Silly Eating Habits

[jfood]

The thread about the bread alignment got jfood thinking about silly eating habbits.

Here are a couple:

1 - When jfood picks up a hamburger, he spins it to find where the first bite should be
2 - Only rarely does he use the end piece of a loaf of bread in making a sandwich. Normally he uses it as a half sandwich by cutting that one slice in half
3 - when making a hero/sub, he places the meat first the the lettuce and tomato on top, never the other way around
4 - Hot dogs always get the mustard first then the sauerkraut or relish and always eat in one direction
5 - Corn - jfood eats across, never around

So what are some of your silly eating habits

[lrostron]

My sister could never stand to have her food touching one another on the plate, so she would put just a tiny bit of the various food on her dinner plate and then eat each one separately, refilling as she went along. I finally found an old cafeteria style plate, with the three divided portions on it and gave that to her. She actually uses it!

[LaurCar]

I really like to eat salad with my fingers

anything spread on bread has to be a even coat all the way to edges, no dry spots

if I make a meal that consists of a meat, a starch and a veg, I have to eat all the veg 1st.

[Sean]

I eat pizza up to about an inch away from the crust, then eat the crust so that my last few bites will be of cheese and suace. I also have to have my sandwiches made fresh, not pre-made, so when I pack my lunch for work, I bring all the ingredients with me and assemble it at my desk.

[grayelf]

Sean, we are twins on the pizza and sandwich front (except we have a kitchen at work so I can assemble sarnies privately!)

[Bill Hunt]

For pizza, I fold the slice, and eat from the point. I will eat to the crust, and then attack that from one end.

Hunt

[hill food]

now if it's a nice and somewhat greasy street slice in NYC isn't this approach required by law, while angling the paper plate underneath to deflect the oil?

[LindaWhit]

I didn't think street slices required a paper plate. You just lean forward enough to avoid having the oil drip on you.

Napkins (or your jeans) for your fingers after licking them clean. ;-)

[jfood]

then there is the method of sliding the corner just over the edge of the paper plate. Take a bite and then continue the push and eat. Works especially well when it is an extra cheese slice where the fold would cause a major speed bump down the middle of the folded wedge.

[ESNY]

So help me if I run out of butter at the diner before my piece of toast is covered edge to edge. The wifey is jealous of my buttering skill and she makes me butter her bread too cause of the coverage I get.

In the rare instances I make grilled cheese at home, I make sure that I keep the two slices of bread facing each other as they were in the package, with the cheese in the middle.

I always eat the burger first and then move onto the fries. 90% of the time, I won't even touch a fry until the burger is completed.

[macca]

That IS important about the bread when making a grilled cheese. And I have to have a thin layer of butter spread over the entire surface of both slices of bread. It's funny- one of my neices loves my grilled cheese sandwiches. She called me a few weeks ago on a Saturday- she works nearby, and wanted to know if I could make her a grilled chesse to go for her lunch. Was happy to oblige!

[amyleechen]

That's clearly love between you and your niece! Very sweet. I'm getting a kick from this thread.

[macca]

We are a quirky bunch. Love this thread!

[Davwud]

It's amazing that something as simple as a grilled cheese sandwich requires such precision.

DT

[dojemi]

Have you ever had a problem with the breaking breaking because the butter was not soft enough? Try using mayonaise instead of butter the next time. Wonderful, and you (or your niece) will never be able to tell the difference.

[dojemi]

Macca, I posted this elsewhere on this forum so I'm not sure you saw it.

This applies if you have a problem with the bread breaking while buttering it, but I use this method all the time:

Spread each slice of bread with a thin layer mayonaise instead of butter. You (and your niece) will never be able to tell the difference.

[hannaone]

Bread must face properly for any sandwich. It bugs me when my sons or wife just randomly pick out slices and slap them together, leaving me with mismatched slices.

[valerie]

Yes, a sandwich on bread from a load must be on 2 consecutive slices of bread. And never and end.

[Davwud]

If there are no consecutive pieces of bread I make toast with peanut butter and jam.

DT

[dojemi]

I always toast the ends of the bread. Yum!

[mcel215]

I eat the french fries first, then move on to the hamburger 100% of the time. And, the burger is eaten upside down. I've always attributed this to being left handed....

[pinkprimp]

i always eat fries first too!

i also rarely eat the burger intact...i always eventually eat it layer by layer lol

[AlyKen]

I always take a Big Mac apart when I eat it. I only do this with Big Macs, not any other hamburger. When I eat intact hamburgers, they are upside down and I'm not a lefty.

[Alicat24]

My hubby has laughed at me for years because of the way I eat a Big Mac! I always order it with extra sauce and then I throw away the top bun, pick off the pickle slices (love 'em, just not on a burger), pull up the top layer that has the "middle" bun as the base and flip that over so that the "middle" bun is now the top bun. I guess I just don't see the need for the extra piece of bread!

For some strange reason, when I have a Big Boy, I never feel the need to do this even though they are essentially the same burger (although I do add ketchup to the Big Boy). Gahhh, I think a once a year craving is coming on now!!.

I also MUST order my fries well done at Big Boy and even though we don't have one locally anymore, they have always been the BEST at giving me the well done one's I love consistantly. I miss me my Big Boy's!

[miss_bennet]

I eat the fries first and my burger upside-down! But I'm not left-handed!

[mcel215]

This is good to know ; ) .

I'll have to check how my sis does eats, she is left handed too!

[TampaAurora]

I often flip the burger, or any sandwich, over if there are many condiments. The larger top bun helps hold the juicy goodness without it falling apart.

[Bill Hunt]

I tried the "up-side-down" thing, but almost put my eye out.

Hunt

[TiaRaye]

I have to eat the fries first, too!

I don't eat the burger upside down, but on the rare occasions that I have a Big Mac, I dis-assemble it. I eat the middle piece of bread and meat first, then the bottom tier. The top of the bun is dessert.

[mcel215]

The ketchup must never touch the fries, it's on the side for dipping.

My coffee cup gets the coffee first, then 3/4 teaspoon of sugar, and I pour my cream into my tilted teaspoon, to flow into the coffee. Just two teaspoons of cream though.

My spaghetti gets chopped into 1/4" inch bits, by using my knife and fork in a chopping/sliding motion (like a chopped salad).

[dojemi]

You're so 'right on' about ketchup never-ever touching the fries.

My husband cuts his pasta (I twirl - without a spoon) and, I swear, cutting the pasta makes it taste different. LOL Of course, my husband thinks I'm nuts. LOL

[kubasd]

i always eat it upside down too!!! and i'm right handed..... it seems to hold better that way, less drippage

[DallasChowChick]

LOL, I do the same thing with the fries. Can't stand a fry that isn't fresh and hot.

[occula]

I don't eat a sandwich upside down, but if it's the kind of sandwich that one puts down partially eaten (sometimes this isn't possible or doesn't happen), I note that I generally put it down on the plate upside down. I think this just seems like the natural motion of arms away from mouth, I dunno.
Husband and I eat fries first, but really that's because fries are the food that suffers most from being allowed to get cold. Fries are really only good hot, and so we tackle them while they are.

[John E.]

If a sandwich is made out of two slices of bread, how do you tell if it's upside down?

[Emme]

i'm guessing a baguette or mini loaf style bread that does have a top and bottom... not sandwich sliced bread ;)

[occula]

Oh! Easy - regardless of bread type, a sandwich always has the meat or protein at the bottom, then cheese if any, and lettuce on the top. Or, peanut butter on the bottom, jelly on the top. :)

[ajs228]

I agree with the order of ingredients, but isn't that weird how we make these arbitrary decisions. I wonder if sandwiches would look upside-down to us in Australia, like their maps?

[jfood]

i walked into a sub shop in town 10 years ago and the owner was berating the new employee. He was screaming..."You put the mayo, then the meat then the cheese then the tomato and lettuce then the oil and vinegar. You do NOT (screaming) put lettuce and tomato on the bottom of a sandwich in the United States."

He firmly felt there was a top and a bottom and I firmly felt he did not deserve my business then and since.

[occula]

oh, dear! I certainly feel, when making my own sandwich, that there is a top and bottom, but it's certainly nothing to scream about.
For the record, I'd do mayo, meat, mustard, cheese, lettuce, mayo, and bread. The tomato goes in the trash can before it gets my sandwich all slimy and pink. :)

[morwen]

Nope, doesn't deserve berating and I have no distinction between top and bottom but I do agree with the order of ingredients

[Emme]

are we related? salad and fingers yes.

bread? No garden paths (that's what us Brits call them!) around the bread edges.

I eat veg first, then protein, then carb.

And I don't like my foods mixed either, but I'm not phobic if they touch.

[dcscotchchick]

Veg, protein, carb----me too!!!!

[susancinsf]

I also really like to eat salad with my fingers. Actually, I prefer to eat most foods that don't require a spoon with my fingers, but for some reason, I find it particularly appealing with salads...often have to remind myself that this is not considered polite, when I am dining in public...

[adventuresinbaking]

When I eat pop tarts (more of a rarity now than when I was twelve) I have to nibble the crust off first and then eat the center.

[poptart]

Me too! :-)

[RGC1982]

I used to unroll Yodels. I would eat the chocolate off the ends, and then eat the Yodel by slowly unwinding it. But -- I stopped doing that and eating Yodels a really long time ago.

[valerie]

Whenever I ate a Hostess cupcake, I would peel the frosting off the top, eat the cake part, and save the frosting for last. Haven't thought about that in years! (but we actually grew up with Yodels and Devil Dogs -- yum).

[goodhealthgourmet]

same process as RGC for yodels.
ditto on valerie's method for the cupcakes...also did it with tastykakes.
ring dings/ding dongs - split in half, lick out the filling, then eat the shell.
twinkies - split in half, eat the filling first, then the cake.
devil dogs - split open, redistribute filling evenly to both sides, & eat each side separately.

[valerie]

I'm with ya on the devil dogs. I hated when you took a bite and the filling squished out the sides.

[goodhealthgourmet]

remembered another one...

mallowmars [or pinwheels, depending on where you lived]: separate the chocolate-covered marshmallow dome from the cookie base [which must remain in one piece]. eat the marshmallow first, by pulling apart into sections determined by the ridges on the outside. then eat the cookie in tiny bites.

[jfood]

pinwheels - stick your index finger in the whole and eat the entire circumference. Then the last bite is the "chocolate hole" in the middle. Same procedure holds true for Entemanns chocolate covered donuts.

You are VERY good if you could separate the marshmallow from the cookie bottom.

[goodhealthgourmet]

hey, i was a determined kid - it was the only way i could eat it!

chocolate "hole" in the middle of those entenmann's donuts was really the only part worth eating. i used to pick the chocolate coating off the outside, toss the cake part, & eat that little center piece. the glazed chocolate cake donuts with the little crumb nuggets on top were *much* better.

[somervilleoldtimer]

No no no! You separate the chocolate-covered marshmallow dome from the cookie base, which is eaten FIRST, leaving you with a chocolate-covered marshmallow to savor.

[Emme]

i did the opposite... i broke off the crust, ate the inside first and finished the crust last.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i'n with you, emme. had to finish with the crust to cut some of the sweetness from the filling & icing. come to think of it, i never finished the center portion...it always started to make me sick toward the end. in fact, just thinking about all that sugary-sweet artificially flavored gumminess [that always stuck to my teeth] is making me a little queasy right now...yet i went for 'em every time!

[Terrieltr]

When I ate Kit-Kats, I would eat the chocolate off the sides, then eat each layer individually.

[hungryabbey]

I do this too!

[macca]

My hot dogs always get the musard first. When eating steamed lobsters, I always get all of the meat out of the tail and claws ,then get rid of the tail and claw shells before tasting any lobster. ( I only eat steamed lobseter at home!). Don't eat french fries too often- but when I order them, I always ask for them well done, and use a separate plate with mayo and ketchup dipping ( never mix the may and ketchup, though). When I make a sub, I always put the onions, pickle, hot peppers and tomatos on before the meats and cheese.

[mark]

hey jfood, you calling me silly? (that's my bread-alignment post you're talking about) ;)

pretty much everything above sounds right to me. i did get over the compartmentalized eating during (late) childhood, and i use the heel of the loaf for breadcrumbs, but there's nothing silly about the rest of it.

[manraysky]

When I eat cupcakes I try to get some frosting in every bite. I either break off the bottom of the cake and stick it on top to make a cake-frosting-cake sandwich, or I break off little pieces of cake and use it scoop up some frosting.

[queencru]

I'm the opposite. If someone is having a cake, I try to wait until people have cut into the center so I can have as little frosting as possible. I was so excited in Japan when I would buy their "muffins" that were the same as cupcakes with no frosting!

[manraysky]

ha, that's great.

My problem with cupcakes is that I that I feel like as is, you always get a bite of just cake or just frosting. My ideal cake is one with multiple layer, so each bite is cake and frosting together.

