Irrational foodie fobias

[ProteusOne]

Does anyone out there have any irrational food aversions, phobias, or fears?

I must confess, after having several bouts with salmonella in the past, I have this near phobic fear of being poisoned with E. coli. If salmonella is that bad, E. coli must be near death. Me wash'm them hands.

[kallyn]

I won't eat anything with mold on it, no matter how little mold there is. If there's even a speck of it, I throw the whole thing out. I'm even terrified of breathing in the spores, so if I have to dispose of moldy food I'll hold my breath while I'm doing it.

[ProteusOne]

I won't eat anything with mold on it, no matter how little mold there is. If there's even a speck of it, I throw the whole thing out. I'm even terrified of breathing in the spores, so if I have to dispose of moldy food I'll hold my breath while I'm doing it.
Me too!

(But I rationalize that as being rational.) :)

[lkpetro]

I am the exact same way about mold.......I am such a mold-a- phobe I analyze each piece of veggie before I cook it and every piece of fruit before I eat it. If one veggie in the veggie draw has mold I throw everthing away in the drawer

[Sallie]

Raw chicken. I am OCD when it comes to that. I have to move everything from the counter, I mean everything! I use one certain cutting board for chicken only. I put on surgical gloves to touch it and after the chicken is cut and cleaned, I bleach everything in sight. I have a spray bottle w/clorox and everything gets sprayed then washed. At the store, I put the produce bags over my hands when I handle it...and always slip the chicken in two produce bags to put in my buggy. If I see someone in front of me with chicken, I ask the cashier to wipe down the conveyor belt at the checkout. :rolleyes:

Denise :rose:

[Nancy LC]

Hmmm... I used to. I'd find teeny weeny bugs on my Mom's home grown broccoli, aphids probably. I'd closely inspect each broccoli floweret before eating it. Now that I've done gardening myself I don't inspect that closely.

Other than that, no major phobias about food or germs.

[MeatGood]

Hmmm... I used to. I'd find teeny weeny bugs on my Mom's home grown broccoli, aphids probably. I'd closely inspect each broccoli floweret before eating it. Now that I've done gardening myself I don't inspect that closely.


Hey now, that just means the broccoli has extra protein. (Bonus... )

As for irrational phobias, I don't see how avoiding mold, or being leary of E. coli is that irrational. Both can cause harm, and thus seem to have a basis in rationality. It would seem more irrational to throw caution to the wind and just eat something you know would probabily make you sick.

With that being said, I don't think I have any irrational fears or phobias about food. My only truly irrational behavior would be my dislike of foods that pertend to be something else. Like Tofu or Soy burgers, or a Tofu Turkey, or a cake made of sugar substitutes and nut flour. I like my foods to be what they are supposed to be. I want my burgers to be 100% meat, my soy to be in their original bean form, and my cakes to be 100% pure evil. :lol:

This extends beyond my foods though, for I really don't need a truck that drives like a car, I just need a truck that can handle hauling a lot of stuff.

I guess these opinions can be considered irrational so in that since, that would be my irrational food behavior.

[ProteusOne]

Hey now, that just means the broccoli has extra protein. (Bonus... )

As for irrational phobias, I don't see how avoiding mold, or being leary of E. coli is that irrational. Both can cause harm, and thus seem to have a basis in rationality. It would seem more irrational to throw caution to the wind and just eat something you know would probabily make you sick.
I avoid mold, but not to the extent of clearing out the fridge drawer if I find a speck. So in that sense, I really have nothing near what I'd call an irrational reaction. Handling meat, on the other hand - if I'm preparing raw meat, I will wash my hands about 10 times, then one more time for good measure. And my countertop gets bleached as well as everything where there may have been a splatter. So, yes, I'll defend my behavior as truly phobic here! (Afterall, the bleach at that point is probably more harmful in the long run than my chances of getting E. coli from food prep.)

Throwing caution to the wind? I wish I could say I did that more. :)

[perfectfit]

After getting sick from eating cooked spinach I did not eat it for a very LONG time. This also happened with some sausages that were store made. I refuse to buy them from that particular grocery store after getting horribly sick from eating them.

