wierd food phobias, quirks and aversions

[golden1]

I hate eggs.  Scrambled, fried etc...  It is less of a taste thing and more of a texture thing.  I wish I liked them because they are a cheap source of protein.

My son has ASD and has sensory issues that lead to a very limited diet.  It is seriously a big deal when he adds something to his list of foods.  He does work himself to try foods now, but it is a struggle for him for sure. 

[shelivesthedream]

And it used to be super-intense FOOD RULES and now it's mainly preferences (strong or weak) and a very few remaining ACTUAL RULES.

Wow, you definitely have made some solid progress, good for you! I think recognizing the difference between Preferences and Rules is the biggest step. Preferences are fine, but too many hard "Rules" and you come across as overly picky and high-maintenance.

You definitely have made progress. I will say though, you used extremely British examples! I had to google several things, and only knew many others because of Anthony Bourdain's shows. =P Also, had no idea people did butter on cheese sandwiches. I've always seen mayo done. Food culture is so cool/odd!

My husband (and now you guys!) are the only ones who believe that I am really not that picky any more! It's nice when people understand that. Though mayonnaise on a cheese sandwich?!?! I might have to make a new Food Rule against that...!

I'm curious what you had to google that was so British, though! I guess the sausage, mash and peas example is quite British but still seems quite clear to me!

[BlueHouse]

I'm surprised that I'm not joining in.  My family members would say I have food phobias, but I cannot think of a single one and reading through this list, I don't see myself here.  Sure, I hate brussels sprouts, but that's just because they don't taste good to me.  No phobia there. 

What I cannot stand though, is people touching my food.  For the record, I think this is normal, not a phobia.  I mean, who wants someone putting their hands all over their food?

Here are some examples that a relative does that make me crazy.  When I visit or she visits, I cannot stand the way she has to touch every piece of food one thousand times!
1.  If I put out a cheese tray, I come back and find the cheese cut into tiny cubes.  Trust me, there are fingerprints on 4 sides of every one of those cubes.   
2.  If she makes meatloaf, she insists on using her fingers to mush the egg and spices through the meat.  Yes, that means the hamburger meat oozes around all five of her stubby fingers and underneath her fingernails!  I want to vomit whenever I see it.
3.  Want to fill a bowl with chips?  She will stick her hand in the bag multiple times to grab handfuls and put those handfuls into the bowl, rather than just pouring the chips from the bag into the bowl.
4.  Ice cubes?  same as above.
5.  She likes to "decorate" serving dishes by placing tiny chopped up pieces of peppers, cheese, olives, etc individually in some pattern.  All I see is her touching every single thing that goes into my mouth.  I completely lose my appetite.
6.  She pours advil/aspirin into her hand, picks the one or two pills she wants, then puts the remaining (now sweaty) pills back into the bottle (My requested method is to pour them into the cap, pick up one, then pour the remaining untouched pills back into the bottle.
7.  Also, when she eats popcorn or nuts, she'll grab a small amount, put them into the palm of her hand, then open her mouth lean her head back, and press her palm to her open mouth cavity!  This is how teenage boys eat when no one is watching!  Not a civilized woman!  Those are called FINGER FOODS for a reason.  Not PALM FOODS. 

Everyone else in my life has agreed to not be overly touchy with my food, but this one relative just won't stop. 

[Sibley]

I probably fall into the "should get some help" category, though unless you know me well you don't realize it. I have problems with a) knowing I'm hungry; b) eating when I'm hungry; c) textures of food; and d) assorted food rules/preferences.

a. I don't realize I'm hungry quite often. By the time I do realize it, I'm really hungry. I did learn how to manage it, mostly by losing weight and having my friends in college start telling me to eat. Every meal. They have no idea the favors they did me! My weight has been stable for about 10 years now, and believe me I'm proud of that.

b. When I'm really hungry, I feel sick and can't eat. Even though the problem is actually lack of food, trying to put food into my stomach really doesn't go well. As long as I can manage problem A, then problem B doesn't occur much. If B happens, then I have to do frequent, small amounts of food, generally over a day or two. Unless I tell you what's going on, you'll think I'm just sick.

c. Certain textures I really can't handle. Melted cheese, a lot of pastas, yogurt (lumps!), jelly type things, thick creams, or foods that are kinda squishy (most of the desserts that everyone loves) are frequently off limits. The strength of the aversion varies based on food and sometimes the day. In general, I'll gag.

d. I do have some other food rules/preferences. Plenty of foods I can't eat if they warm up or cool off. Warm milk gags me, but I drink a gallon of cold milk a week. I don't like foods to touch, unless they're supposed to then it's ok (yes, it's weird). Prefer no or limited sauce/gravy.

[nnls]

...

But believe me, I pass for normal now! I'm just careful about what I order in restaurants and prefer to serve myself at home or with friends so I can arrange things properly. Though there was that one time we were at some friends' house and they served peas and sweetcorn mixed together. I did actually refuse it when offered, saying "I do not eat mixed foods". Thankfully they are good friends!

Without trying to diminish your achievements that got you to this point, this still seems (maybe it's all relative because I'm on complete other end of the spectrum) picky to me! Do you mind sharing what some of the previous "food rules" were that you've since overcome?

Ha ha, not at all! I know I'm still a bit of a weirdo, but I am now fine with most eating situations. Most people don't notice unless we eat together often. Weirdly, there are only a few foods that I really hate as foods and won't eat at all (the only ones that spring to mind at the moment are swede and turnip). I've tried liver, oysters, black pudding, octopus balls... I didn't particularly love any of those but I tried them once and would eat them again if I were served them. Most of my "food rules" are related to serving methods.

