoughtful replies that explain different viewpoints, that people took time to type out. It would be disrespectful to them to do that.

Call me what you like. Don’t care. I will not be replying to any other replies.

  • FinjaminPoach
    5·
    6 days ago

    “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).

    This is a more specific and understandable case. He’s probably afraid of disease, it being too hard to chew, or simply having an upset stomach from eating it.

      • Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz
        7·
        6 days ago

        Theres people who have very strong perceptions about food, like they don’t like mayo but like the exact same thing if called aioli. My mother will eat a tuna sandwich, but hates the idea of a fish taco. She thinks she hates tofu and is suspicious that any Asian food is secretly tofu, but has had stir fry with chicken and tofu and liked it. No she cannot identify tofu. Conversely, she thinks she loves mushrooms, but doesn’t know you need to cook them so she will add them to eggs or salads raw or nearly raw, and enjoy it. She thinks MSG makes her sick.

        Its kinda like a placebo effect. She got sick at a chinese place once, and soneone told her “Oh its the MSG” and it was just cemented into her mind. Maybe she had raw tofurkey in the 1980s when it was peddled as a drop-in meat replacement.

        • TheRealKuni@piefed.socialEnglish
          4·
          6 days ago

          Its kinda like a placebo effect.

          It’s a Nocebo Effect! Placebo is Latin meaning “I will please,” and Nocebo is “I will harm.”

          MSG is a really common one. It’s in all kinds of foods, and if people don’t know it’s there it won’t affect them. But if they do know it’s there, or even think it’s there, it can harm them. In school I heard about a study where they gave people who claimed to be MSG sensitive two meals, Chinese food and Italian food. They said the Chinese meal (which contained no MSG) gave them MSG effects, and the Italian meal (chock-full of MSG) did not. 😂

        • FinjaminPoach
          2·
          6 days ago

          Conversely, she thinks she loves mushrooms, but doesn’t know you need to cook them so she will add them to eggs or salads raw or nearly raw, and enjoy it

          I am scared

          Some can be eaten raw apparently but yeah I’m still grossed out by this

          • SoggyEnglish
            2·
            6 days ago

            Even if they’re safe raw they provide no actual nourishment because we can’t digest their cell walls. Fine for flavor but worth keeping in mind.