[emily30]

I grew up in the country and my parents property is covered with peach, cherry and apple trees. The only washing of fruit was a quick rub on your shirt after it was pulled from the tree. About 10 years ago I was eating a peach when I glanced down, I seen about half of what was left of a big fat worm. Since then, I always wash and slice up my peaches before eating them.

[c_cat]

ugh.. I was just the other day peeling off the leaves of a mini-artichoke, and I first thought - oh, a dark spot, no big deal. As I got deeper - the dark spot was a hole, and then in the middle of the artichoke it was a white little worm...

I've rationalized that these are only in the mini-artichokes from trader joe's and have tried again with larger ones from elsewhere - but am actually still too scared to cook them.

I'm a little too squeamish I think - cause really - it can't hurt me right? It's been boiled for 30minutes. <shiver>

[MandalayVA]

Probably a good thing now but I will not eat Chinese food, having gotten a horrendous case of food poisoning from it as a kid. I won't even eat plain white rice from a Chinese restaurant.

[Nancy LC]

I grew up in the country and my parents property is covered with peach, cherry and apple trees. The only washing of fruit was a quick rub on your shirt after it was pulled from the tree. About 10 years ago I was eating a peach when I glanced down, I seen about half of what was left of a big fat worm. Since then, I always wash and slice up my peaches before eating them.
YUCK! Haven't had that happen... yet. I do pull open my apricots and inspect them though. Hopefully if there's any worms in there I'll just remain blissfully ignorant!

[ProteusOne]

Probably a good thing now but I will not eat Chinese food, having gotten a horrendous case of food poisoning from it as a kid. I won't even eat plain white rice from a Chinese restaurant.
Nice to have another Rush fan about! (The band, not the pumpkin head.) :)

[Bat Spit]

I spent my childhood on a farm butchering our own cows and deer, then my teenage years growing up in France and in West Africa. My concept of food hygiene would probably make some of you need to go lie down and have palpitations.

I do keep an American style clean kitchen, but I don't have any hangups.

That said, I can't eat anything savory made with peanut sauce. It was the last thing I ate before coming down with a horrible case of altitude sickness. It was years before I even touched peanut butter again.

I guess I'm also a little paranoid about eating out in places I don't know well, but that's just a sensible fear of being poisoned by soy and vomiting up my toenails.

[ProteusOne]

Aw, man, I was hoping for some real food phobias here. Guess I'll have to settle for a little OCD, minor aversions, and eccentricities. :)

[LukeA]

I refuse to eat raspberries unless they are frozen....when I was a kid I bit into a live stink beetle that was inside of one. I refused to even eat raspberries for about 15 years after that...

[kallyn]

Alright, mushrooms really creep me out. A lot. They are like blind, questing, decomposing mouths just waiting in the dark for us all to die so they can get to us too. *shiver* Is that crazy enough for you? :lol: I also think they taste disgusting.

[ProteusOne]

Alright, mushrooms really creep me out. A lot. They are like blind, questing, decomposing mouths just waiting in the dark for us all to die so they can get to us too. *shiver* Is that crazy enough for you? :lol: I also think they taste disgusting.
Say it ain't so!

This sounds like a true phobia to me. Mycophobia?

I'm satisfied. Thanks! :)

[Nancy LC]

Wow... I heard a poem on Writer's Almanac you might like...

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/programs/2007/05/28/#tuesday

It starts like this:
Leave the dishes.
Let the celery rot in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator
and an earthen scum harden on the kitchen floor.
Leave the black crumbs in the bottom of the toaster.
Throw the cracked bowl out and don't patch the cup.
Don't patch anything. Don't mend. Buy safety pins.
...
Pink molds will grow within those sealed cartons
in the refrigerator. Accept new forms of life
and talk to the dead
who drift in though the screened windows, who collect
patiently on the tops of food jars and books.

The poem was kind of horrifying and yet lovely in a way. Go read it!

[kallyn]

Ack ack ack yes! Horrifying!

I read a short story once about a family who unknowingly took in a fairy and he slowly rotted them away til nothing was left. The mother had mushrooms growing from her eyes and mouth. Man, that image stuck with me.