[LJS]

SOOO glad to hear this...I am a woman of a certain age, dignified in all respects (well, the ones that show!) but I LOVE my frosting, find myself glued to the cake cutting and serving rigamarole and feel really gypped if I miss out on that corner piece because some 7-year-old got it!

[Cachetes]

Reese Pieces - I have to stack two of them together and crack the candy coatings, and then pop both in my mouth.

[Blush]

I eat pizza crust first to save the best for last.
I also like to eat most kinds of cereal soggy, so I have to set it up a few minutes before I want to eat it.
I have to eat cake/brownies (anything with icing) cakey part first, icing last.

[Blueicus]

I have a similarly obsessive behaviour towards pizza, though I generally eat equal amounts of pizza and crust until I'm left with a small piece of crust I can hold onto without dirtying my fingers and finish that last. I also save a single bite of the best part of a dish for last and I always finish my rice before I finish my rice-accompaniments.

[moh]

Blueicus, you have described my eating habits to a tee...

Re: the pizza, sometimes it turns into a disaster when the small piece of crust is not quite strong enough to support the rest of the pizza that is left.

And I always have to finish with my favorite part of the meal...

[wendy8869]

I eat my cereal soggy too. In the mornings crunchy cereal is too loud in my head, although I do that if I eat it for dinner on the rare occasion too. I really like corn chips and other crunchy things though, just not cereal.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i like my cereal softened, but not completely soggy. super-crunchy is too much for me if 'm eating it with milk, but [obviously] ok if i'm eating it dry, straight from the box.

[jacquelyncoffey]

I eat pizza the same way, and cereal just the opposite. I hate soggy cereal and will literally shovel it in to eat it before it gets soggy - and I'm a slow eater normally! One time at work (on our break) I was "shoveling my cereal" and my boss asked me something and I refused to answer him until I was done - he had a good sense of humor and understood

[gmm]

I hate soggy cereal as well. I keep the box open and repeatedly dump a small amount into the bowl at a time, so all my bites will be crunchy.

[hill food]

gmm: that method makes a LOT of sense.

[micahg]

I second soggy cereal.
It makes the milk taste so much better

[greygarious]

I always eat across the ear as well, always from right to left, starting with the bottom of the ear on the right. The dogs wait for the cob - a real delicacy the consumption of which must be monitored, lest a dog swallow a large chunk which becomes stuck in its gut.

When I was a kid, my mother got me to eat creamed spinach by mashing it in with the boiled potato and putting gravy on it. Didn't outgrow that till college.

[somervilleoldtimer]

I was just talking to someone from a country in Central American, where apparently they eat the cobs too! She moved to the US when she was in elementary school, and once they served corn on the cob for lunch, and when she ate the cob, it flipped out all the other kids.

[Sam Fujisaka]

I've never seen, met, or heard of a cob eater in years of work in Central America.

[somervilleoldtimer]

Hmm. It was clearly a painful memory for her, as a new child in a U.S. school. She grew up extremely poor in Central America.

[silkenpaw]

I eat corn the same way, except the bottom of the ear is on the left.

[mschow]

Here is my mother's procedure involving salads; all of us (her adult children), stop to watch this method:
Salad on plate
Pour salad dressing over
Mom then uses her fork and knife to chop salad up and mix thoroughly, tossing and clanking knife and fork together, all while turning the plate in quarter turns. Yes, quarter turns of the plate. The plate must be turned a full 360 degrees twice, all the while, with this clanging and chopping going on. You cannot believe now much noise is generated by this activity.
We refer to it as 'performing surgery' on a salad. It takes at least 5 full minutes to prepare the salad so it is ready to eat. All conversation stops and we just stare at this process. My mother is not OCD about anything except for the salad routine.
In fact, it is so mesmerizing that when my sister got engaged and had her future in laws over to the house to meet my parents, she begged my mother not to 'peform surgery' on her salad or her in laws would think my mother nutty!

[kubasd]

i do this..... minus the clanking, lol. Everything has to be chopped to a slightly larger than thumbnail size, then add the dressing over the top, then i turn the plate around as i toss it to thoroughly incorporate the dressing (and salt and pepper). It usually takes me around 5 or so minutes to prepare my salad to eat.

Also i always eat my reese's cups chocolate first, then pb. Actually, i try to do that w/ peanut butter m&m's too, candy and chocolate, then the pb.

I am an incredibly slow eater as i was taught as a child to eat with tiny bites only, lest i appear rude. I am usually about 1/4 through my dinner when my date or whomever is finished (much to my embarassment). Yet cereal? Oh yeah, i eat it rather quickly because i can't eat soggy cereal. I'd throw it away rather than eat it, and i hate to waste food.

If I make my lentil salad I usually pick out the beets first, then the baked tofu, then the lentils.... So why do i bother mixing it? huh.... don't know, maybe so i can eat it all in one bowl?

I have many many others.....

[Emme]

i eat really slowly too. i chew and taste my food. my family is horribly fast. in fact, i feel like i'm holding people, particularly my mother, who gets antsy if forced to sit and "do nothing" for so long.

i can understand with picking things out... when i get an omelette, i prefer the filling just placed inside before the egg is folded over. otherwise, if it gets made frittata-style (which is resent :) ), i have to pick the veggies out of the egg...

[micahg]

I eat every piece of lettuce on my salad before even touching a vegetable.

[Emme]

me too :)

[EWSflash]

Good lord- I'm surprised my husband doesn't do that. Really surprised, now that you mention the behavior- I can see him doing just that. You should see him with a baked potato- has to butter every single square nanometer. An old roommate of his in college once yelled at him to just eat the goddamn thing already.

[dojemi]

My husband and son perform surgery on their salads. My husband does it neatly; my son with vengeance.

[John E.]

My dad has a friend who is a retired surgeon. I saw him eat a half a grapefruit once with one of those grapefruit spoons with the serrated edge. I thought he would do a neat job of it since he was a surgeon. He did not. It looked like a crime scene.

[anzu]

I always eat my apple rotating it counter-clockwise.
Corn, I eat around, and again, my tendency is to rotate it counter-clockwise.
On the rare occasions I eat a gummy bear, it's always off with its head first. :)

[grayelf]

Agree with gummy bear decapitation, and for me any self-respecting choc Easter bunny must be eaten head first ;-).

[emerilcantcook]

Monsters!

[TiaRaye]

Animal Crackers: Tail first, then head. Then each individual leg before eating the torso.

Poor, poor animal crackers.

[anzu]

Omg. I used to de-leg animal crackers, too! Though I was first a beheader, then a gail-chopper. This way, the animal can't see what's being done to them, and their brain is gone, so they can't feel pain. :)

Perhaps you should try that to assuage your guilt. :)

[TiaRaye]

I may do that. It WOULD be much more humane! ;-)

[ajs228]

When I eat those mini-pretzels I have to eat each section separately, so the pretzel takes 3 bites.

[AlyKen]

I do that too.. well, I actually eat the 3 outside sections first and then eat the 3-pronged thing in the middle.

[DanaB]

I really don't like eating apples without cutting them in wedges and seeding them first.

[goodhealthgourmet]

oy, i wasn't even thinking about fruit for this thread. ok, here we go...

i can't bite into an apple...or a pear. i slice pieces off with a knife and whittle my way around until there's nothing left but a skinny core...but i always reserve a piece with skin for the last bite.

for stone fruits, i slice in half all the way around the pit, remove the pit, and then slice pieces off the halves as i eat them.

citrus gets peeled, split in half, and sections are eaten one by one.

melon & papaya are peeled, seeded & cubed.

kiwi gets the top sliced off, then i scoop out the insides with a spoon.

mango is sliced off the pit and put on a plate...then i clean off the pit first [by mouth, of course - leaning over the sink], before eating the reserved slices.

i guess the only ones for which i don't have a particular process are berries...but extra-large strawberries get sliced.

[grayelf]

What GHG said...

[Emme]

you and i sister...

i cut apples and pears into eight wedges, BUT i cut them so that there are larger ones, smaller ones, and one or two that are shard like... then eat from smallest to largest.

when eating cubes of honeydew or canteloupe or cassava, i bit the rind side off first (in how many ever nibbles that takes), then take how many bites necessary to eat the juicier fleshier piece that would have come from the center portion of the fruit.

the occasional pit fruit gets cut in half, pit removed, and cut into wedges, with similarly larger and smaller ones, eaten from smallest to largest.

kiwi gets peel then sliced crossways.

im allergic to strawberries, but those don't scream "eat me in a specific way" and don't like citrus fruits, but those too would get peeled, split in wedges and eaten smallest to largest if i were to eat one.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i forgot banana...i never bite off pieces - can't stand it when the ends aren't flat! [except for the tips, obviously.] either peel as i go and eat with a knife, slicing off a piece at a time...or wash the outside. slice with the peel still on, then peel each slice as i eat it. and i can't stand really green [read: crunchy] or really ripe, mushy bananas. they have to be just right.

my mother eats really ripe ones, biting right into them or breaking off uneven pieces with her fingers...but she usually doesn't eat the entire thing, and leaves the remains lying on the counter "in case she decides to finish it later." ugh.

[hill food]

bananas: I try to see if I can split them into the naturally occurring lengthwise thirds while eating.

[starlady]

I so do that, but I only eat the baby bananas

[saltnseltzer4me]

It's so strange. I never knew until reading another thread earlier today and hearing it again from you that bananas have 3 lengthwise sections to them! I assume that when looking straight at one end of a banana (after the tip has been sliced off) the walls of the 3 sections form a Mercedes Benz like symbol?

[hill food]

saltznseltzer4me: sorry so late in reply, but that's exactly the case.

and a completely pointless observance, but then geometry was about the only piece of math I was halfway good at.

[morwen]

Bananas must have the peel completely removed and then the fruit cut or broken into pieces. I started having to eat them this way after I caught my husband watching me with a particular twinkle in his eye as I was eating a banana in the usual partially-peeled-fruit-in-hand way. I was so embarrassed (although complimented) that I had to find another method of eating bananas!

[somervilleoldtimer]

It's known as "monkey style" in our house.

[moh]

Re: fruit:

I like to cut up oranges into wedges, but in a way that I've only seen in Korean circles (I'm sure others must do this too, but I just haven't seen it): Trim/slice off the stem end, and the opposite end. Then cut the orange in half, slicing in a direction parallel to the original cuts to trim the stem end off. Turn the orange onto the stem end, cut it in half using a cut perpendicular to the other two cuts. Then slice each quarter into eighths. There should be 4 pieces with the white central stalk running through them. They split easily in half because the ends were chopped off. These are eaten first. The remaining 4 quarters are perfect wedges of orange, no membranes, and these are eaten in ascending order of aesthetic beauty. Sometimes when I am feeling silly, I make an orange wedge smile of them.

Watermelon: I always pluck off the sweet frosty core and reserve it. I then remove all the seeds, eat the less tasty portion next to the rind, then go back to my reserved core piece and eat it with relish.

[starlady]

"go back to my reserved core piece and eat it with relish."

That soooooo conjured up a picture in my head of watermelon with pickle relish on it.

Ooo, BTW, try grilled watermelon with grilled prawn, surprising combo but now a summer staple in my house.

[moh]

Starlady, I can see how the confusion arose. Isn't language a fun thing?!

Grilled watermelon with prawn sounds awesome. Do you grill watermelon straight? Or do you season it with oil or something?

I am also a huge fan of watermelon rind pickle, so I guess I could see me eating watermelon with a relish on it...

[starlady]

When I grill the watermelon I crank up the heat, oil the grill then put the watermelon on. Basically you just want grill marks on the watermelon and some smoky flavour. I do toss the prawns with S&P and Chili flakes. The heat on the prawns is awesome with the juicy watermelon!

[moh]

thanks a lot Starlady!

[mschow]

Oh, the apple thing. I do that exactly with all pieces of fruit. Cut in half, cut in quarters, all seeds and core removed before serving. I cannot just bite into an apple. I hate having all that apple juice all over my face...not to mention what it does to the lipstick!

[meatn3]

Animal crackers must be turned away from the person (so they can't see the teeth coming) prior to decapitation. Heads must be bit off before any other nibbles or it is just cruel....

Sometimes I can still channel my inner 7 year old! (Able to feel compassion but still greedy as hell!)
;-D

[duckduck]

When eating See's raspberry creams, I will pick off every bit of chocolate starting with the bottom edges until I have a bright pink wad of raspberry goo and will cleanse my palate with water before eating the middle. Sometimes I pick off the edges of Reese's peanut butter cups before eating the middle.

[mojoeater]

The only sandwich I will eat with the heels of the loaf is PB&J. otherwise the bread slices must be consecutive in a sandwich.

I will put an M&M in between my front teeth and pop the candy shell off half. Keeping the chocolate face up with the remaining candy touching my tongue so as not to melt, I eat the candy part until all I have left is the chocolate, just moving it around with my tongue. Then I suck on it til its gone.

When I was a kid my dad would eat pretzel rods. I would bit one end off and suck on the pretzel until inch by inch it got mushy and I could swallow without chewing. I'd never do it now, at least not around other people.

