I hate food. It's hard to explain but it's kinda like most food triggers my fight or flight response. It takes me a lot of willpower to eat through a regular meal. As a kid I was severely underweight because I was always avoiding food. When I moved out I took the easier approach and started eating only the stuff that was easier to eat (mostly fried and dried stuff, and some ultra processed stuff like chips and cookies). I went from one end of the BMI table to the other in ~5 years.

source:

https://x.com/Stillmanator/status/1840363693965516847?lang=en

Would be hard to chew properly with their misaligned teeth

Appalachian?

Ok but the only thing better than good food is cheap good food.

Dutchies eat to survive, no care at all about what it is they are eating…

They eat raw salted fish over there regularly (not like the French eating frog legs, which is rare and mostly just a meme today) and it does NOT look appetising... but who can deny stroopwafels and oliebollens? 😅

Yeah, like I can tell you about our communist history, or our surrealist poetry. But then you'll call me an extremist, or even worse, a nerd.

So I keep those for when I get drunk and overshare, and just talk about fish recipes and desserts.

It’s definitely too strong a (sweet) flavor for me, but I just dislike adding sweet sauce to savory things. I also find barbecue and teriyaki sauce unpleasant for the same reason.

Chilies and spices are fine by me though, and tbf, I wouldn’t ever describe ketchup as spicy.

How do you know people like spicy food? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.

I've had the pleasure of dining at one of Heston Blumenthal's restaurants and I can categorically say that it was the most wonderful dining experience of my life

You haven’t had the right german food then.

German food is underated. Apple strudel with vanilla sauce is amazing. Like a sweet lasagna. Genius!

I don't think I've ever had bad food in Germany. In England my limited experience is mixed, some good, some bad and some interesting lunch choices like salted peanuts.

I could literally live on plain potatoes for the rest of my life and I’d be fine with it. My ancestors must have been as culinarily boring as possible.

Sounds like you've never had Finnish food

And then, even Englishmen look down on Scots who think oats porridge is human food.

I used to think that way in general, and personally I am still a bit like that. It's just one piece of figuring out how to get my brain & body to cooperate with me.

But something I have learned, for me at least, is that leaning into things that engage a variety of your senses in a positive way is often a good thing. And even better if it leads to good interactions with other people that matter to you (insert boo-hiss from my introverted recluse AuDHD side).

I think in the US especially, we often treat food as a necessary evil rather than just a necessity. People don't have time to waste on preparing healthy food and then eating it with their family. They need to focus on the "important things" like putting in long hours at the office so that they can afford to drive a BMW home instead of some pleb Honda shit. They'll just grab some fast food or something in a box that will fill stomachs provide some macros to sustain life in the near term, and everything will be just fine.

Certain things are constant across cultures. Among them: food, sports, and music.

And when I say "food", I mean beyond just biological sustenance. It's part of culture and an important part of social gatherings.

Some people just do not think about cultures outside their own. Like, at all.

Hey that IS my American culture!

The only thing that varies is the type of football. Looking at you America, but I think that is going to change very soon.

Or a Presbyterian church service. I gotta give it to the Pentecostals, they might be a cult but at least they know how to party.

Or they're dutch

What about sis?

Or is from England and cannot imagine that a good food culture can mean more than: "I like the taste of some stuff and everyone else in my country consumes food too."