[Nancy LC]

I actually found something lovely in that poem. That we should welcome rot and dust because it is acknowledging our future and it should keep us focus on the importance of living now. I guess it also kind of made me think of my Mom and how soon she won't be with us and "talk to the dead" has extra meaning for me now.

I guess I can see parallels between the dying and the food that dies in our refrigerator. But my sentimentalities are very askew right now because of my Mom's condition.

[CVH]

Lucky charms in MRE's!......JK, I don't have any.

[capo]

Well some of these stories are quite interesting! Mushrooms growing out of peoples faces, people detoxing their kitchens with bleach and only touching chicken with surgical gloves..it all seems a little extreme, kind of.

One time I was eating dinner with my extended family at my aunt and uncle's house; one of their main dishes was organic spinach grown from their garden. I looked at my plate, saw a white boiled bug with white legs, dead of course, but pointed it out to my mom, and my grandmother gave me this strange stare as if I'd done something wrong to dare point out a flaw in the organic spinach.

lol..I don't really care for spinach, but I can't say the image has stuck in my mind. If I encounter a piece of food that's been eaten up by a bug, I don't buy that food again or get a different version, but to avoid all spinach, veggies, etc. just from seeing a bug on a plate when I was 12 is extreme. I'll bite into the food, if it tastes bad, I'll spit it out and throw the food away. If the food tastes good/alright, I'll eat it. Simple as that.

Oh, and mold doesn't bother me much. But if it tastes disgusting, I'm not eating the stuff.

[ProteusOne]

I loved the peom, Nancy. Thanks. It has a special meaning for me as well right now. It is something I plan on re-reading a few times.

[Sallie]

Well some of these stories are quite interesting! Mushrooms growing out of peoples faces, people detoxing their kitchens with bleach and only touching chicken with surgical gloves..it all seems a little extreme, kind of.

I agree, it is extreme, but I'd rather take the extra time and effort to ensure that my kitchen is as clean as I can make it after handling raw chicken. Thank goodness I've never gotten E. coli or salmonella, but I have had food poisoning and it's NOT fun! I've been in a local chicken packing plant and have seen the process of live chickens to packed and ready for sale. While I'm sure they take every precaution to be as sanitary as they can, it is still disgusting.

Sallie :rose:

[DietMonstr]

I hate peanut butter. Not a phobia but just a strong aversion. When I was young (about 8) my mom bought some- I had NEVER had peanut butter before. I thought it was gross but she was so pissed she made me sit there and eat the entire sandwich. I ended up throwing up on the dining room table.
Funny thing is, I (used to :) ) like reese's peanut butter cups- so maybe its the texture, not the taste of the peanut butter- oh no, its the smell too, i HATE the smell...

[kallyn]

I just wanted to add that even though I have now outed myself as an anti-fungite crazy person, I have absolutely no problems with raw chicken at all. I even cut up raw chicken, don't wash my hands, and then go on to make other food (the HORRORS, I know). I've never been sick from it. I *have* had food poisoning (twice) but both times it was from eating at restaurants.

[ProteusOne]

.... both times it was from eating at restaurants.
Hmmm, maybe the kitchen staff cut up raw chicken, didn't wash their hands, and then went on to handling other items on the menu?

:)

[kallyn]

Hmmm, maybe the kitchen staff cut up raw chicken, didn't wash their hands, and then went on to handling other items on the menu?

:)

Once it was seafood from a Chinese restaurant in Paris, and once it was veggies from a Mongolian barbecue. Didn't you know? There's no chicken in Chinese restaurants, it's all cat! :lol:

[stashyc]

I would just like to add for the record that mushrooms grow on poop. They could certainly grow on the soft wet whites of your eyes as well.....blech, mushrooms are gross!

[ProteusOne]

I would just like to add for the record that mushrooms grow on poop. They could certainly grow on the soft wet whites of your eyes as well.....blech, mushrooms are gross!

I believe the the emergence the large hominid brain coincided with mushroom eating. Maybe the little buggers are aliens afterall, and our brain... is really... their brain!