[goodhealthgourmet]

wow, i i didn't think anyone else ate pretzel rods that way!!! i tried it with bavarian pretzel twists too, but the texture wasn't right - they never really disintegrated.

[mark]

i have to eat m&ms four at a time. 2 tucked into each cheek until the chocolate inside melts. then i crunch them up to get that flow of warm chocolate liquor. i won't finish the bag if there's an odd number.

[chowdom]

I used to eat pretzel rods the same way, and I find it hard to believe we eat M&Ms in exactly the same way! In addition I eat cereal by adding little amounts (about one spoonful at a time) to my milk ,so it will remain crunchy.

[lexpatti]

Ok, haven't heard my silly - when eating any meal on my plate, I like to go from one bite to another of the different things on my plate (each bite of food being different from the last) ALL THE WHILE, I'm thinking about what I really want my last bite to be - It's extremely important to me and I'm soo bummed if I mess it up when it's a tough decision. I'm really crazy like this with sushi - my last bite always has to be my best. A buffet is my nightmare, because I can get more on my plate if I wasn't satisfied with my choice for last bite.

[grayelf]

Lexpatti, I call that "planning my exit strategy" and I do it most carefully when eating sushi. I always have to have a milder flavour to end off with, maybe something with a bit of avocado in it or a bite of inari roll :-).

[AnneInMpls]

Lexpatti, I do this, too! My mother claims that it's because this is how she fed me as a baby - one bite in turn of each food, then repeat. It's nice to know that I can blame one of my weirdnesses on my mother...

I'm also very picky on how I cut my bread for different types of sandwiches:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/48678...

Anne

[wanderlustre]

Hahah me too.
Once got into a huge fight when my girlfriend had to feed me in the car while I was driving.

[meatn3]

I have many of the idiosyncrasies already mentioned. One no one has brought up yet is how to dress a baked potato! If in a restaurant I request all toppings on the side. First I sprinkle with pepper, then gently mash in the butter (must be the real thing) and chives, then sprinkle with salt. If the occasional yen for sour cream or cheese or bacon is being addressed they go on next, with cheese ('cos it melts) being first, sour cream next, bacon last. Faster to do it than type it!

This must be finished before I can taste anything else on the plate...My ex was the same, there would be complete silence while we gussied up our baked potatoes! Actually I think I picked up this trait from him...

[lexpatti]

ha ha, funny - I do quite the dance with potato as well. I particularly love potato skins as a nice little pocket with butter melted and salt and pepper - then mashing the insides into a nice pile with it's appropriate seasonings and............like you said "before I touch anything else". And the pocket is most likely my last bite!!!!

[macca]

Oh- I forgot all about the baked potato rituals! I first take off the tin foil (if in a restaurant), open completely. Then make slices of about 60 degress on each potato- making sure not to pierce the skins. Then, make the same 60 degree slices the opposite way on each side. THEN- make vertical slices on each potoato. Next add the butter- and now the butter has lots of valleys to soak in to. Then lots and lots of pepper and some salt. Now I can mash it all up a bit and enjoy.Of course, nothing else gets tasted until this is done. My family thinks I am a freak about this.

[greygarious]

Take an intact baked potato in your hand, raise your arm to shoulder height, then with some force, thrown the potato onto the counter, and repeat 2-3 times. When you cut into the potato, the insides will have fluffed nicely, all ready for the butter to soak in. This works. I saw it on martha Stewart's show - wouldn't ya' like to know what HER food tics are?

[meatn3]

(Re: another thread about restaurants with security cameras)

They'll have called the police before I get to cut into my steak!

[macca]

Will have to try it- then my family will really think I am a freak!

[hill food]

not freakish at all, doing the butter, sour cream, etc. first gives everything a chance to melt and meld, I let that sit while I try other things and then go back once it's set a bit.

[Boccone Dolce]

I thought about this the other day- I can NOT eat my Mortadella with the peppercorns intact. I have to extract each one first. It must be sliced super, super thin and the outer casing removed. I buy it ONLY by the half pound. If I accidently miss even one peppercorn no matter how small, my snack is over.
Bread (when I cave and enjoy it) has got to have proper alignment.
I will not eat popcorn with my fingers. I use chopsticks. I actually don't eat much food with my fingers: I eat chicken wings with a fork and knife. Fries too.
If there is excess water in my dish (like maybe the mushrooms are too wet and they leak all over the rest of the food) I have to get a dry one. I usually get an entire new dish.
Not sure if it's considered a silly eating habit but I usually plate both my husband's and my dishes whenever I cook. actually I do it when we are at parties too as in "Baby can I fix you a plate?" (answer is always yes) I carefully choose the prettiest, most photogenic and delectable morsels for him. Any burt bits or ugly hunks go on my dish. I've never mentioned I do this, but he recently noticed when I set both plates down and he went to pick them up and bring them to the table to help out. I said "The dish on the right is yours" and he ignored me and put it at my chair. I said it again and he started to eat!! I fought panic and said "Please, I really wanted you to have this piece of tilapia, it came out nice and cruchy. The other one is a little mushad..."
I guess it is silly.....

[Alicat24]

I'm glad this thread was resurrected because I had to respond to this (and many other) posts.

Bocco: You are not silly or alone!!! I am the same way, my hubby is in no way a chauvanistic pig or anything and I don't even think he knows that I do this. If I pull out two plates and one has some schmutz on it that the dishwasher didn't get off, I will designate the clean plate as his. I also cut the best piece of meat for him or dole out the freshest looking romaine into his salad. I give him the least browned piece of garlic bread because he likes his less well-done, even if the other piece is more well done than I like it!

I also just automatically make him a plate of food in any situation that isn't a sit-down meal. Eating out with my sister and BIL about a year ago, she laughed and said how funny she thought it was that I alway's am the one to box up both our leftover's if there are any. None of this behavior is in any way due to hubby, it's all me!!

I wonder if it's a nurturing thing (we've been together 20 yrs. since our teens and don't have kids yet). I don't know, I just had to say you're not alone or silly!

[pikawicca]

My husband would really resent being treated like a toddler. He prefers to choose his own food, being an adult and all.

[alkapal]

LOL!
mr. alka would definitely have issues with me if i did that. plus, my food "touches" and his does not, with the exception of biryani and the lamb curry at our saturday indian buffet.

[jfood]

Oh Pika and alka, pahleeeze.

jfood does this for mrs jfood all the time. mrs jfood does this for jfood all the time. They are both adults, know how to act like adults, know how to treat others like adults, have manners like adults, choose their food like adults, respect each others like adults, do not have control issues like adults.

[alkapal]

jfood, do you eat the same foods as your wife from a buffet, or don't you do buffets?

here's my plate: green chutney, raita, chopped tomatoes/cukes
a little basmati, 5 chunks of chicken tikka plus the onions they are sitting on, a small spoonful of the lamb curry, a good size spoon of shahi paneer, and two whopper spoonfuls of the palak. all touching, in varying layers.

mr. alka: biryani, mixed veg curry, lamb. period.

[grayelf]

Sounds like alka could do a great job of dishing up for mr alka :-). I know what to get the SO at a buffet for sure after nearly 20 years of watching him eat. But my favourite thing is getting him a plate of dessert at (usually his staff Christmas) dinner -- I deliberately get extra of the stuff I like on his plate so I can nab it back later -- fine duff 'Hound strategy!

[marcia]

Corn, definitely eat across. I knew someone who used to "shave" the corn off the cob because he didn't like corn on the cob. Same corn off the cob was just fine. Go figure.

Most of the time I eat foods in sequence, meaning I rarely mix them or go from one to another. Exceptions are breakfast and TG dinner. I usually save what I consider the best for last. Delayed gratification, I guess, although generally I'm not so good at that.

I always, in private anyway, when eating toast or a sandwich, will eat the crust before I eat the bread. Don't do this in public because I suspect it makes me look like a 5 y/o.

My ex used to spin his plate and then smell the food. Only at restaurants though because they couldn't be trusted, I guess.

[mark]

i always thought there were only two schools of thought regarding corn-on-the-cob; in rows lenghtwise (my school) or in bands around the circumference (i guess it gets the job done, but it's a little bit wrong). then i met my wife. she takes random, yes random, bites. a bite here, a bite there. maybe she'll eat a strip around the cob, then another bite over there. maybe then she'll go down a row. if she sees me eyeballing her piebald cob, then she'll deliberatelty make it even more random, just because she knows it bugs me.

[goodhealthgourmet]

mark, you must reeeally love your wife. i don't know that i could sit there and watch someone do that to an ear of corn :)

[mark]

i love her dearly, but when she sees me looking and really goes to town, i have to look away. it's just too disturbing, and i really don't want to think about what it says about her :)

[valerie]

As we were eating corn on the cob for dinner last night, and I observed my husband's pattern (across while mine is around), I said "there is the funniest thread on CH now about everyone's habits" and I specifically told him about your random-corn-eating wife. I told him of a few more things that I could think of off the top of my head.

He said "you people are a weird bunch"! Oh yeah, and his science fiction, dungeons & dragons "friends" are really normal!

[lexpatti]

funny!!! Hubby says he's a chowhound widow because I'm on it often enough.

[goodhealthgourmet]

valerie, tell DH to go play ADD with andrew from TC and leave you to chat with us :)

[kubasd]

bahahaha my boy is the biggest dork with his card games (not poker) and scifi (not that i don't like scifi myself, but he's crazy with it) yet he talks about how weird i am to spend so much time on chowhound....

[somervilleoldtimer]

I think your wife must be the only sane one in this whole bunch. (I eat in rows; my husband eats the circumference.)

[jfood]

very unusual since it is usually males who eat in rows across and females that eat in cicumference by spinning. Jfood's totally unempirical research has borne this out for many years of picnics probably 90% of the time.

[nkeane]

could this be because men tend to use linear logic, and women tend to argue in circles??lol......kidding, everyone!

[alkapal]

or...depending on your perspective (and which direction they're moving on the cob), women are arguing to higher levels of analysis (LOL!).

[jacquelyncoffey]

I eat corn in a similar fashion, I'll go across a little then around a little. I try not to be too regimented in some things

[beekeroc]

Very funny Mark!! Never thought about it before but I guess it is a bit odd. Love how she reacts to your noticing. Go girl!

[heeler2000]

I feel much better to know that I'm not the only one eating the crust first, but I go a step further. I don't put anything on the bread, but I put it in the microwave for about 12 seconds, take it out, and eat the crust. Then I squish the bread into a cylinder the length of one side, and as small in diameter as I can get it, and bite off small pieces. Yum!

[burlgurl]

I have to have my morning bagel from the coffee shop 'as is'..not cut in half..toasted..anything on it at all. I like to tear pieces of plain multigrain bagel to eat with my coffee. If the bagel comes cut in half I can't eat it! I need the intact bagel or nothing!
Also, I like to drink my soup in a mug, not use a spoon..

[NE_Elaine]

I hate eating lumpy sandwiches! You know, those sandwiches which have all the filling in the middle of the bread or roll and nothing on the outside. I always have to deconstruct these sandwiches and remake them so that I get consistent distribution of sandwich innards across the transportation vehicle (bread).

[Linda VH]

Definitely must have my cereal soggy - if it crunches ugh! Never eat the crust of the bread for sandwiches or anything really. Only eat the crust of the pizza if it is VERY crispy so usually discard. Put salt in my ketchup if I'm having fries that aren't presalted (putting salt on fries is soooo inefficient as it just falls on the plate whereas in the ketchup....). Have a bite of each bit of food on my plate in order but not mixed together eeew. BTW, here in Boca chopped salads are all the rage especially at country clubs but they usually perform the surgery for you after you pile in the ingredients. Hotdogs always have mustard first, relish next and then raw onions.

[Cachetes]

Yes! I hate the blob plunked in the center! Also, my husband thinks it's odd that in the reconstruction phase, I usually omit a good portion of the innards. I need to have the proper meat/bread ratio.

[phantomdoc]

When putting round meat on square bread I used to cut the rounds in half and arrange the cut sides to the outside of the bread to facilitate better alignment with the edges.

[kubasd]

oh my god! I get made fun of daily at work for how i "fix" the sandwich the deli makes for me!! everything has to be even and have an equal amount in each bite!

[starlady]

I too am a burger turner, looking for the first bite.

Eggs on Toast: The water has to be BOILING when you put the egg in, then cooked for 5.5 min. Dunked into cold water. The toast has to be a darker brown in colour then buttered edge to edge. Wehn you split the egg open the white go around the outside with the soft somewhat runny yolk in the center all sprinkled liberally with S&P. The you have to eat around the outside working towards the middle and the yolks. The last bite is yolk, toast, butter, S&P :)

Sounds like work but really it's not.

Corn on the cobb, across from left to right (ya I'm a lefty)
TG dinner - the last bite has to have a little of everything on the fork.