- It used to be that different foods could not touch each other. There had to be little clear channels between food sections on the plate, like a DIY TV tray dinner. Now they can, unless they're really really different (like pudding and meat, or hot and cold foods). But the sausages nudge the peas? Hey ho, never mind.
- It used to be that I would eat each food type on the plate individually - all the sausage, then all the mash, then all the peas. Now I'll have a bit of sausage, then mash, then peas, then back to mash again... whatever. I don't tend to have more than one kind of food on my fork at once but that's a preference these days, not a RULE, and I definitely load up on mash and peas in a single forkful.
- Stuff like disliking sauces is more of a strong preference than a rule these days. It used to be that the accidental addition of gravy ruined an entire meal and I could barely gag it back. Now I'm just a bit miffed and always refuse a sauce if offered, but if it was on the plate already I would just cope with it (except for pudding drowning in a lake of cream or custard... this is still hard. A little drizzle is OK, though.)
- For a while I would only accept one ingredient in a sandwich. E.g. a cheese sandwich involved two slices of bread, some butter, and some cheese. No lettuce, no tomato, no pickle, nothing. Now I enjoy a well-composed sandwich. I won't eat toasted sandwiches that involve salad, though (hot & cold foods...), unless I can extract all of the salad and leave it on the side.
- When we have stuff like curry with rice or halloumi with couscous, I prefer them to be served side by side rather than the curry on top of the rice (the way my husband likes it), but I'll eat it if they do end up on top of each other. It used to be that I would eat the curry that hadn't touched the rice and the rice that hadn't touched the curry and leave the bits I regarded as having had contact.
- No bits in anything ever. Now I will happily drink orange juice with bits and will cautiously eat other foods with bits such as yoghurt.

So, to summarise, it was basically no touching/mixing of foods and no slimy or lumpy textures. That's why I have to eat eggs with bread, to mitigate the slimy with some crunchy. And it used to be super-intense FOOD RULES and now it's mainly preferences (strong or weak) and a very few remaining ACTUAL RULES.

I also used to have a no touching rule. But I wouldn't eat sandwiches at all, and even salad had to have all ingredients separated out. I also dont really like sauces but can eat them now. Except on a burger or something. Sauce should never touch bread.

[Elliot]

I'm surprised that I'm not joining in.  My family members would say I have food phobias, but I cannot think of a single one and reading through this list, I don't see myself here.  Sure, I hate brussels sprouts, but that's just because they don't taste good to me.  No phobia there. 

What I cannot stand though, is people touching my food.  For the record, I think this is normal, not a phobia.  I mean, who wants someone putting their hands all over their food?

Here are some examples that a relative does that make me crazy.  When I visit or she visits, I cannot stand the way she has to touch every piece of food one thousand times!
1.  If I put out a cheese tray, I come back and find the cheese cut into tiny cubes.  Trust me, there are fingerprints on 4 sides of every one of those cubes.   
2.  If she makes meatloaf, she insists on using her fingers to mush the egg and spices through the meat.  Yes, that means the hamburger meat oozes around all five of her stubby fingers and underneath her fingernails!  I want to vomit whenever I see it.
3.  Want to fill a bowl with chips?  She will stick her hand in the bag multiple times to grab handfuls and put those handfuls into the bowl, rather than just pouring the chips from the bag into the bowl.
4.  Ice cubes?  same as above.
5.  She likes to "decorate" serving dishes by placing tiny chopped up pieces of peppers, cheese, olives, etc individually in some pattern.  All I see is her touching every single thing that goes into my mouth.  I completely lose my appetite.
6.  She pours advil/aspirin into her hand, picks the one or two pills she wants, then puts the remaining (now sweaty) pills back into the bottle (My requested method is to pour them into the cap, pick up one, then pour the remaining untouched pills back into the bottle.
7.  Also, when she eats popcorn or nuts, she'll grab a small amount, put them into the palm of her hand, then open her mouth lean her head back, and press her palm to her open mouth cavity!  This is how teenage boys eat when no one is watching!  Not a civilized woman!  Those are called FINGER FOODS for a reason.  Not PALM FOODS. 

Everyone else in my life has agreed to not be overly touchy with my food, but this one relative just won't stop.

Okay but you realize food isn't sterile and neither is your alimentary tract?

[MrMonkeyMustache]

I'm surprised that I'm not joining in.  My family members would say I have food phobias, but I cannot think of a single one and reading through this list, I don't see myself here.  Sure, I hate brussels sprouts, but that's just because they don't taste good to me.  No phobia there. 

What I cannot stand though, is people touching my food.  For the record, I think this is normal, not a phobia.  I mean, who wants someone putting their hands all over their food?

Here are some examples that a relative does that make me crazy.  When I visit or she visits, I cannot stand the way she has to touch every piece of food one thousand times!
1.  If I put out a cheese tray, I come back and find the cheese cut into tiny cubes.  Trust me, there are fingerprints on 4 sides of every one of those cubes.   
2.  If she makes meatloaf, she insists on using her fingers to mush the egg and spices through the meat.  Yes, that means the hamburger meat oozes around all five of her stubby fingers and underneath her fingernails!  I want to vomit whenever I see it.
3.  Want to fill a bowl with chips?  She will stick her hand in the bag multiple times to grab handfuls and put those handfuls into the bowl, rather than just pouring the chips from the bag into the bowl.
4.  Ice cubes?  same as above.
5.  She likes to "decorate" serving dishes by placing tiny chopped up pieces of peppers, cheese, olives, etc individually in some pattern.  All I see is her touching every single thing that goes into my mouth.  I completely lose my appetite.
6.  She pours advil/aspirin into her hand, picks the one or two pills she wants, then puts the remaining (now sweaty) pills back into the bottle (My requested method is to pour them into the cap, pick up one, then pour the remaining untouched pills back into the bottle.
7.  Also, when she eats popcorn or nuts, she'll grab a small amount, put them into the palm of her hand, then open her mouth lean her head back, and press her palm to her open mouth cavity!  This is how teenage boys eat when no one is watching!  Not a civilized woman!  Those are called FINGER FOODS for a reason.  Not PALM FOODS. 

