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I have a list of untouchables too - cool whip and flavored coffee creamer are two of them.
Those are on my list, too. Fake dairy is one thing I just can't do. In fact, I won't even eat/drink fat-free dairy products. The taste and consistency are all off, and I don't believe dairy fat is the devil.
MIL brought the infamous green bean thing when my father visited the US the first time. He was rather particular about food. Quietly he took me aside and asked if he has to eat "that". The answer was no but do it nicely. Not to mention he was a charmer!
Moderation seems to be the key for us. There is nothing wrong with frozen pizza or boxed pasta.
You like box potatoes or you are in a hurry - fine! You pour a jar of sauce over pasta - fine!
Growing up with a food family in Europe and SO slipping in there just nicely did not make things easy sometimes in our US locations. Food snobs - no! Enjoying good food - hello here!
I don't think I am. I actually struggle with a love/ hate relationship with food. Most of the time if my husband didn't cook on weeknights I'd be happy to eat a can of progresso soup just because it only takes one small pot and is easy. My own soup is going to be better (soup is my special love) but it's going to make many more dishes for me to wash and take much more time. If my husband is travelling and not home for a week I'm very happy to have a sandwich and eat something simple for those days. If I could swallow a little pill and not need food to function I'd gladly do that 5 out of 7 days of the week. I frequently resent the fact that I need food and I skip a lot of meals due to being busy or stressed which is not fantastic because I get low blood sugar if I don't eat. I know a lot of people eat more when stressed or sad but I eat much much less. It's just too easy for me to forget about food or not care about food.
But, when I cook I want fresh ingredients and I spend time and love on the food. I like to shop at farm markets or grow my own. I don't think it's snobbery. It's more of being in the moment and feeling connected to some old idea of nourishing myself and others and the physical sensation of handling food- snapping asparagus spears, de-boning a chicken etc. I enjoy these things. I'll use frozen veggies or canned veggies and boxed stock on weeknights and won't complain but there is a satisfaction that comes from making something from scratch the way my grandma or my mom made it. I have nothing from my grandmother other than what I learned from her about food.
I don't eat fast food though unless I'm travelling. Going from NJ to SC for example- I'm going to stop at a burger king somewhere. Mostly because I will want to pee and need to buy food to get away with using the restroom. Is that snobbish? I can live with that if it is!
I have a list of untouchables too - cool whip and flavored coffee creamer are two of them.
As far as processed foods - I mean the ones that have a lot of junk in them like high fructose corn syrup, soybean oil or a multitude of chemicals I can't pronounce. I'm well aware that some of those actually make the food taste better and some help preserve it so we don't get sick, I would just prefer not to ingest them if I can.
I've got a list of untouchables, but most of it is because of allergies my daughter and I have developed in the last couple years. I've had to get really specific about my ingredients, down to particular brands. Sometimes I have to go to a couple of stores to get everything I need. I take pictures of everything I use regularly, so I can text my husband a picture and he can get exactly the right item if I don't go to the store with him.
There's a lot of unnecessary junk added to most food and it's labeled to sound like it's good for you sometimes.
The one thing I use that always seems out of place with the rest of my groceries is lard. My sister is a food snob and can't believe that I cook with lard, but I can't use shortening and I still want flour tortillas sometimes.
I've got a list of untouchables, but most of it is because of allergies my daughter and I have developed in the last couple years. I've had to get really specific about my ingredients, down to particular brands. Sometimes I have to go to a couple of stores to get everything I need. I take pictures of everything I use regularly, so I can text my husband a picture and he can get exactly the right item if I don't go to the store with him.
There's a lot of unnecessary junk added to most food and it's labeled to sound like it's good for you sometimes.
The one thing I use that always seems out of place with the rest of my groceries is lard. My sister is a food snob and can't believe that I cook with lard, but I can't use shortening and I still want flour tortillas sometimes.
They sell lard in big buckets at the Mexican grocery here during tamale making season. I wish I could buy a small amount of it- the Armour brand they sell at the grocery has partially-hydrogenated lard in it - why on earth would they mess with something like that! I did make my own beef tallow awhile back. It's sitting in a jar in my fridge and I keep forgetting to use it. Man, it would have gone really well with those home fries this morning!
DirtGrinder's post on boxed scalloped potatoes got me to thinking about this. I'm a food snob and I'm not proud of it. Sometimes it's to my detriment. Like the year I decided to make my Thanksgiving green bean casserole from scratch - fresh green beans, homemade cream of mushroom soup and some little fried shallots for the top. It's not like I didn't have enough to do already (I was cooking the whole meal). Would it have killed me to use a bag of frozen beans, a can of Campbell's soup and some French's onion rings? My husband is the only one who likes it anyway and I'm not sure he would have cared.
I don't know how I got here other than the fact that I love to cook and we started eliminating all processed foods several years back. My husband has survived cancer twice and it just seemed to be the prudent thing to do. I found that I really liked making things from scratch and I prefer the taste (mostly).
And just for the record - I don't judge anyone else for not doing what I do (or liking boxed scalloped potatoes, lol). Someone mentioned food snobbery as a pet peeve on the other thread - so I thought I'd ask what constitutes a food snob and do you consider yourself one?
Not a food snob exactly but do make most things from scratch....never make casseroles or use cans of cream soup, use only the freshest ingredients, nothing out of cans except beans etc. Typically I buy around 20 different fresh veggies when shopping...
Or does that indicate a food snob? I don't have a problem with those who cook or eat differently that I do...
Snobbery is the leveraging of knowledge and/or opinion to pass judgement on the taste of others.
But snobs frame their snobbery as objective superiority. This is especially laughable when their knowlege of the subject is limited, or their opinion bold-facedly subjective.
Some people mistake their snobbery for connoiseurship. I have heard people proudly call themselves beer snobs because they don't drink lagers, categorically. Or wine snobs who, instead of simply not preferring a particular varietal, vocalize their low opinions of people who do.
Not a food snob exactly but do make most things from scratch....never make casseroles or use cans of cream soup, use only the freshest ingredients, nothing out of cans except beans etc. Typically I buy around 20 different fresh veggies when shopping...
Or does that indicate a food snob? I don't have a problem with those who cook or eat differently that I do...
How long do those 20 different fresh veggies last you? I'm intrigued! Give me an idea of what you buy.
Snobbery is the leveraging of knowledge and/or opinion to pass judgement on the taste of others.
But snobs frame their snobbery as objective superiority. This is especially laughable when their knowlege of the subject is limited, or their opinion bold-facedly subjective.
Some people mistake their snobbery for connoiseurship. I have heard people proudly call themselves beer snobs because they don't drink lagers, categorically. Or wine snobs who, instead of simply not preferring a particular varietal, vocalize their low opinions of people who do.
That's a good definition. I don't judge people for what they choose to eat or how they cook and I don't like it when a beer snob ridicules me for drinking Miller Lite or a vegetarian chastises me for eating meat. To each his own I say!
I'm also one of those annoying restaurant snobs who is particular about restaurants, as well. The older I got and familiarized myself with cooking, the more selective I became.
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It's not like I didn't have enough to do already (I was cooking the whole meal). Would it have killed me to use a bag of frozen beans, a can of Campbell's soup and some French's onion rings? My husband is the only one who likes it anyway and I'm not sure he would have cared.
I don't have a problem with those who cook or eat differently that I do...