[rednyellow]

I'm also a burger spinner. It really bothers me to watch someone eat a burger upside down. Also, the insides of a burger need to be stacked so that the wettest ingredients dont touch the bottom bun.
Corn left to right.
I eat one item at a time on my plate and would be happy with compartmentalized trays. I love the round stainless trays some indian restaurants use.
I like my beverage glasses - water, cocktail, wine in a straight line, left to right and hate it when a waiter moves them.
I hate cold hard foil wrapped butter pats, but have learned to warm them in my hands before applying them to bread
I hate to eat outdoors unless near the beach or a cute foreign city.
I cant stand eating with sunglasses on
I'm sure there's more.

[miss_bennet]

I eat my burgers upside-down because the top half of the bun is usually bigger, so it supports the burger better.

[rednyellow]

Blasphemy.

[Blueicus]

I agree with miss_bennet. Most burger buns are built such that the bottom bun disintegrates quickly... made even worse if the person has an underbite. I generally flip the burger over every once in a while to maintain equilibrium.

[Catskillgirl]

Many party supply stores carry compartmentalized plates with lids. When my hubby was first diagnosed with diabetes I would cook like a maniac on weekends, put together lots of meals in these plates, cover and freeze. This way I had a whole freezer of healthful meals with portions weighed out, all labelled and ready for oven or microwave. I loved them because I could freeze beef or chicken with gravy or sauce, and it wouldn't slop over into the veggies.

[WendyBinCT]

Excellent thread!
Like others here, I'm a bit obsessive about spreading butter across every millimeter of toast. Similarly, cream cheese coast-to-coast across my bagel -- gotta be a spread, not a mere schmear -- and mayo on a sandwich. Hot dogs get mustard on both sides of the bun.
When enjoying cold cuts, I prefer my sandwiches to contain either meat or cheese, not both, with veggie garnishes on either... always distributed evenly.
Corn chomped across, wide end to narrow.
My DH concludes a repast with one bite of each item on his plate. If I wait too long to request a taste of something, I can really throw his evening-up process out of whack, so I'm careful not to do this -- but sometimes tease him by asking for a late morsel just to observe his alarm (and relief when I demur).
Our daughter has an extremely silly food-related OCD trait. She must have at least two entrée options in the fridge before preparing dinner, so she can have a choice. This is not much of a problem for me now that she is grown and living independently, but it sure can be exasperating when she visits for a holiday and every bit of fridge space is filled with turkey (or whatever) and fixings! (And no, cereal or a sandwich will not do. Sigh!)

[Catskillgirl]

LOL at your husband! In a kind, caring way of course. LOL!

[livetocook]

For me it's the following:

1, 95% of the time I eat one thing at a time on my plate until it's competely done, before moving on to the next thing. I don't mind food touching. Heck I'll even plate my dishes with meat on top of rice and veggies stacked on top and still eat one thing at a time. I start with Veggies and always save the best for last, whether it be meat, potatoes whatever. I remember being at a potluck and my best friend noticed I hadn't touched her spareribs yet. She had a little bit of a pout on her face. I looked down at them on my plate, then looked up and smiled, "you should feel proud. I always save the best for last." Apparently I do this subconsciously. I didn't even know I was doing it until she commented. She smiled when I told her this.

2, My plate is usually completely clean when I'm done eating. I'll sop up sauces/juices with bread, meat, noodles...whatever. I could almost put it back in the cupboard, it's that clean. We learned this from our Dad. In fact my brother is so OCD about it that he will actually move his food methodically from one side to the other as he eats, cleaning the plate as he goes. It's interesting to watch. He's so gentle about it. He always eats like he savours ever little morsel too.

3, I always eat my corn on the cob by shaving it off. I can't stand anything getting stuck in my teeth. Eating directly off the cob is the worst for that.

[revsharkie]

wow...are you my husband? Except for #3, he's exactly the same. There's no end of times I've turned to ask him how he liked something I fixed, and he hasn't gotten there yet.

My ex would always eat the entree first when we went out, and then work on the potatoes or sides. He said his dad told him when he was a kid to do it that way, so if he got full he didn't waste the entree, which is what you're paying for. Whatever.

[im_nomad]

a little bit of my weirdness:

-single slices of bread/toast with butter/peanut butter etc...I eat it upside down (aka the tongue gets hit with the topping first).evidently i've been doing this since I was a child.

-any "little" things i eat, like jelly beans, peanuts etc...I have to have one in each molar or i feel uneven/lopsided. If i have one half peanut i have to split it with my teeth and send it to the corners before chewing. Consequently, my favorite number is two :)

[goodhealthgourmet]

ok nomad, we may be distantly related...i do the same balancing act. both sides of the mouth/jaw have to get equal chewing time or i feel uneven.

[meatn3]

I do the balancing thing with small items for snacking such as chocolate covered raisins (must match in size too), nuts, and most devotedly with caramel corn. If the bowl is getting empty and the situation becomes stressful I might allow 2 little bits to balance one large bit..I become vaguely disturbed if the process becomes unbalanced. (I obsessed about stepping on cracks on the sidewalk as a child - I sense a connection for me.)

Not sure why this doesn't carry over to chips, dried fruit, chocolate without fruit or regular popcorn.

My SO gets such a kick out of catching me completely engrossed in these moments of freakdom. Lucky for me SO has decided this is endearing rather than alarming!

[goodhealthgourmet]

i think it IS somehow related to the sidewalk thing - i was thinking about the very same relationship as i typed my reply last night...i'm better about it now, but when i was younger i *had* to step over even numbers of cracks/grout lines and make sure my feet landed in equal numbers of squares along the sidewalk...otherwise i felt physically off-kilter [of course, we already know i'm mentally so ;)]

[rizzo0904]

I have to eat everything in even numbers...yes, I even count out goldfish crackers.

Unlike most of you, soggy cereal grosses me out...must be crunchy.

I will not use the heel end of bread.

[daeira]

When I eat the flesh of pomelos I'll pick at each vesicle individually, popping the tiny thing in my mouth, enjoying that quick burst of juice

I like to peel the outer rind of the lychee before peeling the paper thin like membrane surrounding the flesh

When I eat spekkoek, I have to slice it very thinly and then eat it layer by layer.

Whenever I eat crab, I have to pick out all the meat of every single piece of crab I'm about to consume, pile it all on a plate and then sit down to enjoy eating it.

[Undercover]

1. My brother from age 3 to 24 had to remove the seed from cooked green beans before eating.

2. My husband cannot have mayonnaise touch lunch meat on his sandwich--lettuce must separate the two. (But mustard can touch.)

3. At least in the comfort of my home I eat salads with my fingers.

4. I squish my sandwich (or burger) flat after it's made before I can eat it. I eat my brownies squished, too--but never cake squished!

5. If there is something on my plate I'm not crazy about but is healthy for me I make myself eat it all before I can touch anything else.

[somervilleoldtimer]

When I was little, I had to remove the spines from sardines before I could eat them. Now I eat the whole thing.

[phantomdoc]

When I eat peel and eat shrimp I peel all the shrimp before I eat the first one.

[lexpatti]

I'm the opposite, love to work and eat at each shrimp (one at a time) like eating pistachios or crawfish

[goodhealthgourmet]

pistachios are always shelled one at a time. i love the process, so i won't even bother eating ones that have *all* been shelled...but when i have a new bag, i have to rescue the loose ones that have fallen out of their shells & eat those before the others. go figure.

[starlady]

well of course, or else they feel left out when you are shelling the others, right?

[kubasd]

oh wow, i do this too. Damn I have a lot of "silly eating habits" i never realized.....

[Sarah]

This is a great thread! Now I don't feel so weird about how my rice has to be arranged on the plate!

[valerie]

I agree with a lot here...

I would never eat a burger upside down. And, speaking of burgers, when I put the top half on to complete the burger, I always make sure it lines up with how it was originally cut. I do the same with a bagel sandwich or any other sandwich, I guess. I hate mismatched or uneven tops and bottoms!

I eat my corn around, never across.

And I, too, hate a sandwich that's too bulky in the center. I will definitely re-distribute the insides to make it all nice and even.

When I was a kid, I hated anything touching. So instead of 1 large dinner plate, I always had a few small plates or bowls. Got over that a long time ago.

[Sarah]

I know -- good thing bagels have those flat side areas which help to line things up properly, whew!

[PersnicketyChicky]

Wonder if anyone else has this habit. Haven't found anyone else yet! It developed later in my life (30s), but when I'm at home, I eat almost everything with a spoon. I have a bamboo spoon that I use because I dislike the sound of metal scraping on ceramic. I eat my meals in a bowl. One of my favorite breakfasts is to make some home fries or tater tots, which go in the bottom of a bowl, and on top I put black refried beans with a ton of hot salsa and two over medium eggs. I eat this with the spoon.
Also, due to many years of not having enough food, I clean my plate very well, even in restaurants, wiping it with bread or tortilla or scraping with spoon or fork until it almost appears to not need washing. This habit has stuck with me even though I am not in such poverty any longer. Musing on bread eating habits, I eat every bit of bread, ends and all, so as not to waste it. I am not ashamed!

[Fuser]

I used to sit in amazement as I watched my daughter order her favorite breakfast. An English muffin, poached eggs on the side. Then she carefully puts the egg on top of the muffin, and chops her eggs inot tiny pieces. She also is expert at ordering all kind of side sauces and carefully adding them in bite by bite after she reassembles her sandwiches precisely. I thought, "Where did she devlop such silly habits." Then I ordered my breakfast, which was eggs benedict. I instruct the waiter that I like my English muffins extra crispy. In fact, my son-in-law now refers to this as Kur-RISPEE. I then carefully chop the egg on top until it's in uniformly small pieces, mixed evenly with the hollandaise sauce. As for potatoes, I always order them with extra sour cream, no butter, when I order steak. Then I take off foil, if there is some, which I hope there is not. I mush the sour cream with the potato until it's evenly distributed. I also order straight ground horseradish, along with horseradish sauce. Then I work from the outside in on my meat because I really like the crispy fatty pieces on the edges of the steak the best. Each bite has to balance the potato with the steak with the horseradish. And planning the last bite takes all kinds of effort because it always has to be the best, last flavor. I can spend an entire meal obsessing about what the Last Bite should be. Then I wonder where my daughter got all her weird habits;-)

[Sinicle]

No offense intended jfood, but you are my soulmate as I agree with all 5 of your list. My quirk is that when making a bagel with nova and cream cheese, the cream cheese goes on first, then onions, capers, etc so they are firmly held in place by the cream cheese. Then the tomato, finally, the nova draped on top to hold the rest in place. Not as aesthetic but oh so practical. Of course this is open faced as all nova and bagel should be ( in my universe).

Finally, I do not feel that demanding bread alignment is a "silly eating habit." On other Forums this comment would be followed by a "smiley" emoticon to indicate that the opiner is pleasingly self-deprecating.

[valerie]

Agree with your bagel making policy, except I like the tomato to go on top of the nova so that when I hold the thing, my hands get a little less nova-y.

Oh, and the tomato slice will be the perfect size of the bagel half.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i'm with valerie - tomato on top to avoid fishy fingers...and tomato gets surgically nipped & tucked to ensure a perfect fit.

[jfood]

no onion for jfood, can; stand raw onion. but try dpping the bagel/shmear/noey into the cream sauce from the herring. Yum

[burlgurl]

I'm totally OCD about the temperatures of my food..I need my soup on the verge of boiling and my white wine very cold, usually even with ice cubes.
I can't take a bite of dessert until my coffee arrives.
I have to eat peanut butter sandwiches open (spread on a single piece of bread). if a piece of bread is placed on top, I feel I can't smell and taste the peanut butter at the same time, (which is key!)

[livetocook]

Ah I totally forgot about that for myself. My food too must be pretty hot. I definately agree with the soup temp for sure. (This can actually be a pretty big pet peeve of mine in a restaurant. Luke warm food is a turn off.)

The silly thing is, since I eat my vegetables first for dinner at least half the time I have to put my plate into the microwave to heat my carb/meat because it's gotten too cold. I've now figured out that at work, when I'm eating my salad (of course first) and I'm almost done that, I'll heat up my left overs. I use to heat it up and then sit to eat my salad. Once I got to the left overs, it'd be cold. Took me a few times to figure this out! duh

[purple goddess]

burger twirler here.. you have to look for juuuuust the right spot.

burgers and egg n bacon rolls HAVE to have the runny-yolked egg on the top, so when you bite into it, the yolk runs down and coats everything.

Horizontal corn eater, left to right

any spread must be uniform over the bread and right to the edges

I plan my exit strategy from a meal, saving the best bite for last. (and oh, the myriad of possibilities!)

pasta and curries MUST be served in bowls, never plates. I don't care what hubs says, they taste weird served on plates.

sammies, especially toasted ones must come for consecutive slices.

And in Oz, there are biscuits called Choc Royals.. they're a disc of shortbread, a shmear of jam, topped with a pillow of marshmellow and coated with chocolate.

There is only one possible way to eat them.