Everyone else in my life has agreed to not be overly touchy with my food, but this one relative just won't stop.

Okay but you realize food isn't sterile and neither is your alimentary tract?

I would say those go slightly into phobia territory. I mean, it's ok if you don't want to do some of those things yourself, but having such a reaction when someone empties a bag of chips with their hand? Just doesn't seem normal to me. And that way of making meatloaf is perfectly normal. When you make food or bake you use your hands. That is why you wash them before you start.

[turketron]

2.  If she makes meatloaf, she insists on using her fingers to mush the egg and spices through the meat.  Yes, that means the hamburger meat oozes around all five of her stubby fingers and underneath her fingernails!  I want to vomit whenever I see it.
5.  She likes to "decorate" serving dishes by placing tiny chopped up pieces of peppers, cheese, olives, etc individually in some pattern.  All I see is her touching every single thing that goes into my mouth.  I completely lose my appetite.

These are pretty normal during the cooking/prep stages, assuming she's washing her hands...

[Taran Wanderer]

2.  If she makes meatloaf, she insists on using her fingers to mush the egg and spices through the meat.  Yes, that means the hamburger meat oozes around all five of her stubby fingers and underneath her fingernails!  I want to vomit whenever I see it.
5.  She likes to "decorate" serving dishes by placing tiny chopped up pieces of peppers, cheese, olives, etc individually in some pattern.  All I see is her touching every single thing that goes into my mouth.  I completely lose my appetite.

These are pretty normal during the cooking/prep stages, assuming she's washing her hands...

These two seem normal to me, too (assuming proper hand washing), but the rest would bug me.  And being annoyed by the rest would probably lead me to being annoyed by these two also.

[shelivesthedream]

2.  If she makes meatloaf, she insists on using her fingers to mush the egg and spices through the meat.  Yes, that means the hamburger meat oozes around all five of her stubby fingers and underneath her fingernails!  I want to vomit whenever I see it.
5.  She likes to "decorate" serving dishes by placing tiny chopped up pieces of peppers, cheese, olives, etc individually in some pattern.  All I see is her touching every single thing that goes into my mouth.  I completely lose my appetite.

These are pretty normal during the cooking/prep stages, assuming she's washing her hands...

These two seem normal to me, too (assuming proper hand washing), but the rest would bug me.  And being annoyed by the rest would probably lead me to being annoyed by these two also.

I agree. It's a bit like me a foods touching - I know they're all going to mush together in my stomach anyway, but it is really no extra work to put the rice on one side of the plate and the curry on the other rather than on top of each other, and it is so disrespectful to consistently ignore someone's requests (coughmymothercough). You want to have control over what you're putting in your own mouth.

[Ynari]

It's so interesting to see others with similar food issues - makes you feel less along to bond with strangers on the internet. :) I'm normally pretty brave with food, and other than some preferences, I haven't had a problem while traveling. (For instance, I tried chicken feet, but they're not something I'd choose myself.)

I have problems with:
1. Eggs - all methods of cooking seem to turn out the same. I can usually eat 2 eggs before the texture makes me gag. This morning I was looking at the pan, thinking I could probably eat 3 eggs today, but then I got 2/3 through them and couldn't eat another bite without taking a very long break. Sometimes I can't tolerate eggs at all, though having them with bread means I can usually get through 2 pretty easily.  My sister is similar with eggs. Is it genetic?
2. Getting nauseous when hungry - If I don't notice my hunger for a while, it'll usually manifest as nausea. It sucks trying to find something to eat when everything makes me feel sick.
3. Certain textures - Jello is so so so gross. Agh. I'm also not a fan of drinks with solids in them (pulp, seeds) though I can deal with it if it's not too many (I had to really work to figure out how, though.)  Chia seeds and oatmeal I wish I liked, but they can be super gelatinous. Steel cut oats tend to be a bit better.
4. Coconut - the texture as well as the flavor. The only form I can handle is coconut milk in a strong curry. Otherwise, super gross. I can't even overlook it for the sake of a candy bar.

Bonus: I have a, erm, "drinking problem". That is, I cannot seem to figure out how to drink a glass of water without trying to breath it.

[shelivesthedream]

I get hungry-nauseous as part of minor travel sickness on some long car journeys. I find the travel sickness gives me headaches and makes me nauseous so I don't eat but then by the time we get to our destination I am hungry but feel so wretched I cannot eat. The only things I can manage are either lollipops or hard ice lollies (overheating is another part of my travel sickness). You just lick at them slowly so it's not like you have to put anything in your mouth, you can consume them faster or slower depending on how you feel, and it gets my blood sugar back up to the point where I can feel like a functional person again so it tides me over until I feel well enough to eat real food again.

[Sibley]

So, hungry-nauseous - juice, juice popsicles and milk usually work to get around it for me.

[wenchsenior]

Bonus: I have a, erm, "drinking problem". That is, I cannot seem to figure out how to drink a glass of water without trying to breath it.

I'm pretty much convinced this is how my husband is going to die. It's amazing how often he inhales liquid. My own personal issues are tipping the glass before it reaches my mouth, or hitting the rim hard against my front teeth. Obviously, I have a bit of a depth-perception problem.

[BlueHouse]

Everyone else in my life has agreed to not be overly touchy with my food, but this one relative just won't stop.

Okay but you realize food isn't sterile and neither is your alimentary tract?

yep.  I have no problem with "dirt germs".  I can eat stuff off the floor or even off a carpet or dirt. But I don't really like other people's germs. 