[Nancy LC]

Mushrooms, at least the ones I know of, like growing on decaying wood or plant matter. :p
These grow just fine without poop or eyeballs...
http://www.fungi.com/kits/index.html
Fungi Perfecti's indoor and outdoor Mushroom Patches™ consist of pure mushroom mycelium growing on a sterilized medium, or substrate. The substrate used will vary, depending on the mushroom being grown; for example, the Shiitake Mushroom Patch™ grows on a mixture of enriched hardwood sawdust and wood chips, while the Pearl Oyster Mushroom Patch™ grows in a bag of pasteurized wheat straw. All of Fungi Perfecti's indoor and outdoor Mushroom Patches™ are Certified Organic by the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

Nameko Mushroom Patch
The Nameko
Mushroom Patch™
Our indoor Mushroom Patches™ couldn't be easier to care for; all you do is place the humidity tent we provide over the Patch and water it according to the instructions (in some cases, an overnight soak in cold water might be needed to encourage the Patch to fruit). Be sure to use water that is neither chlorinated nor distilled: chlorinated water can kill the mushroom mycelium, and distilled or heavily filtered water lacks vital nutrients that your mushrooms need to grow. Spring, rain or well water work best, although boiled tap water will also work well.

[stashyc]

:lol: I'm allergic to mushrooms, so I really enjoy "nastisizing" them!

[lkpetro]

Once it was seafood from a Chinese restaurant in Paris, and once it was veggies from a Mongolian barbecue. Didn't you know? There's no chicken in Chinese restaurants, it's all cat! :lol:

Ok this is the question that comes to my mind, what the heck were you doing ordering SEAFOOD at a CHINESE restaurant in PARIS. You were basically asking for it with that combo. Those veggies at those mongolian barbacue are notorious for Salmonella, any 'salad' bar type set up is

On a side note, that is a phobia for me, ANYTHING on a salad bar, will not touch, go near or smell

[kallyn]

Ok this is the question that comes to my mind, what the heck were you doing ordering SEAFOOD at a CHINESE restaurant in PARIS. You were basically asking for it with that combo.

I was 16 and there on a school trip and it was one of 3 restaurants that the program provided us vouchers for!

[jono]

I'm not crazy about eating bugs.

I would like to do more wild foraging but for some reason the idea of eating a live grasshopper doesn't sit well with me.

Maybe ants and small termites would be ok.

[waywardsis]

I have no food phobias/issues and would likely have done well growing up with Batspit! I gross a lot of ppl out. I happily eat around mould ;)

My BF has lots though! For handheld food like burgers, he will not eat the part of the food that he was holding - he'll chuck it. He can't eat food that has been squashed by hands/fingers. He freaks when I eat chicken feet (I rarely do, but love them) bc they're feet and therefore dirty. He doesn't like his food touching. He won't eat fruit with meat (ie pork chops and apple sauce) because it's "wrong". He throws everything out at least three days before its past due date. He will only eat lobster claws - not the tail or legs, because they're "different" and "weird". He can only eat tomatoes if they are cut up in extremely small chunks or thin slices. Onions also have to be in small chunks, and then only on a burger. He can only eat shrimp if it is cold. Lettuce other than iceberg and romaine scare him. Black licorice upsets him - he had a bite of my vietnamese beef stew once that had star anise in it, and his eyes welled up with tears and he was distraught for ages. He is afraid of many natural foods because they spoil quickly. He is afraid of fish oil because he thinks it will make his stomach feel warm and greasy.

[Nancy LC]

Ok, your boyfriend I don't think I'll date. You're safe from me. Man, someone that ritualistic about food... phew! I'd probably box his ears if he came over for dinner. :p

Tracey... think carefully before making babies with this one. :lol:

[waywardsis]

Augh, it's a PITA esp. since I'm such a foodie, but I've learned to not let it bother me. At least he never eats my stuff!

He's also phobic of meat fat, so gives all his to me. And I get all the dark meat as he prefers white. So it works out ;) Oh, he will rarely eat fish, because "fish swim in their poop all the time".

I also have a friend who refuses to eat any sort of crustacean because "they walk on the bottom of the sea". I don't know where I find these people.