You smack the biscuit against your forehead, cracking the chocolate shell, which you then peel off and eat. You then suck the marshmellow off and consume. You lick the jam off the shortbread, and THEN pop the base in your mouth.

[Catskillgirl]

OK, you win. Why smack the cookie against your forehead? Wouldn't a counter or desk do?

I'm absolutely loving this thread - hooray, I'm not so weird after all!

[purple goddess]

I have no idea... It's just how you eat them. Pretty much everyone I know eats them like this.

Oh, and I like to break easter eggs by smacking them on my forehead, too.

But that's just me.

[chefbeth]

I am completely entranced by the idea of smacking food on your forehead to break the shell.

I can't wait for my next dinner party. I'll serve chocolate-dipped rapsberry ice cream truffles for dessert (I will call them Austalian Purple Goddess Truffles) and I will eat them in the manner you have described. How much you want to bet at least one of my more polite or adventurous guests follows my lead? I'm looking forward to hearing the after dinner conversation!

[goodhealthgourmet]

choc royals sound like the aussie version of mallowmars/pinwheels - ours just didn't have jam.

i could never have smacked it like that - the cookie base had to remain in one piece. if it cracked or crumbled while i was disassembling it, i couldn't eat it.

[purple goddess]

but the key is to only crack the chocolate coating, so you can peel that off the marsh mellow with your tongue, then suck of the mellow, leaving the shortbread base, in one piece, to scoff!

[goodhealthgourmet]

got it - i misunderstood your OP. when you said you smack the "biscuit" against your head, i assumed you meant the base.

ok, i can work with that :)

[goodhealthgourmet]

i have one more that i haven't seen anyone mention yet. whenever i eat an omelette, frittata, or scrambled eggs, i always have to have a tomato product with it - either fresh tomato slices, or salsa [e.g. with a mexican scramble] - AND hot sauce.

my methods are ridiculously OCD.

before i start eating, pour a pool of hot sauce on the side of the plate, making sure not to let it run into the eggs or the tomato. then drizzle a little hot sauce directly on the eggs, and using my knife, spread into a super-thin layer over the entire surface of the eggs. if having sliced tomatoes, cut them into bite-sized pieces and keep in a pile on the side [or preferably on a separate plate]. cut a bite-sized piece of the eggs, stick the tines of my fork in the hot sauce & use the fork to dab the extra hot sauce onto the piece of egg. if having fresh tomato, spear the egg with the fork, then pick up a piece of tomato underneath, and eat [fresh tomato always has to be on the bottom]. if having salsa, put a dollop of salsa on the piece of egg, spear, and eat.

and if there are vegetables in the eggs, there has to be a piece of each vegetable in every bite.

i've had more than one dining companion raise an eyebrow in amusement at my process.

[amethiste]

I put my vegetables in a separate bowl so that they do not water down the meat and starch
Salad must come after the main course
Corn is eaten across from left to right. My first row is height of my bite. The next rows are consumed individually
I eat the shell of jellybeans first
I can only eat spaghetti if it is mixed with the sauce
I eat candy bars with caramel in separate layers
I only eat ice cream in my art deco Mickey Mouse mug I bought in Disney World when I was there for my 14th birthday.
I always eat my french fries first
I can't eat fried chicken or fried fish without hot sauce
I cannot eat eggs that are not cooked so hard they bounce
I eat my candy corn in layers
I cannot watch a movie in the theatre without junior mints
I might need therapy...

[meatn3]

I truly believe there are slight flavor variations between the differing layers of candy corn.

One area of complete failure in my life is that I was never able to learn just how many lick does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop. No matter how much I try to just lick or suck on hard candy there reaches a point where I just have to crunch it to bits. The crunching is very satisfying!

[amethiste]

"I truly believe there are slight flavor variations between the differing layers of candy corn."

I beleive the same. To me the yellow part is the most buttery.

[rednyellow]

I eat M&M candies one color at a time. The blue ones are best.

[miss_bennet]

When I was a kid, we were never allowed to eat fries until we had eaten half of our burger. So now I always start on the fries first.

When we had porkchops with mushrooms, my sister would always count the number of mushrooms she had, then cut up her porkchop so she had a mushroom for each piece of pork. She refused to cut the mushrooms. If she had too many pieces of pork, my mom would have to give her another mushroom.

When my mom eats Licorice Goodies, she pours some into a small bowl then ties up the bag. She then eats all of one colour, then another colour until she has pink and white. Pink she eats second to last, and at the end she has a bowl full of white ones. If I try to take a goodie at the beginning of this odyssey, and I take a pink or white one, she yells. I don't try anymore...

I'm kind of the opposite. If I eat a coloured candy, like Skittles or Smarties, I line them up in their colours. Then I eat whichever one has the most. My goal is to make it so I have the same number of each colour. Then I eat the across the rainbow one by one.

Other than that, I am an obsessive Exit Strategist. It's so disappointing when you choose wrong!

[Springhaze2]

I do the same thing with colored candy, dump them out and arrange by color then eat whichever has the most, so there is an even number. Then I eat one by one by color leaving the "best" color or flavor until last - usually the red or purple depending on the candy and flavor combination.

The funny part is, I work for a candy company so I am very careful to hide this obsession when eating candy at work.

[grayelf]

"Other than that, I am an obsessive Exit Strategist. It's so disappointing when you choose wrong!"

LOL, isn't it though? Wasted opportunity for the final taste to linger satisfyingly.

[jfood]

As jfood waits to go for a tee-off time some more:

- M&Ms are eaten by color. worst to best; dark bown, light brown, green, yellow, orange, red, blue, in that order
- those dinkin donuts coffee rolls that look like a swilr. He unswirls then instead of eating like a regular donut. Then the last bite is the center "circle" with all the sweet powdered suga/water combo
- unlike what most people state here. In a good restaurant, he takes a bite of the potato, then a bite of the protein. then he combines all the flavors in bite number 3 to see if the chef did a good-great balance on the various elements his tongue is looking ofr. About 3/4 through the meal he starts planning for the last bite so it contains all the essential elements of the dish for that final AHHHHH!!!!
- raw onions are verbotten on salads
- after eating ice cream he has to have some milk
- baked potato gets fully prepared before any food is eaten
- a bag of cookies is a single serving

[goodhealthgourmet]

ice cream or frozen yogurt has to be eaten at a very specific temperature - the stage where it's softened and juuust beginning to drip or look melted. anything more frozen is too hard & cold & doesn't realize its full flavor potential, and anything softer is too mushy - if i wanted "ice cream soup" i'd mix it all up & stick it in my easy bake oven or the toaster oven [turned off, of course], and let it sit until it was *done.* anyone else do that as a kid?

have to eat it with a spoon - was never a licker, and don't eat cones anymore.

once it reaches the right temperature, i work my way around the outside, scraping from bottom to top, to make sure the exterior surface is always smooth & even. when the point at the top gets too narrow & begins to wilt, i slice off a spoonful a few centimeters underneath it across the top to flatten it out, and then go back to the bottom to work my way around again.

i'm also very particular about my toppings. i can't stand biting into something hard & frozen, ever since i had sensitive teeth when i was little. if i have chunky mix-ins [which is rare], i hold the bite in my mouth & let the surrounding ice cream melt, then suck on the chunk to soften it before chewing. every bite has to have a piece of the mix-ins, and i *have* to make sure i save at least one piece of each mix-in to go with the last bite...preferably two pieces if i can manage it.

sprinkles & sauces NEVER get poured onto the entire serving. they're always in a separate cup on the side. take a bit of ice cream on the spoon, dip it into the topping, then eat. always save a little fudge or a spoonful of sprinkles to be eaten last, by itself, as "dessert." ;)

and it's always eaten with the spoon upside-down, so the ice cream - never the spoon - hits my tongue first.

yes. i know. i need SERIOUS help.

[paris221966]

Fun topic :-)

Only silly eating habits I can think of at the moment are:

Haribo Gummi Bears have to be chilled in the fridge to get the hard chewy-ness I love

When eating a banana, I never eat the ends.

When visiting an ice cream or frozen yogurt shop, the only toppings I like are Gummi Bears

Hot dogs have to be Nathans and only Dijon mustard on a toasted bun - that's it.

Ice cream/frozen yogurt is never scooped out and placed in a bowl. I eat it right out of the tub.

[hill food]

"Hot dogs have to be Nathans and only Dijon mustard on a toasted bun - that's it."

but chinese mustard on a half-smoke.

on another note it was a contest as children to see who could eat/peel ALL the icing off a DingDong or HoHo before eating the cake (DingDongs were easier).

amazing I still have my teeth considering what junk we ate as kids.

[goodhealthgourmet]