I would say those go slightly into phobia territory. I mean, it's ok if you don't want to do some of those things yourself, but having such a reaction when someone empties a bag of chips with their hand? Just doesn't seem normal to me. And that way of making meatloaf is perfectly normal. When you make food or bake you use your hands. That is why you wash them before you start.

I have no problem touching my own food.  For the chip thing, it reminds me a lot of a child reaching into a bag of cheerios.  The hand is covered in snot and spit and it goes from mouth to bag.  That bag is no longer a communal bag...it's now the child's bag.  Same thing with the chips. 

Mixing the Meatloaf:  Probably similar to how others do it , but you'd have to see this.  it's somehow ...sexual in the way she does it.  and that's just yeeeech.   

Now that I've brought up the "little kid snotty hands" thing, it's probably less likely that I have food phobias and more likely that I have a phobia about other people's bodily fluids and sweat.  Yep.  Problem identified.  Check.

[MandalayVA]

I'm surprised that I'm not joining in.  My family members would say I have food phobias, but I cannot think of a single one and reading through this list, I don't see myself here.  Sure, I hate brussels sprouts, but that's just because they don't taste good to me.  No phobia there. 

What I cannot stand though, is people touching my food.  For the record, I think this is normal, not a phobia.  I mean, who wants someone putting their hands all over their food?

Here are some examples that a relative does that make me crazy.  When I visit or she visits, I cannot stand the way she has to touch every piece of food one thousand times!
1.  If I put out a cheese tray, I come back and find the cheese cut into tiny cubes.  Trust me, there are fingerprints on 4 sides of every one of those cubes.   
2.  If she makes meatloaf, she insists on using her fingers to mush the egg and spices through the meat.  Yes, that means the hamburger meat oozes around all five of her stubby fingers and underneath her fingernails!  I want to vomit whenever I see it.
3.  Want to fill a bowl with chips?  She will stick her hand in the bag multiple times to grab handfuls and put those handfuls into the bowl, rather than just pouring the chips from the bag into the bowl.
4.  Ice cubes?  same as above.
5.  She likes to "decorate" serving dishes by placing tiny chopped up pieces of peppers, cheese, olives, etc individually in some pattern.  All I see is her touching every single thing that goes into my mouth.  I completely lose my appetite.
6.  She pours advil/aspirin into her hand, picks the one or two pills she wants, then puts the remaining (now sweaty) pills back into the bottle (My requested method is to pour them into the cap, pick up one, then pour the remaining untouched pills back into the bottle.
7.  Also, when she eats popcorn or nuts, she'll grab a small amount, put them into the palm of her hand, then open her mouth lean her head back, and press her palm to her open mouth cavity!  This is how teenage boys eat when no one is watching!  Not a civilized woman!  Those are called FINGER FOODS for a reason.  Not PALM FOODS. 

Everyone else in my life has agreed to not be overly touchy with my food, but this one relative just won't stop.

Sounds like you have an issue with the relative and not with the food if you eat stuff YOU dropped on the floor.

[MrMonkeyMustache]

Now that I've brought up the "little kid snotty hands" thing, it's probably less likely that I have food phobias and more likely that I have a phobia about other people's bodily fluids and sweat.  Yep.  Problem identified.  Check.

I would say you are absolutely right. As I re-read the original post, none of the points seem to be connected to any specific food item.

[infogoon]

After nearly forty years of being unable to even stand them in a salad, let alone on their own, I suddenly love olives.

Weird.

[ElGrillo]

I don't have any irrational fears when it comes to food, but I check the expiration dates on pretty much everything. I don't know if that is a common thing, but my roommates almost never check them and I'm the one that points out that the expiration date is past and it's time to throw out the food! I know that the dates don't matter on a lot of things, but to me once I've seen the expiration date, it makes the food taste weird even if it's not expired.

Also, I used to hate a lot of things that I can tolerate/love now: olives, eggs, spinach, almond milk. I do hate coconuts still though.

[Dollar Slice]

After nearly forty years of being unable to even stand them in a salad, let alone on their own, I suddenly love olives.

Weird.

Maybe there's still hope for me! I never could stand olives, 38 years and counting...

[infogoon]

After nearly forty years of being unable to even stand them in a salad, let alone on their own, I suddenly love olives.

Weird.

Maybe there's still hope for me! I never could stand olives, 38 years and counting...

Soaking them in gin is a good way to make them more acceptable to your palate.

[Letj]

I'm surprised that I'm not joining in.  My family members would say I have food phobias, but I cannot think of a single one and reading through this list, I don't see myself here.  Sure, I hate brussels sprouts, but that's just because they don't taste good to me.  No phobia there. 

What I cannot stand though, is people touching my food.  For the record, I think this is normal, not a phobia.  I mean, who wants someone putting their hands all over their food?

Here are some examples that a relative does that make me crazy.  When I visit or she visits, I cannot stand the way she has to touch every piece of food one thousand times!
1.  If I put out a cheese tray, I come back and find the cheese cut into tiny cubes.  Trust me, there are fingerprints on 4 sides of every one of those cubes.   
2.  If she makes meatloaf, she insists on using her fingers to mush the egg and spices through the meat.  Yes, that means the hamburger meat oozes around all five of her stubby fingers and underneath her fingernails!  I want to vomit whenever I see it.
3.  Want to fill a bowl with chips?  She will stick her hand in the bag multiple times to grab handfuls and put those handfuls into the bowl, rather than just pouring the chips from the bag into the bowl.
4.  Ice cubes?  same as above.
5.  She likes to "decorate" serving dishes by placing tiny chopped up pieces of peppers, cheese, olives, etc individually in some pattern.  All I see is her touching every single thing that goes into my mouth.  I completely lose my appetite.
6.  She pours advil/aspirin into her hand, picks the one or two pills she wants, then puts the remaining (now sweaty) pills back into the bottle (My requested method is to pour them into the cap, pick up one, then pour the remaining untouched pills back into the bottle.
7.  Also, when she eats popcorn or nuts, she'll grab a small amount, put them into the palm of her hand, then open her mouth lean her head back, and press her palm to her open mouth cavity!  This is how teenage boys eat when no one is watching!  Not a civilized woman!  Those are called FINGER FOODS for a reason.  Not PALM FOODS. 

