To despise picky eaters?

[Brownoliveskincurlyblackhair]

If you have an allergy or religious reasons not to eat something, fine obviously but grown adults who 'don't eat' something absolutely irk me beyond words. My MIL looked horrified earlier when I said I was making chicken as a part of a weekend spread because SIL 'doesn't eat it'. I have accommodated for SIL but honestly, I was bought up that you get what you're given and eat what's infront of you. It's terrible manners is it not?

Yabu - hosts should cater for preferences
Yanbu - it's rude

What a horrible, ableist person

I've noticed an increasing tendency for places to sprinkle things on dishes that they don't really belong on and you wouldn't expect, often without being mentioned on the menu. I don't know why - I presume it's meant to elevate an ordinary dish to seem more sophisticated? I like coriander and use it quite a lot, but not on top of baked beans! I don't think many people would think those flavours go together.
Sesame seeds are my main bugbear. My DS has had to return several meals in recent times when they've arrived unexpectedly sprinkled with sesame seeds, usually resulting in a great deal of eye rolling from the staff. No doubt we have been labelled as "picky" plenty of times but unfortunately he is anaphylactic to sesame so no, he can't "just pick them off" as suggested in one place! They seem to be in all kinds of meals now and I don't think they even add anything much.

Why should they? It's not "picky" to dislike something, everyone has different taste buds at the end of the day.

I'm sorry about your child's experience. But It's not a competition. The point is that there are people who CANNOT, for various reasons, eat everything, and a few who cannot eat many things' and this won't be changed by harshness and refusal to accommodate their needs- only their survival chances will change,. If they were in Ethiopia, they would die in childhood. And, for example, there have been times when tragically naive Western charity workers provided powdered milk for Asian famine victims, and some of them died of diarrhoea on top of their malnutrition because most Asians are lactose-intolerant after the age of 3 or so.

I'm a supertaster too - I once picked out the taste of peppercorn in a whole pan of a dish, it turned out one had accidentally got in but they didn't think anyone would notice. No-one else did. I always thought I didn't like spicy food, but I've discovered pepper is the thing I can't have, chillies are absolutely fine. I thought I was being polite by checking with guests if they have things they'd hate, but it seems most people would just serve up and you have to have it

Another supertaster here. Its comparatively recently been known about...thinking only 20 years or so ago and I can remember seeing something on TV and going "bloody hell that's me!" https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3183330/

Ok, didn't know that.
Thanks for the info.

most Asians are lactose-intolerant after the age of 3 or so.

Lactase persistence is a fascinating example of how evolutionary pressures can manifest in nature. Similar to the prevalence of sickle-cell anaemia (and thalassemia) which does protect against malaria.

Yes! @SerendipityJane - there has been some fascinating research into when and how lactose tolerance beyond early childhood developed in the UK, and separately in continental Europe, over a really short evolutionary period. From what I have read it seems that Essentially the ability to safely consume cows milk, a relatively calorific and nutrient rich food source that was also a source of fairly germ-free liquid, became literally a matter of life or death, such that over approximately a thousand years the population went from largely lactose intolerant to largely lactose tolerant, as the former died before being able to pass on their genes. Do correct me if I’ve misremembered any of the details / there has been more research, as it’s genuinely v interesting!

I’m with you. Drives me bloody nuts.

I think it might be a made up thing. But my reaction is actually based on having an ex who had insomnia. He was adamant that his insomnia showed him to be brilliantly intelligent and unable to stop thinking - i.e. much more intelligent than me. Thus, I suspect that anyone suggesting superior 'whatever' is doing one-upmanship.

Coriander sensitivity is a widely-recognised intolerance, but wasn’t understood until recently, I think. When you love it, it’s hard to imagine that some people actively hate it.

Being fussy about food is just attention seeking.

Another example of that (and very relevant to this thread) is marzipan.

I cannot put into words how vile I find it - I guarantee that if I take a bite it's only coming out one way.

I do wonder if it's related to the fact that some humans are genetically unable to smell cyanide ?

Weirdly I like almond whole, chopped or flaked. It's the essence that I can't abide.

A lot of confectioners will dollop marzipan around without thinking to mention it (see also: onions).

I have ARFID diagnosed late.

But you are misunderstanding what we are all saying. At no point has anyone said that being a supertaster makes them 'better' than anyone else. Nobody has linked it to being more superior or more intelligent - if anything we're suggesting it's a curse!
It isn't a made up thing either. It simply means someone who has more taste buds than the average person and typically means that that we have an aversion to certain tastes because they are more intense for us or unpleasant.

I would love not to be a super taster or have a heightened sense of smell. It actually makes my life hell at times. I hate it.

Having a medically diagnosed eating disorder is not attention seeking.
I go to great lengths to hide it. I fucking hate it and it makes my life hard.

My husband loves it. It baffles him that I can't even bear to have a coriander plan in the house as It's all I can smell!

Its not made up. Read the link I posted. Its nothing to do with being better or worse than anyone else.

oh go away

Do you know what, comments like this really, really piss me off.
I would give anything to not have ARFID. I've spent £100's on private therapy and hypnosis to get to the point where I now have more than 5 foods on my safe list but I still have a restricted diet. I really can't help it and I hate it.
It's not a choice and I'm not attention seeking.

If you stop to think about it for a moment the it makes total sense for all animals - especially omnivore scavengers like humans - to have a variety of "preferences" when it comes to chowing down.

One species "fussy eaters" are another species "didn't die from wolfing down something poisonous"

I'm a big fan of the theory that as babies learn to crawl and toddle, they develop an aversion to bitter tastes (previously dormant) as a protective measure against inquisitively eating a poisonous berry or plant. (Which, according to DM happened to me ...)

Humans evolved to eat a relatively limited diet because they would eat whatever could be found where they were from.
It’s only relatively recently (since globalisation etc) that people routinely eat imported ingredients from all around the world/ lots of different cuisines. This may also explain why so many people seem to have food allergies now compared to years ago.
Lots of animals have an inate cautious attitude about food. Rats are neophobic - extremely wary of new foods- and they develop extremely strong aversions to foods that make them sick/ make other rats sick or die or any substance which smells or appears similar.
Basically, it makes way more biological sense to prefer a limited diet and be selective about you eat than to be completely indiscriminate.

It just gets a bit silly now with everyone expecting to be accomodated. In my family we have one that doesn't like fish (but like OP will eat it if it is put in front of them), one nut allergy, two vegans, one lactose allergy, one vegetarian (who has a bugbear about being lumped in with vegans now), and 6 others who will just get on with it. We had started to just go to restaurants as it was easier, but dining out is so expensive now. Cooking for them all is a bloody nightmare though, I feel like a need a full matrix written down now as to who can have what.

I never remember it being this hard to cook for everyone 10 years ago.

I'm a picky eater. I have autism. It's a texture thing for me. I really don't give a flying fig whether someone despises me or not. I'm not going to attempt to eat something that makes me heave.