"amazing I still have my teeth considering what junk we ate as kids."
~~~~~~
my best friend's father was our dentist, and ironically, i was introduced to junk food at their house. mom didn't buy it or give it to us when we were little, but at *their* house they had an entire pantry-sized kitchen cabinet dedicated to the stuff. devil dogs, twinkies, ring dings, yodels, oreos, chps ahoy, doritos, ruffles, pringles...you name it.

we always found a reason tho play over there after school :)

[phantomdoc]

My sister used to like to drink coffee in a strange way. When it was served to her she would take a sip to see if it was hot. If not hot enough she would have it replaced. When served hot enough to pass inspection she would wait for it to cool before drinking. It had to get cold in front of her, not somewhere else.

[valerie]

I stop on the way to work to pick up a large cup of coffee. We have milk and half & half at my office, so I just get a large, black hazelnut coffee. It's always piping hot. When I get here (maybe 2 or 3 minutes later), I pour out a bit, and add my sweet & low and milk to make it just the way I like it. It has cooled off a bit by now with the addition of the milk. So then I stick it in the microwave and make it super-hot, so much so that I can't drink it. And then it sits on my desk for a few minutes while I eat my breakfast and by that time, it has cooled off to the perfect temperature, still hot, but not scorching hot.

I hate being served coffee (or soup) that is not piping hot.

[pinkprimp]

I am exactly the same!! Except, I ask for my Starbucks drink at 195 degrees (really, REALLY undrinkable, especially when walking down the financial district at rush hour...unless you like burns) and let it sit for a bit before i drink it. i will ask them to remake it if it is not undrinkably hot.

they must hate me?? lol

[miss_bennet]

Just out of curiosity... Why does it need to be 195 degrees, then left to sit? Why not just get it at the drinkable temperature and drink it?

[pinkprimp]

The sensation of having a warm drink is so gross...i dont know why! I just like to supervise it while it comes down to drinkable temperature...

[Springhaze2]

I almost always leave the last bite of food on the plate, definitely always with a sandwich or pizza. I think this comes from growing up in a family where you always had to "clean your plate", now that I am an adult I am being defiant. When I get near the last bite, I carefully plan my exit strategy to have the best bite last. Then declare that I am full and leave exactly one bite. I don't usually notice that I do it, but apparently people that I eat with often do.
Last night I had dinner at a family party with my fairly new boyfriend. We have been seeing each other for about three months and this was the first time I was meeting all of his family at once. It was a casual gathering with lots of homemade Italian food. I fixed my plate and ate the whole thing - even the last bite. When I finished, he looked down at my plate and said, wow, you must have been hungry. Then I noticed I had eaten it all and felt overly full for the rest of the evening.

On another topic, I am surprised that the coffee ritual did not come up. I always pour my coffee first, add sugar, stir a bit and then add milk or cream then stir again. It kind of annoys me when somebody does it in a different order. To me it is the only way to get the sugar dissolved properly and the right balance of coffee to cream.

[jesoda]

I eat my eggs over easy. First I eat all of the egg white, then I strategically place a small slit on the yoke and squish out all of the yoke, salt lightly and dip with toast. A fork is no longer needed at this point. Then I go on to the second egg and repeat the process.

jfood I do the same with baked potato. Potato has to be prepared first before I touch the rest of the food on my plate.

[Catskillgirl]

I fix my coffee the same way. And can't stand to watch others do it "wrong". It just makes sense to dissolve the sugar in the hot coffee, then cool it with cream.

[LindaWhit]

Whereas my sugar goes into the mug first (sometimes with the half-and-half, sometimes without), then hot coffee, and add the half and half right after.

[lexpatti]

I'm with you, I put sugar and creamer in first - then pour the coffee (doesn't need to be stirred so it's more efficient in my mind). I'm not into extra steps when it comes to coffee.

[LindaWhit]

I was actually thinking about this thread when I poured my morning coffee at home - both cream and sugar went into the mug first, then coffee. But I still have to stir to make sure the sugar melts and sweetens all sips of coffee.

[torty]

I hate those little stirrer sticks and having utensils to clean that were used for 2 seconds only -so I always put my cream/milk in the mug and then pour in the hot coffee. I don't use sweetener so I understand the opposite method for others.

[lisavf]

"I almost always leave the last bite of food on the plate, definitely always with a sandwich or pizza... Then declare that I am full and leave exactly one bite."

Me, too, whether I'm full or not. Never thought of it as defiance, but come to think of it, I wasn't allowed to leave the table until my plate was clean. I spent many evenings sitting at the table with a cold plate of food in front of me. Maybe it is defiance!

[FibroLady]

I remember that too!! And, if I finally fell asleep at table, the food was put into the fridge and served to me at breakfast the next morning. (I wouldn't eat it THEN, either. My parents assumed I would eat rather than go hungry, but I would always rather go hungry than eat something I hated!) I learnt to cook in self-defense, BTW. And, I STILL won't eat something I dislike.

[grayelf]

Mmmm, cold calf's liver for brekky. Been there, had that done to me :-). I went hungry a few times too but it didn't seem to hurt me, judging by my current girth!

[revsharkie]

I don't put sugar in my coffee, but I always put the cream in the cup before the coffee. even on a refill. (At restaurants I don't generally have this option, however.)

[LindaWhit]

I'm with you on #2 and #5 (end of bread loaf to make a sandwich and eating COTC - *always* across!) At times I’m a burger twirler, but see a bit below – often I just go for the corners if I’ve cut it in half.

Also always go with two consecutive pieces of bread for a grilled cheese. And English muffins are ALWAYS fork-split, never cut in half with a knife like a saw. Gotta have those nooks and crannies, ya know.

And whenever I have fried eggs, the whites get cut off and the intact yolks get put on top of the buttered halves of the English muffin. I then cut into the yolk so the yolk goes into the nooks and crannies, and then the entire thing is eaten that way. I get English muffin and egg in one bite, with dripping yummy yolk running down my fingers.

Burgers are almost always (now) cut in half for easier handling.

And finally, this is a given (as it's the ONLY way to eat them) - I separate an Oreo, scraping off the vanilla cream, putting the two chocolate cookies back together, and popping the entire thing into my mouth...none of this biting the cookie pieces in half! And God forbid - absolutely NO dunking in milk - Oreos need to be crisp, not mushy.

[ESNY]

I take two Oreo cookies, separate them, scrape the icing from one cookie to the other and then throw away the three useless, icingless cookie and eat the one chocolate cookie with double icing.

[LindaWhit]

Save those extra cookie halves and send 'em to me! LOL

[goodhealthgourmet]

i used to do that...until someone at nabisco finally figured it out & did it for us with double stuf.

and then, of course, the novelty was gone, and i got sick of the filling & started eating only the cookies :)

[buttertart]

Apparently weird favorite part of edible item department: I like the blossom end slice of the tomato much more than any other part, and always slice them off for myself when preparing tomatoes. (The second-best part is the stem-end slice.) I have never met anyone else who expressed such a preference.

[Emme]

me too!!! i like more skin!!!

[Sam Fujisaka]

Mentioned this before: I never pile a lot of stuff on a plate at breakfast buffets. Instead I carefully plate several small courses in sequence--for example, juice and a fruit plate (maybe a bite of cheese), go back and plate a simple egg, sausage, and bit of potato course, and finally maybe a pancake and bacon w/maple syrup course. Clean plate for each course.

I never, ever eat while driving or walking down the street.

[Miss Needle]

Sam, I don't think that's being silly at all. It's smart and strategic. I don't do what you do but just take a taste of what looks good on the first round and go back for seconds on what I liked. And not eating while driving or walking down the street is also incredibly wise.

Ok. To answer the question, I deconstruct candy bars. I also have a particular way of eating a slice of pizza. I eat about a third of it, then cut the crusts off. If I'm particularly hungry, I'll eat the crusts. If not, I just throw it away. Then I cut the remaining slice in two pieces lengthwise and eat the pieces one at a time. The pizza tastes much better that way.

[Sooeygun]

I am a candy bar deconstructor as well. I have a way of eating every different type of candy bar. My SO once quizzed me on it and was shocked that there was a way for every type.

I usually eat my veggies first. Because there were a lot of veggies I didn't like as a child and eating them first got them out of the way. And of course I always save a bite of my favourite thing for last. That includes in a box of chocolates. Eat the less favoured ones first.

I don't eat junk food in public, such as on the bus or subway. Comes having been overweight. Never wanted someone to be thinking, 'why is she eating that?'

[Miss Needle]

Wow! Different method for every time of candy bar! I generally deconstruct candy bars with layers and components like Snickers, Kit Kats and Ferrer Rocher. But I would first take one bite whole to appreciate it together before I took it apart. And sometimes I like to eat the shell of the M&Ms before eating the chocolate. How do you handle bars like Nestle's Crunch? I really haven't found any other way but just to eat them.

[Sooeygun]

That one is a tough one!! The deconstruction happens in my mouth on that one. I take a small bite and suck on it until the crispy bits start to get sharp against the inside of my mouth.

I must say, I rarely eat candy bars in public. No one needs to see me take apart my food that way.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i used to eat nestlé crunch the same way...and mr. goodbar as well - let the chocolate melt until you really feel those peanut chunks in your mouth. i also had to nibble the raised edges off the crunch bars first [and plain hershey bars] before eating the rest.

[guster4lovers]

I leave the best chocolates for last too...unfortunately, my husband prefers to eat his favourite ones first. So the ideal chocolate box is one where we have different favourites...or I get to it first and hide one or two of my favourites.

I haven't read down the whole thread yet, but no one so far has mentioned the tear vs. bite issue yet. My orthodontist told me that in his experience, people who have had braces tend to tear their food into bites and eat those rather than take a bite out of something, which is what people who have never had braces tend to do. Until I forced myself to do otherwise, I always tore my food due to my three and a half years in braces. Even in three michelin star restaurants, I still tear my bread into pieces before eating it. :-)

[Meann]

I think that with bread, that's how you're supposed to do it - tear off a bit, butter, eat, repeat.

[hill food]

when it comes to bread, yes, I don't care and wouldn't think less of you, but bread is properly torn gradually and the pieces individually buttered. also slows you down, so you maintain your appetite for the entree.

[linguafood]

AND you can get more butter that way.

[goodhealthgourmet]

needle, this is scary - i used to eat pizza exactly the same way! except i always had room to eat the crust...i'd sacrifice the other part instead.

ditto on the candy bar deconstruction as well...if it had layers or a coating, i was separating it. i used to get so pissed off when the layers of a kit kat or twix didn't cooperate & broke instead of coming apart in one piece.

[Miss Needle]

Ha! That is pretty eerie! I also got pissed when the layers didn't break off in one piece.

[Boccone Dolce]

Munching while driving is not my first choice, but I've done it. I think it's mostly because I don't like eating with my hands and in the car I don't have access to hot soapy water right when I need it. But walking around eating an apple (cut into pretty skin-on slices of course) or any other type of non-messy fruit is great fun. Is it a fear of choking, Sam? No running with salami?

[Sam Fujisaka]

There are no real enforced speed limits here in Colombia. I used to race SCCA in the US. Even my passengers don't seem to want to eat whan I'm at the wheel. AutoBanh speeds on the freeway on the way to work. Sabastian Loeb on the way to the finca.

I love street food, but always eat it standing around in front of the cart or whatever. Part of the joy is talking to the cook/vendor or other customers When I walk, I want to see stuff... I'll eat that sliced apple at home or in the office.

Running with salami? Now you've got me. ?????

[Boccone Dolce]

Ok now I get it Mr. Speedracer.
Running with salami- you know the phrase "No running with scissors" like from kindergarten rules?
Guess it may have only been funny in my head. That happens to me all the time!

[Sam Fujisaka]

Sorry to be slow! Now, that is hilarious! And I'm going to put a salami in my car in your honor!

[anzu]

The not eating while walking thing is a Japanese thing! They have a term for it, too, and as a student, you're banned from doing this. Every time I visit, I have to be very surreptitious if I'm eating while walking (which I sometimes do out of necessity). Actually, most of the times, I end up not doing it, b/c I'm afraid people will give me mean stares. Amazing what social pressure does to you in a country you've never really lived in, just because your parents raised you to think that something is uncouth.

As for driving, I won't eat anything that will create a mess. But if I'm really hungry, I might have a cracker or something. I'll either eat the whole thing in one bite to avoid crumbs, or during a stop light, I'll carefully cup it in a tissue/napkin to not drop crumbs--which actually, is the way I eat food in my apt., too, if I'm walking around eating a cookie. Again, another silly parent thing, but now that I've had battles with all sorts of bugs, I will never just stand and eat a cookie, cracker, etc., unless I have a napkin to catch the crumbs.

So when people try to eat in my car, I object, but then people think I'm being hypocritical, b/c I "eat" sometimes eat in my car. However, I don't mean to sound double-standardish, but 1. I don't like crumbs in my car/house/bed (this is why I will never do bed in breakfast), 2. I can eat in such a way to not make a mess, b/c I am aware of my neuroses with 1., whereas 3. most passengers in my car do not bother to contain/catch their crumbs with a napkin the way I do. If they did, I'd also let them eat only certain foods in my car, but for most of the people who want to eat a messy stinky sandwich in my car, it's easier to tell them NO FOOD IN MY CAR than to explain as I just did, all the little minute qualifications to the rule. However, as the car gets older, I've become more lax about the no crumbs in my car rule.

[LARaven]

I am not much of a sandwich eater. I especially never liked bologna or ham and cheese. I don't like the meat and cheese together, I always needed something in between, I usally put chips in between if there was no lettuce or pickle. Then I got a job at a deli and the boss said to always have something in between, so I knew it wasn't just me.
I also eat my fries first and I just got into cutting my burger in half and saving the toher half for later, especially in restaurants.

[phoebek]

jfood, I share every item on your original list. Here's a new kink, learned from my DH. When pouring coffee from our drip pot in the a.m., we first pour out any condensed water that has collected on the pot lip --that way our coffee is full strength. I thought it was weird the first time I saw him do it, but now I do it, too.

[jeni1002]

This thread is liberating and worrisome at the same time :) I'll share:
*I eat the entire apple, core included
* Sandwiches are typically dissected - it's a volume thing (I get to eat 2 instead of one)
* Absolutely hate dry breads/muffins/cakes/etc.: on the rare occasions that I eat them, my desserts are always soaked in alcohol (wine, champagne, whatever is available), my bread needs some kind of moist add-on, muffins always come with milk, waffles & pancakes with yogurt, etc.
* Hate fruit + milk + cereal (except bananas): I always use kefir or yogurt with my cereal if I want to add fruit to the same bowl (otherwise, the fruit gets eaten separately). Cannot stand soggy cereal, so I'm a speed cereal eater, too.
* I decapitate Haribo Gummi bears (always eat the head first) - something my sister and I used to do.

[susancinsf]

I also used to eat the entire apple, core included, until I read somewhere that apple seeds have high levels of cyanide. (though apparently it would take more apples than I would eat to harm one):

http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/a...

[janetofreno]

I've read the same thing, and I still eat the entire apple.

And Candy Corn DEFINITELY has to be eaten one later at a time, in a single bite per layer, starting with the little white tip!

[jeni1002]

Thanks, Susan - I didn't know...I still enjoyed two apple cores today ... :)

[jfood]

last night jfood went to the fridge for an apple, and the one he grabbed was a Fuji, great flavor but a thicker skin than he wanted. So jfood peeled the skin and returned to the couch. Mrs jfood just looked at him holding a naked apple. It was a great flavor in each bite and no tiugh skin and the pups really iked hers as well.

Mrs jfood just shook her head. And no he did not eat the seeds.

[Catskillgirl]

"and the pups really iked hers as well"

OK, what am I missing here? I'm baffled, sorry! I don't eat apple cores - I heard that arsenic thing when I was very young and who wants to take that chance? Like the poison that lives inside golf balls - why risk it?

[starlady]

With the amount of arsenic in the seeds of apples you would have to eat about your body weight in order for it to do you harm. Same with Flax seeds. Sometimes I eat the cores, sometimes not. And I enjoy flax seeds in my yoghurt.

[soupkitten]

it's not arsenic, actually-- it's a cyanide compound. you'd have to eat several pounds of crushed apple seeds to have a nervous system effect-- the whole seeds will. . . *hem* pass through the system intact.

[starlady]

Oops, wrong poison :) Still the generalization was correct, no?

[soupkitten]

very correct, yes!

[FibroLady]

Wait!! Flax seeds have arsenic? I eat them almost every day! I NEVER heard that before. I wonder what else I eat that's lethal? And, although I don't eat the apple cores, I DO use the entire apple when making apple sauce, jelly and butter. (I strain the skins, cores, seeds, etc. out when the apples get super-soft.) I also heard that cherry pits are poisonous, but they add such great flavour to preserves when cooked entire. I wonder if that's really safe? Oh, oh. I WILL have to study up on flax seeds.

[Sooeygun]

Flax seeds have cyanide (not arsenic) in small amounts, but it is only exposed in ground flax. And you have to eat a lot for it to be dangerous.

[mitsumame]

Just a few quirks that drive my SO a little nuts as well as entertain others....

1. Shoestring fries--I put a thin strip of ketchup on each fry
2. Jellybeans--I only eat one at a time and I leave it in my mouth until the hard shell melts away. Depending on my mood, I will eat the chewy center or discard it.
3. Corn--Always in a row, from left to right.
4. Eggs--Over easy, eat all the whites. Poke a hole in the center of the yolk with a chopstick, drop a couple drops of soy sauce in the hole (being careful not to pop the yolk), take the chopstick again and attempt to distribute the soy sauce, then eat the whole yolk in one bite! Broken yolks are quite the disappointment.
5. Bread for sandwiches must always be consecutive!
6. Crab--remove all the meat and leave in a pile. Then eat! But I have to be careful....I always have a crowd of people staring at my pile of crab meat...

I'm glad I'm not the only one with quirky eating habits!

[madisoneats]

I put my salad dressing in a cup on the side and dip pieces of salad into it. (at home, that is!)
I eat my sandwiches with a fork and knife. (at home, again!) This, I believe, is the result of a childhood experience involving a Wendy's chicken sandwich which had unfortunately been married to a Brillo pad.'nuff said

[soypower]

Just a few:

-Pho: When it arrives, I add the beansprouts, jalapeno slices, and basil (picking each leaf off) first. Then squeeze lime wedge and throw it in. Then squeeze brown sauce in a swirl pattern. Then Sriracha, also in a swirl pattern. Take an extra soup spoon and mix brown sauce & sriracha for dipping. When eating, I hold the soup spoon in my left and hand, and with chopsticks in my right hand, I put a a little nest of noodles in the spoon, top it w/ a few bean sprouts, a slice of onion, and a piece of meat that has been dipped in the aforementioned dipping sauce and placed on top of this little pile. Then dip the spoon carefully to get broth in the spoon. I eat this way while making sure there will be enough of each item until the last spoonful.

-Gardetto's - Must eat in a pattern of pretzel shaped pretzel, then sesame covered stick, then thin shaped pretzel stick, and brown flat thing (my favorite). I eat this rotation until I run out of one of the items and then it's just a free-for-all.

-Now and Laters & Mamba candies - Each flavor is packaged separately, so I must open all packages so I can have one of each flavor in succession.

-Instant Ramen - I eat half a pack at a time...First put noodles and sauce pack in pot w/ cold water and then turn on burner. Add an egg about 15 seconds before noodles are done. Eating directly out of pot, break egg yolk and and eat a spoonful of broth mixed w/ yolk. Then try to coat noodles w/ egg yolk and commence eating all noodles and any vegetable add ins. Then add a spoonful of rice and using spoon eat the rest of the broth along w/ the rice.

I know there are many more due to my slight OCD....

[grayelf]

Oh good Lord, I hadn't even thought about pho-related food whackiness! I could write a treatise on the different pho behaviours in our immediate family. I think my SO's is my favourite because it is so precise: he puts a dab of sriracha on EVERY spoonful. I don't know how he avoids complete meltdown by the end of the bowl -- that sauce can really build up over time :-).

[torty]

Yup- I have my "method". Most recent addition is to take a large basil leaf and wrap it around a bit of beef, then add one drop each of sriracha and hoisin and eat in a bite.

[hot breath]

torty - I do that too, not with pho but with small red leaf lettuce around sliced Morning Star vegetarian patties with the Sriracha and hoisin, though I am not vegetarian.

[amethiste]

I put the jalapeno, sprouts, and basil in the soup. I put the shiracha and hoisin in a dish on the side to dip the meat into.

[Chew on That]

When we have Friday night meals, I always dip my challah in my wine. Is that weird?

I sometimes take the cheese off my pizza and just eat the sauce and bread (depending on where it's from).

[goodhealthgourmet]

"When we have Friday night meals, I always dip my challah in my wine. Is that weird?"
~~~~~~~~~
not at all...i used to do it all the time!