Everyone else in my life has agreed to not be overly touchy with my food, but this one relative just won't stop.

Sounds like this person may be from a foreign country/developing country. I know lots of people do that in foreign countries because utensils, dishes, silverware can be in short supply.

[hedgefund10]

I don't like white condiments. Don't like bananas either.

[GuitarStv]

I don't have any irrational fears when it comes to food, but I check the expiration dates on pretty much everything. I don't know if that is a common thing, but my roommates almost never check them and I'm the one that points out that the expiration date is past and it's time to throw out the food! I know that the dates don't matter on a lot of things, but to me once I've seen the expiration date, it makes the food taste weird even if it's not expired.

Expiration dates are a guideline, not a rule.  There's no need to throw out stuff that is beyond the expiration date if it doesn't taste or look funny, so there's really no need to ever look at the expiration date.

[shelivesthedream]

I don't have any irrational fears when it comes to food, but I check the expiration dates on pretty much everything. I don't know if that is a common thing, but my roommates almost never check them and I'm the one that points out that the expiration date is past and it's time to throw out the food! I know that the dates don't matter on a lot of things, but to me once I've seen the expiration date, it makes the food taste weird even if it's not expired.

Expiration dates are a guideline, not a rule.  There's no need to throw out stuff that is beyond the expiration date if it doesn't taste or look funny, so there's really no need to ever look at the expiration date.

There is a difference between "use by" and "best before". If meat or fish passes "use by" then I throw it out. I don't cook meat a lot so I'm a bit funny about not being able to tell if it's going to poison us or not. Everything else gets the sight'n'sniff test, but I am very firm about mould. Any actual visible mould in the packet and the whole thing goes out. The spores...

[GuitarStv]

I don't have any irrational fears when it comes to food, but I check the expiration dates on pretty much everything. I don't know if that is a common thing, but my roommates almost never check them and I'm the one that points out that the expiration date is past and it's time to throw out the food! I know that the dates don't matter on a lot of things, but to me once I've seen the expiration date, it makes the food taste weird even if it's not expired.

Expiration dates are a guideline, not a rule.  There's no need to throw out stuff that is beyond the expiration date if it doesn't taste or look funny, so there's really no need to ever look at the expiration date.

There is a difference between "use by" and "best before". If meat or fish passes "use by" then I throw it out. I don't cook meat a lot so I'm a bit funny about not being able to tell if it's going to poison us or not. Everything else gets the sight'n'sniff test, but I am very firm about mould. Any actual visible mould in the packet and the whole thing goes out. The spores...

You throw out cheese when there's a speck of mold on it?  Milk is usually good for several days after the expiry date.  Yogurt sometimes a week after it 'expires'.

We tend to buy meat in bulk and then freeze it.  In the rare case that the meat is not repackaged into meal sized portions (without an expiry date), the expiry date becomes meaningless because it has been frozen.

[shelivesthedream]

I don't have any irrational fears when it comes to food, but I check the expiration dates on pretty much everything. I don't know if that is a common thing, but my roommates almost never check them and I'm the one that points out that the expiration date is past and it's time to throw out the food! I know that the dates don't matter on a lot of things, but to me once I've seen the expiration date, it makes the food taste weird even if it's not expired.

Expiration dates are a guideline, not a rule.  There's no need to throw out stuff that is beyond the expiration date if it doesn't taste or look funny, so there's really no need to ever look at the expiration date.

There is a difference between "use by" and "best before". If meat or fish passes "use by" then I throw it out. I don't cook meat a lot so I'm a bit funny about not being able to tell if it's going to poison us or not. Everything else gets the sight'n'sniff test, but I am very firm about mould. Any actual visible mould in the packet and the whole thing goes out. The spores...

You throw out cheese when there's a speck of mold on it?  Milk is usually good for several days after the expiry date.  Yogurt sometimes a week after it 'expires'.

We tend to buy meat in bulk and then freeze it.  In the rare case that the meat is not repackaged into meal sized portions (without an expiry date), the expiry date becomes meaningless because it has been frozen.

Yes, I do throw away cheese if it has a speck of mould on it. My husband is welcome to cut the mould off and eat it but I am not touching it. But if it's just technically past its use by date or it just has that dry fridge crust I'll eat it. It's just meat and fish that get thrown away after their use by date... or frozen! Yes, we do freeze stuff like that, I forgot!

[Papa Mustache]

Coconut. Its the taste first, the smell second. I could grin and bear it if I had to.

I have memories of being an excited little kid going to see my grandparents knowing my grandmothers made a big Easter cake for us - - - only to discover it's covered in coconut.... BIG disappointment. Funny now but a big deal then.

Seemed to take YEARS to get the women in our family to remember that I hate coconut and to quit putting on a cake they wanted me to eat. My grandmother would be disappointed if I didn't get all excited about whatever she cooked and rightly so considering the time and effort to bake from scratch. I might take a few bites and then scrape the icing off if I could. The endless "you don't like coconut?" questions as if we had not covered that topic a several times a year between the ages of 1 and 10 yrs old.

I think I even got a birthday cake covered in coconut along the way. Maybe they were hopeful i'd learn to love it. Not yet - - - many decades later.

Odd how tastes change though - lots and lots of things I love now that were never a big deal before as others have mentioned. I'm drifting away from meats a little. Just about any vegetable or fruit is good. Sometimes it is all about how the food is prepped. Baked anything is generally good. Fried is less interesting than it used to be.

Okra? Slimy versions - nope. Baked or fried - sure.

Fast food's allure is very, much faded. A hamburger or chicken made at home? Yeah - bring it on.

Ate at a Bojangles last summer on a business daytrip and the fried exterior of the chicken was the flavor and the bulk of the food.

My wife's cooking of similar foods - love it! She makes the best baked (similar to fried but not) chicken and mashed potatoes ever! (don't tell my mother!)

Have zero interest anymore in oddly colored foods like sports drinks and juices that aren't real juices. Never a big fan of Gatorade type drinks anyhow. No Jello anymore for me! If I know that the factory relied on dyes and chemicals to get the flavor and colors then just a plain glass of water for me... The more fake the food the less I want it.

Energy drinks taste like carbonated shampoo to me. Birthday cakes with the typical bright colored frosting don't taste sweet anymore but sort of like a chemical - probably tasting the food dye? Now real buttercream frosting - THAT is good... 

Am not sharing finger foods with anybody but my wife. Want some chips? Put some in a bowl and eat from that. Reaching down in the bag and just dragging the hands around through the chips until one is picked and you get traction? No thanks. No double-dipping either please. Again the wife gets a free pass but not my coworkers.

[Dulcimina]

I hate eggs.  Scrambled, fried etc...  It is less of a taste thing and more of a texture thing.  I wish I liked them because they are a

I have a love-hate relationship with them, but for me it's all visual.  I'll drink them raw in egg nog or smoothies or beer punch. But I cannot abide looking at (or eating) a runny yolk.  The runny yolks are everywhere - plopped on rice bowls or breakfast hashes, floating in soups, on pizzas.  Why is there even an egg on a pizza? I just made the mistake of doing a google image search for eggs on pizza. To channel my inner Gordon Ramsay, "It's RAWWW!" Egg drop soup with the stringy eggy bits? Ugh.

And speaking of pizza, I dislike pineapple on pizzas, or almost any mixing of sweet and savory, really, like pouring maple syrup on sausages, or super sweet barbecue sauce, or sprinkling fancy, flaky salt on chocolate chip cookies.  Now my cookies taste salty.

[galliver]

Dislike strong bitter flavors, including hoppy beers and certain greens, like broccoli rabe/rapini and some lettuces. Love brussels sprouts, kale, and cabbage, mild lettuces, and baby greens. I wish I liked chard and/or knew how to prepare it better; it's so pretty!

I'm surprised there are so many posts and no one has mentioned the nasty soft/squishy/slimy/watery texture of cooked eggplant and squashes (also evident in tomatoes)? Can't abide it. I don't think it's the flavor: I've enjoyed babaghanoush and I love tomatoes in all other forms (fresh, sauce, canned, sun-dried, etc). I think this texture also shows up in some soups/stews, crockpot meals, and frozen and reheated vegetables. I'm currently experimenting with grilled baby squashes and zucchini in various forms besides bread in an effort to expand my palate.

Also hate soft sandy/grainy textures, notably present in many forms of legumes (beans and lentils in most preparations, dried and reconstituted peas) and the centers of ripe watermelons. I like watermelon so encountering that texture isn't a dealbreaker (more like having a non-favorite flavor of ice cream), but beans at one point made me gag. Now I'll have them with other things I enjoy: lentils w/ bacon, beans in chili, kidney-bean and garlic salad, etc. This is mostly because they seem like a great, cheap, nutritious meal-filler and bf likes them. I'm bringing him around to tomatoes and sweet potatoes and green beans.

Speaking of green beans, that's my "overnight taste bud swap" story. I hated them as a kid, then one day in college the cafeteria made some that looked *super* appetizing. Bright green, I think with parmesan and breadcrumbs. I decided to try a few and they were tasty. The next weekend I went home and went grocery shopping with my mom. There were big bags of gorgeous green beans on sale. She looked at me like I was crazy when I asked, but got them since she and my sister like them anyway. I must have devoured half the bowl that night. Loved them ever since!

No matter how they're prepared, beets always taste like dirt to me.  If prepared properly, they're like kinda sweet dirt.  I still eat them because they're supposed to be good for you, but they're always kinda gross.

Curious - there are so many things that are supposedly good for you, why continue to eat something you don't like?

Personally I love beets, and yes I think they have a very earthy (even dirt-like) taste.  Maybe I like the taste of dirt?  dunno....

Stupid question, but wondering...do you guys peel your beets? I can imagine the outside tasting like dirt (the same way potato skins kind of do) but not the flesh... On the other hand, I'm with nereo that if you don't like a few particular foods, eating it just "because it's healthy" is kind of silly. The betalains found in beets are also found in rainbow chard and cactus fruit (which tastes like pomegranates). All the other vitamins and nutrients they are full of can probably be found in something else :)

On a different note, wasn't there a study a few years back that identified the gene responsible for the cilantro-tastes-like-soap effect in some people? If you have that it seems you are unlikely to ever like it.

[Bracken_Joy]

I guess the weird thing about quirks is you don't tend to think about them. At least I don't. I hadn't even remembered many of mine when I replied before- it was only because I ate an m&m while I had this thread open that I even remembered! (Note- I already regret the M&M. It was sitting next to me. It sounded so appealing... false promises. Bleh).

Any colored food, like skittles or m&ms, must be arranged in very specific patterns based on number, and eaten accordingly, with rearranging. Likewise, if I take a handful of potato chips, I have to eat from largest to smallest- but if the chip breaks, any of the remaining pieces count as separate chips, so then I have to change my order as I go. Same thing with popcorn kernels. It's really no surprise I was so willing to give up processed foods. They're exhausting!