[starlady]

Isn't it kinda like the italians (sorry for the generalization) dipping biscotti in Vin Santo?

I love (when feeling decadent) dipping fresh croissant in Hot Chocolate. I recall being told that this was what they do in France in the morning when I was 11 and thinking "When I grow up I'm gonna do that!!"

[fickle]

Great topic! Here are mine:

Corn - definitely horizontal and row by row. It takes a long time for me to get through a cob of corn but I enjoy breaking one kernel off at a time and going row by row.

Cupcake/Muffins - I always eat the bottom first. I may or may not eat the top.

Fries - if ketchup is served in packages, I'll squeeze a line across each individual fry. For me, fries is really a vehicle for ketchup. Unless they're frites in which case, I don't use ketchup. I just eat them as is.

Mussels - I de-shell all of them first and then eat the mussels with a spoon so I can have it with it's broth.

I agree with everyone about coating bread right to the edges.

[dojemi]

PLEASE send me your muffin tops. LOL

[lisavf]

I have to eat my (canned or frozen) corn on top of mashed potatoes, and it must be well-mixed, with just enough potato to coat the corn. If there’s too much potato left over, I must add more corn.
I don’t like to eat in front of someone else if I’m the only one eating. If someone walks in on me eating, I’ll wait until they leave the room before I finish eating.
I don’t like to eat the last bite of anything. As I have gotten older, I realize this is wasteful, but I still have a hard time eating the last bite, especially of sandwiches. Which is completely contrary to the rest of my list.
When eating a sandwich that I have made, I eat the bottom half first and eat my way to the top, leaving the center bite of the top crust with sesame seeds for last.
Muffins – I separate the bottom from the top, eat the bottom first, save the most tender part of the top for last.
I eat popsicles or other stick-based ice cream treats from the bottom to the top.
When eating potato chips, I eat the broken ones first and save the whole ones for last.
All of this saving the good bites for last works against me because, as I said, I have an aversion to eating the last bite of anything. I know it’s coming, but I just can’t help myself. I can’t eat the good bits first. Odd, sure, but I don't fight it. It's just how I am.

[Catskillgirl]

So you never ever get the very best bite of a meal?

I'm so sorry.

[Springhaze2]

Lisa, I posted too about leaving the last bite. I think it comes from always have to clean my plate as a child. Now as an adult I am being defiant.

Funny, though how you leave the best for last than don't eat that. I plan my exit strategy that the last bite I eat is the best combination of flavors, not the last bite that I leave on my plate.

[lisavf]

Catskillgirl and Springhaze2, I've been working on it. I just never quite know which bite is going to be my last. It was always an unconscious thing until a few years ago when I realized what I was doing. Now I try to eat the best bites whenever I want them and not save them for last. It's funny how a habit can become so ingrained, you don't even realize you're doing it. I think I'll go to the candy box and eat my favorite candy now instead of saving it for last!

[Catskillgirl]

Good for you! Break out of that box. LOL!

[phantomdoc]

Makes me think of the scene in Sideways where Paul Giamatti drinks a rare vintage wine in a fast food burger joint.

[alkapal]

that was a very sad scene. he'd saved it for a special occasion.

[phantomdoc]

But he enjoyed it sooooo much. Live for today message.

[alkapal]

he sure didn't look like he was happy, iirc; i saw no "enjoyment." maybe i need to re-view the scene. also, i want to read rex pickett's novel.

phantomdoc, in looking for that clip, i came across this excellent analysis/review of the film -- although, unfortunately, it doesn't address the scene in question. http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/con...

[phantomdoc]

I remember that he was in rapture at each sip of the wine. I must re watch too.

[small h]

If I recall correctly, the scene in question follows one in which Giamatti's character learns that his ex-wife is pregnant by her current husband. He's so distraught that he goes to a fast food restaurant, pours the wine into a paper cup and drinks it through a straw. No rapture. He's in despair. You can see a (very brief) shot at 1:28 here:

http://www.matttrailer.com/sideways_2005

[Scargod]

I eat small chips first, too. I started this in college, a while back. Don't the small pieces add up to more flavor? And they're ugly detritus on the plate (or tray). It's sort of a playing with my food thing. Usually food that goes with chips is boring.

[dojemi]

Corn on top of mashed potatoes....................YUMMO!

[John E.]

My mom liked creamed corn on top of fried potatoes. I think it was something her mother made.

[gmm]

That reminds me of a gal I was partnered with in an Economics class in high school. We had to come up with a weekly budget and plan meals and one of her dinner suggestions was buttered corn on toast. I had never heard of such a thing.

[Stillwater Girl]

I love this, I feel more normal now!
* Cold, hard butter packets drive me nuts! I have resorted to warming them over the candle on the table at some restaurants.
* Coffee: Sugar, milk, stir, add coffee, stir again. And never with one of thos wood stir sticks, it makes my coffee taste like stick. Also, when drinking coffee from anything except a mug I will always use a straw. I think it's gross when my lipstick gets all cakey on the lid. And it stains your teeth less.
* Butter, mayo, mustard, whatever MUST be spread evenly over the entire piece of bread.
* Sandwiches: Consecutive pieces of bread, meat first, then cheese, then onions, tomatoes, lettuce in that order. I like to think it keeps the sandwich from falling apart when I do it this way.
* Burgers: After assembling the burger I have to cut it in half. I never put the ketchup and mustard on the burger, always in little piles touching each other on the plate so I can dip the burger into the condiments and get a little of both. And so the sauces don't drip out onto my shirt.
* Pasta: I try to get one vegetable, one meat, a few noodles, and sauce in every bite.
* I too, plan an exit strategy. Which is particularly difficult when you are sharing plates with a few other people.

[valerie]

Another one here who saves the best bite for last.

And, with the exception of Chinese food or sometimes appetizers, I really don't like sharing food. I never go to tapas places since I must admit (maybe even for the first time!) that I find them stressful.

[Miss Needle]

You know, I used to save the best bite for last when I was younger. But I then realized how much I hate food that has cooled down (if it's supposed to be hot). So I eat the best part first.

[anzu]

I have that same problem of on the one hand food tasting best earlier (if it's supposed to be hot), and wanting to save the best for last. I usually "solve" this problem by starting the beginning and end of the meal with the "best" bite. Of course, if I'm trying different things, then I don't know which is going to be the best bite (e.g. Thanksgiving), so then I have to try little bites of everything.

Though sometimes, as in the case of dok tol bibimbap (I don't know if I'm saying that right, but it's what we call ishiyaki bibimbap), depending on the veggies and seafood they put inside, I often spend the entire meal trying to decide whether the crunchy rice is the best part, or the seasoned seafood, or the bean sprouts w/ the very big heads is the best part. Then I literally spend the entire meal alternating bites and adjusting the crunchy rice/stuff ratio, b/c I can't make a decision!

[Miss Needle]

About the bi bim bap, I think I have the same issue you do. I find the easiest thing to do is to try to get a balance by getting some crisped rice, seafood and vegetables on every spoonful. It gets easier when I share it with DH. I end up eating mostly the crispy rice as he doesn't like that part (there must be something wrong with him).

[hannaone]

LoL!!

That's what the long spoon is for - scrape the crispy rice from the bottom and rotate it to the top, then break up the crust and mix all those crunchy gems throughout the bowl. Takes some practice to be able to do it without food flying all over the table though.

[Emme]

too funny - i hate sharing too because i eat systematically, and order exactly what i expect to eat... picking from different dishes doesn't interest me generally. i also hate sharing because if i'm saving a bite that looks really good, no doubt someone else will snatch it up, unless of course you move it to your plate and hold it in reserve, but that just looks weird too...

[valerie]

I'm laughing at this! Call me crazy, but when I go to a tapas or family style place with a group, most of the group (unless it's my family) is never paying attention to the menu and nobody wants to commit to what they want. So I get stressed that there won't be the right amount of food -- too much or too little. And then I'm always thinking that I really won't get to eat what I want anyway. You would think that it's my last meal!

[chefbeth]

My family is very into sharing food in a restaurant -- to the degree that there is a rule that no two people at the table can order the same thing unless they can make a good case for flaunting family convention. So the downside is that you may only get to eat a half or a third of your entree. The upside is that we are all unfailingly generous (almost competitive) in trying to put together a "perfect bite" for our dining companions from the meal that we've ordered. This involves a lot of extra bread plates and a certain amount of carving and plating and passing stuff around before you can really get down to eating (obviously, it would be totally unsuitable to take a bite of your food and then use that same fork to plate up your dinner companions' little taste).

Another upside is the running commentary during the meal, as everyone has something to say about what they're eating (and certain family members are delightfully quick-witted). Yes, the meal devolves into an impromptu tasting -- and you are at the mercy of your dinner companions choices. Fortunately, we are all fairly onmivorous. But there have been times when I've looked at my plate when it was set before me (one simple but perfect meal of beautifully cooked lamb rack with scalloped potatoes and grilled asparagus comes to mind) and I've been tempted to snatch up the plate and run to the kitchen for sanctuary while I devour the entire thing myself.

Edited to add: we always tip well for the extra bread plates -- even for a table of four we require at least twelve extra plates (each "perfect bite" needing it's own little presentation). My mom calls it "hush money" paid to the ever-patient waiter so that they won't tell other customers how weird we are.