Otherwise I think I'm pretty normal with food. I did do the "taste switch" as mentioned above. I HATED mustard growing up. Would gag, even the smell would make me gag. Then one day, maybe 2 or 3 years ago, I smelled mustard and it smelled incredible. I knew I wanted to eat it. I have loved it ever since. I PILE spicy brown mustard onto my tuna sandwiches. Brats? Giant pile of mustard. Weird how that happens.

[Elliot]

M&Ms are horrible! Most shitty chocolate is not worth eating. Basically, anything you find at a grocery store should be skipped.

I like certain European chocolates (not waxy) and come fancy chocolates. Reese's cups are an abomination to both peanut butter and chocolate.

Chocolate milk, chocolate cake, all fine.

[MandalayVA]

Any colored food, like skittles or m&ms, must be arranged in very specific patterns based on number, and eaten accordingly, with rearranging.

Okay, I must confess:

HOW MANDALAY EATS M&MS

Pour out bag on desk
Separate into groups by colors
Count the number of candies in each group
Start eating from the largest group
When the largest group has the same number as the next largest, include the second group
Add each group when the count matches
The last round should be one of each color
Ignore coworkers who say "that's gotta be the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

Fortunately, that seems to be my only food-related quirk.

[Bracken_Joy]

Any colored food, like skittles or m&ms, must be arranged in very specific patterns based on number, and eaten accordingly, with rearranging.

Okay, I must confess:

HOW MANDALAY EATS M&MS

Pour out bag on desk
Separate into groups by colors
Count the number of candies in each group
Start eating from the largest group
When the largest group has the same number as the next largest, include the second group
Add each group when the count matches
The last round should be one of each color
Ignore coworkers who say "that's gotta be the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

Fortunately, that seems to be my only food-related quirk.

!!!!! You're me! I'm not alone! Although I don't re-combine all of them- when they all reach the same number, I make a pattern like a rainbow or a pyramid, eat the extras from that, then re-rearrange by number and eat until they're equal numbers again, then another pattern... for as many rounds as it takes to eat them all.

[G-dog]

Any colored food, like skittles or m&ms, must be arranged in very specific patterns based on number, and eaten accordingly, with rearranging.

Okay, I must confess:

HOW MANDALAY EATS M&MS

Pour out bag on desk
Separate into groups by colors
Count the number of candies in each group
Start eating from the largest group
When the largest group has the same number as the next largest, include the second group
Add each group when the count matches
The last round should be one of each color
Ignore coworkers who say "that's gotta be the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

Fortunately, that seems to be my only food-related quirk.

!!!!! You're me! I'm not alone! Although I don't re-combine all of them- when they all reach the same number, I make a pattern like a rainbow or a pyramid, eat the extras from that, then re-rearrange by number and eat until they're equal numbers again, then another pattern... for as many rounds as it takes to eat them all.

I also sort the colors, but eat them by groups in lowest number first, ending with the biggest group. I also eat them one-by-one, and try to crack the shell off cleanly to eat first, then the chocolate middle. I don't have to eat them this way, it is just habit that came out of boredom I think (and some quasi OCD-like behavior).

[Bracken_Joy]

Any colored food, like skittles or m&ms, must be arranged in very specific patterns based on number, and eaten accordingly, with rearranging.

Okay, I must confess:

HOW MANDALAY EATS M&MS

Pour out bag on desk
Separate into groups by colors
Count the number of candies in each group
Start eating from the largest group
When the largest group has the same number as the next largest, include the second group
Add each group when the count matches
The last round should be one of each color
Ignore coworkers who say "that's gotta be the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

Fortunately, that seems to be my only food-related quirk.

!!!!! You're me! I'm not alone! Although I don't re-combine all of them- when they all reach the same number, I make a pattern like a rainbow or a pyramid, eat the extras from that, then re-rearrange by number and eat until they're equal numbers again, then another pattern... for as many rounds as it takes to eat them all.

I also sort the colors, but eat them by groups in lowest number first, ending with the biggest group. I also eat them one-by-one, and try to crack the shell off cleanly to eat first, then the chocolate middle. I don't have to eat them this way, it is just habit that came out of boredom I think (and some quasi OCD-like behavior).

Well, I ironed and numbered my socks and put them in individual baggies as a kid. Organizing M&Ms was really pretty minor by comparison.

I'm pretty normal now you guys. I swear.

[KMMK]

Parsley is the only thing that really makes me gag. I can't stand the smell.

[MandyM]

I have been so entertained by this thread that I feel obligated to contribute. I HATE mustard. Ugh, disgusting. There are plenty of foods that I dislike (peas, olives, bitter beer), but mustard is one of the worst. It makes me grimace just thinking about it.

One thing I had a switch on was onions. I hated them as a kid but now I love them. I started to come around when a friend sauted them and the smell was amazing. I decided I like cooked onions, then slowly started eating raw too.

[Shinplaster]

M&Ms are horrible! Most shitty chocolate is not worth eating. Basically, anything you find at a grocery store should be skipped.

I like certain European chocolates (not waxy) and come fancy chocolates. Reese's cups are an abomination to both peanut butter and chocolate.

Chocolate milk, chocolate cake, all fine.

I hate M&M's.  Now Smarties, that's a different thing altogether.  Love Smarties.  In Canada, those are candy coated milk chocolates too, but the shells are thinner and crisper, and dissolve in your mouth.  Plus the chocolate actually tastes more like chocolate than the crap that's in M&M's.   And you must always eat the red ones first, and the brown ones last.

So called "Easter" chocolate has to be the worst thing ever!  Plastic, chemical stuff.  Yuk!

[Taran Wanderer]

I can't decide if this thread is entertaining or scary.  There is some serious OCD going on here!i

BTW, regarding expiration dates on cheese, there is really no expiration date on medium and hard cheeses. A good cheddar or Parmesan will continue to age and develop for years and even decades. The flavor will continue to develop. The calcium and lactic acid will eventually interact to create calcium lactate crystals, making the cheese feel a little gritty.  Some palates find these to be indicators of quality, others find them to be defects, but there is nothing inherently wrong with them.  Ten or twenty year old cheddar?  Yum!!!

If you're throwing out cheese because of a speck of mold or because it of past an arbitrary date, you're throwing away money. Not very Mustachian!

[merula]

I'm curious what you had to google that was so British, though! I guess the sausage, mash and peas example is quite British but still seems quite clear to me!

This was awhile back, but the big thing I noticed was "swede". In the US, that vegetable is a rutabaga and Swede only refers to someone from Sweden, so saying you ate a swede with turnips is a little...cannibally.

Also, in the US, pudding only means a cold custard (vanilla pudding, butterscotch pudding, etc.) rather than any dessert. Pudding drowning in custard would be weird and redundant.

And of course, we could have a whole thread on "what does the word gravy mean to you?".

[Bracken_Joy]

I'm curious what you had to google that was so British, though! I guess the sausage, mash and peas example is quite British but still seems quite clear to me!

This was awhile back, but the big thing I noticed was "swede". In the US, that vegetable is a rutabaga and Swede only refers to someone from Sweden, so saying you ate a swede with turnips is a little...cannibally.

Also, in the US, pudding only means a cold custard (vanilla pudding, butterscotch pudding, etc.) rather than any dessert. Pudding drowning in custard would be weird and redundant.

And of course, we could have a whole thread on "what does the word gravy mean to you?".

Ah! Yes, I forgot to reply to this. It was indeed the swede I had to google. I did know pudding could mean other things (thank you Harry Potter), and I know I googled one other thing but don't recall what it was now.

[Miskatonic]

I really hate the smell of bananas and have pretty much banned them in my house, and will leave the room if someone in my office eats one. The smell makes me feel sick.

Also as a child I was quite picky and didn't like food touching, so I wouldn't eat sandwiches or pizza or quite a few things. I did though like eating bread, and then a spoonful of vegemite (Australian spread) or eating dry cereal and then a glass of milk.

When I saw the thread title, I confidently thought to myself, "I'm such an adventurous eater! There's nothing I have an active aversion to!" Then you reminded me of vegemite and my skin started to crawl. I know people who are bonkers about the stuff, so more power to ya!

I also hate Peeps and Valentine's Day heart candies, but I don't consider them food, so it doesn't count as a food aversion in my book.

[shelivesthedream]

If you're throwing out cheese because of a speck of mold ...you're throwing away money. Not very Mustachian!

Hey, this is a thread about weird food things! And it's not like it happens all the time! Just saying that on the rare occasion that something does stick around long enough to get a bit of mould, I just cannot eat it. I really can't. I can't open the packaging to throw it away either. Even if it were in one of my nice Tupperwares, the whole thing would have to go in the bin. Probably while holding my breath. And sweating. I'm coming over all icky just thinking about it. MMM always says it's worth spending on what makes you truly happy, and stuff which has never touched (or even been in the unsealed vicinity of) mould makes me really happy.

[GuitarStv]

Guess you're not a fan of Stilton cheese . . .

[nereo]

I also hate Peeps and Valentine's Day heart candies, but I don't consider them food, so it doesn't count as a food aversion in my book.

I don't consider either to be food, but I'll admit I love them both. 
Wierd quirk - I like my peeps to be stale.  Like, every Easter when I get some peeps I'll open the package and then wait several days before eating them - the longer the better.  They never go bad ( a good sign that something is defintiely NOT a food); on occasion I've found an open pack two months later in the back of the cupboard.  yum yum yum :-)

OTOH, Valentine's Day heart candies need to be fresh.  When you bite into them they should crack and not be chewy. 

[shelivesthedream]

Guess you're not a fan of Stilton cheese . . .

I'm very slowly coming round to the idea that purposeful mould could actually be desirable for other people.

[10dollarsatatime]

Cilantro is gross.  I can handle it in tiny amounts, but most fresh pico is out because, as a previous poster stated, it tastes soapy.  I have the same issue with most teas.

I can't eat fresh pears.  It's a texture thing.  They're so grainy.  But I do like them sauced.

Avocados make me ill.  I mean, they actually do in even the smallest amounts, but long before I figured that out, just thinking about them made me feel ill.  Still does.  Like, right now even.

Raisins.  Just gross.  Although I realize this is mostly psychological.  My dad would make me eat them whenever I had a stomachache.  And I had a lot of stomachaches as a child.  Craisins are, for some reason, just fine.

*****

On a grammatical side note; Nauseated is when you feel ill.  Nauseous is when you're making other people feel ill.  Which usually doesn't happen until after you've felt nauseated first. ;)  I feel like this is an important distinction.

[Wekeeprollingdowntheroad]

Another in the cilantro tastes like strong soap club 😄

[nereo]

Raisins. Just gross.  Although I realize this is mostly psychological.  My dad would make me eat them whenever I had a stomachache.  And I had a lot of stomachaches as a child.  Craisins are, for some reason, just fine.

*****

On a grammatical side note; Nauseated is when you feel ill.  Nauseous is when you're making other people feel ill.  Which usually doesn't happen until after you've felt nauseated first. ;)  I feel like this is an important distinction.

I've never heard of raisins as a home remedy for stomach aches.  Does that actually help?

Cilantro apparently tastes like 'soap' to roughly 4-14% of the population because they have the gene OR6A2 that's good at detecting aldehydes which are found in both cilantro and soap.  So - those people literally taste cilantro differently than those who lack that gene.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/24/why-does-cilantro-taste-bad-like-soap_n_7653808.html