Apparently, that "hush" factor doesn't always extend to the kitchen. At one restaurant where my parents are regular customers, the chef came out to the table and asked if we would like his kitchen to plate our meals so that everyone had a little bit of each entree ordered. I thought it was an incredibly thoughtful and generous offer on his part, but Mom was horrified that he knew of our odd habit.

[pellegrino31]

I love reading everyone's quirks. Here are mine - some of which has been covered already:

1) Burgers are always cut in half and depending on the circumstances I will eat it upside down

2) If I have multiple items on my plate that are not mixed together, I make a decision after tasting everything for which one is going to be my end bite. It isn't consistent - one meal it will be the protein, another meal it might be the starch or vegetable. But I always plan it out.

3) Every single time I eat a banana I remind myself that one bite will make me gag a little, and usually it's the last bite

4) I am constantly worried about spilling something on myself so I will frequently look down at my shirt and pants/skirt to see if anything has dropped there by accident. When I am at home I am a little less concerned because I can soak the stain if need be and usually if it's just me and my boyfriend, I'm in an old tshirt anyways. When I eat my lunch at my desk at work I use a $5 pashmina scarf to wrap around my shirt and the upper part of my pants/skirt in case I drop anything. The office is always too cold so no one notices I'm basically wearing a bib.

5) Unless I'm at a slice place that only has plastic utensils, I use a fork and knife to eat the first 1/3 of my slice of pizza then the rest is using my hands. Crust is always the last and I make sure there is some edge of sauce and cheese attached so I can have the crust with that.

6) This only applies to chicken or turkey but if the slice or piece I get isn't 100% white meat, then I will cut off the usually miniscule offensive piece and hide it under a tiny pile of the potatoes or rice or whatever starch it's been served with. I push this pile off to the side and know I can't eat it. I think it was developed when I was growing up and had to watch my mom and brother eat all sorts of dark parts and I couldn't stand it. When their entire plates were filled with dark meat (and sometimes the neck - yuck) I would often get a box of cereal to block my view of their plate.

[Boccone Dolce]

#4 made me giggle. I know someone who whips out a gold sequined BIB and puts it on during dinner out. I've only eaten one meal with her at a large table of 14, of course I'm the one stuck next to her. It was SO GOLD and shiny and SO OBVIOUSLY A bib.
Anyway, I used to spill every 3rd bite on my chest. ALWAYS on my chest. I hated it but even if I slowed down I would still spill. I could sto eating and something would fly out at me and land there. It was bad enough to have a "shelf" but a shelf with a big grease stain was way worse.
(I no longer have this problem but I remember it well!)

[moh]

"Anyway, I used to spill every 3rd bite on my chest. ALWAYS on my chest."

I still have this problem. I have stopped buying white shirts, and I prefer tops that hide the spills well. Paisley was great when it was fashionable. Patterns that resemble tomato sauce are ideal. Perhaps I should start a clothing company for those who spill food.

[Catskillgirl]

Oh I'm crying here! This is just too funny. The bib over the shelf... OMG, too funny!

Sorry. I spill things on occasion and have my own shelf, but this just tickles me!

[DanaB]

>>3) Every single time I eat a banana I remind myself that one bite will make me gag a little, and usually it's the last bite<<

That's so funny! I love bananas and I eat one almost every day, but there are times when a banana can make me gag a little. I think it's when they are a little on the overripe side, but it's not really consistent or predictable. Weird!

[lexpatti]

I'm soooo #2, although the whole time I'm eating I'm thinking about what will be my last bite (the best one of course). It's really tough if everything is fabulous on my plate, I have a hard time narrowing it down but in this case, I definately leave a bite of each and then decide the order.

[Erinmck]

I definitely follow your #2. My Mom typically makes dinners witha vegetable, a starch, and meat. Normally, I have to eat the vegetable first, then starch, then meat last. Unless it's a baked chicken with potatoes and carrots. In that case, I will eat that together with some cajun seasoning on top.

[revsharkie]

My husband laughs at me mightily when we're out somewhere eating prime rib. I always take a bit of horseradish on my fork, cut a bite of meat, dip it into the jus, and then tap it on the piece of meat still on the plate--not to waste any of the jus, you see. He takes his horseradish and mixes it with the jus and dumps the whole mess over his meat. I think he's the weird one.

When eating small, colored candy--M&Ms, Skittles, Sixlets, or whatever--I prefer to eat them in even numbers of matching colors. Two blue, two red, two orange, or whatever.

I don't like most fresh fruit, although I will eat it if I have time to peel, cut up, or whatever's necessary, and then wash my hands--I can't stand to be sticky.

I cannot stand to get tapioca pudding on my hands. Egg white, either. Must be washed off immediately. (I don't eat the tapioca, either, but at the cafeteria dishing it up was part of my job.)

If I'm eating creamed corn I have to have it in a separate bowl. I don't want it running all over my other food. Any other vegetable with runny juice on it, I tilt my plate so all the juice stays with the vegetable.

I always eat asparagus with my fingers.

[Catskillgirl]

"If I'm eating creamed corn I have to have it in a separate bowl. I don't want it running all over my other food. Any other vegetable with runny juice on it, I tilt my plate so all the juice stays with the vegetable'

I thnk we're long-lost sisters. I could never eat creamed corn on a plate - it, along with baked beans, belongs in a separate bowl. And you should see some of the creative ways I've come up with to tilt my plate while eating! I've used napkins, spare silverware, small trivets... the challenge is to keep the plate tilted without moving while using fork and knife. And I generally have an open book in my lap - makes mealtimes exciting. LOL!

[chef4hire]

certain foods must be eaten with a plastic spoon (yogurt, cottage cheese, pudding cups)

chips or fries must last until the last bite of sandwich/burger

salad is always dipped into the dressing- never dressed on the salad

mashed potatoes must always have the veggies mixed in - I'm to the point with this one that I'm boiling and mashing together (carrots and yukon golds work beautifully- as do english peas and red bliss)

[hill food]

C4H:

peas, spinach, broccoli, even corn - sure, but carrots? what are you some kind of miscreant? roots mixed with roots? (except garlic, onion, shallot and/or parsnips)

[hot breath]

Bottlecaps candies must be eaten in order if they come wrapped in a roll. But if they come in a box or package where they are loose, I shake out a handfull, no high-grading (can't put back ones I like least), and eat from least to most favorite. So cherry first, cola second, grape and orange are interchangeable, and rootbeer for last. I was doing this last night. My root beers were all that were left on the coffee table and my husband reached over to grab one and I said, "NOO, you have to take them out of the box, those root beers are MINE!" The box was 3/4 full. I turned 40 last week.

[chef4hire]

miscreant seems the perfect adjective-

seriously- the carrots are my fave right now- not mashed too finely- nice and chunky

[grayelf]

Whoa now, h_f, are you saying my sunchokes and spuds mashup ain't on? Them's fightin' words...

[linguafood]

Funny how many people hate for their foods to mix on the plate, or eat starch/veggie/protein first and then the rest.

For me, I need a bite of everything on my plate assembled together. For example, with roast beef, mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, and some horseradish cream, I MUST somehow manage to fit all this on a fork, and if stuff falls on the plate before it gets to my mouth, I can get quite pissy.

Which is why I almost always try to save a bit of everything on my plate for that one last bite.

Same with my breakfast sandwich, which I eat with fork & knife: crusty bread slice, topped with roast beef or ham or turkey, topped with cheese, and then an over-easy egg. I like the cheese melting, and the yolk running all over. But as with the above example -- loose part of the the egg or cheese or turkey on the way to my mouth, anger ensues '-). What can I say, I'm a freak.

Agree with all who have to have their bread slices well-covered with whatever they put on. I used to cut cheese (no laughing) in a way that I could assemble it almost mosaic-like on my slice of bread, so that no empty space would be left. Then nuke.

Toast HAS to be toasted, most breads as well unless it is fresh, and of crusty German descent. No floppy bread for me, no way. I eat the end of a loaf, too, but not in a sandwich.

Coffee procedure: sweetener, then add some coffee. Once the sweetener is dissolved, add some cream, and more coffee. Voilá.

I am a fast eater, and love my food hot. So hot, that is, that I often burn my mouth, roof or tongue. However, I will absolutely NOT drink whatever it is that I am drinking to cool my mouth (lest it be water), because it would screw with the flavors of my food. I will take blisters over compromised flavor anytime.

I clean my plate, even when I am full. Never used to as a kid, of course, when everyone wanted me to finish. Go figure.

I don't eat and drive, or eat and walk. When I'm on the road & have to stop at BK's or some grease trap, I'd much rather sit down than find shredded iceberg under the driver's seat weeks later ....

[JenBoes]

Mine involves milk drinking. I have a tall glass every morning. Here it is:
1. It has to be in a clear thick glass, one that is glass and not plastic
2. It must be ice cold and freshly poured
3. I have to drink it all down at once - not sip it

[Cowprintrabbit]

yes! no milk sipping! I cannot taste or smell spoiled milk (never have been able to - my college roommate once caught me eating raisin bran with curdled milk because no one else was up yet so I hadn't turned on the kitchen light...); so in my head I must drink it while it's still fridge cold or it MIGHT spoil and I wouldn't know it.

Skittles must be eaten in pairs or triples of different colors, M&M's individually. Lunch of sandwich and potato/corn chips or burger & fries should have 1/3 of chips fries eaten, then 1/2 sandwich, 1/3 fries, 1/2 sandwich then remaining fries. Usually somewhere in here DH starts eating my fries because he thinks I'm finished with them and he is an "all fries first" person.

[lexpatti]

Potato Chips - I love putting as many in my mouth as possible, chewing it up without swallowing any and just feel the wonderful mushy salty potato flavor in my mouth. (not in public of course), although I'm the same with cheese puffs and once while at my business - stuffed a bunch in my mouth and a customer came around the corner and asked me a question. I must have looked like a chipmunk who started storing for the winter - I was embarrassed and had to wait several minutes to shrink the mass in my mouth before I could talk.

[TiaRaye]

I hadn't thought about cheese puffs...I like the full-sized ones that are curved almost into a half-circle. I put them between my upper and lower teeth like some sort of dental appliance, and if I give a small smile, it looks like I have orange teeth. Then I just sit there until they melt.

I never, ever eat them in front of other humans.

[valerie]

When my husband called me for the first time ever (8 years ago), I was in my apartment, alone of course, on a Wednesday evening with a FULL mouth stuffed with Wheat Thins. Low fat, of course!

I could barely even say "hello". Played it cool, had a great conversation, got married, have 2 kids and never told him about that incident!

[TiaRaye]

LOL! There are certain things our husband need never know! It is imperative that we retain some mysteries!

[PaulaT]

On a dinner plate - I eat what I like least first and save the best for last.
Hot Dogs - Mustard on the bun, then the hot dog, then the onion and sauerkraut
Spinning the Hamburger is exactly what I do - the part with the lettuce hanging out is the first bite.
If a meat sandwich has cheese - it must be on the meat, not on the bread!

[MrsCris]

I must always bite the blossom end of a dill pickle first, never the stem end. Even if the pickle is in (lengthwise) slices.

Like so many others, I'm definitely an exit strategist. My last bite is always one of my favourite things, and I always finish my least favourite thing all at once at the beginning, to get it out of the way.

Broth based soups must be served really piping hot, then allowed to cool in front of me.
Ramen noodles must never be cut or bitten off when being eaten - I twirl each long noodle around a fork, then deposit the little noodle package on my spoon and then dip some broth onto the spoon. If I accidentally break one, I push it to the bottom of the bowl, and it gets sucked up with the last of the broth, with any other broken bits.

I eat all around the outside of a sandwich, leaving a yummy centre piece with the most stuff in it and no crust, to be relished in a couple of bites (after spinning around looking for the best bit).

Little candies (skittles, smarties, and the like) are eaten only one at a time so the flavours don't get mixed up, and I have to look at it first to see what colour/flavour it is. Drives me crazy to see someone pop a handful into their mouth without even looking at them!

[Emme]

Skittles, M & M's and the like all eaten individually and IN ORDER. Yellows or browns, the oranges, then greens then reds, pinks/purples, blues. And in my heart of hearts I do believe that M&M's taste differently, and blue is the best. Frankly I can't watch the disorganized eat those candies.

[JennS]

We should get together -- you can have all my nasty blue M&Ms! My color preference, in order of least to most favorite: blue, red, brown, orange, yellow, green. I eat the blue M&M's normally to get them out of the way, and then eat each other M&M individually, cracking the candy between my teeth and then eating the chocolate last.

[goodhealthgourmet]

emme & jenn, re: M&Ms....have you two seen the movie "the wedding planner?"

[Olallieberry]

That is my sandwich strategy as well. And if my sandwich is cut into two uneven halves, I'll eat the smaller one first, unless I plan on saving one half for later (like at a restaurant), in which case it's the reverse.

Sub sandwiches usually get dissected when I start to feel full, and I'll just eat the cheese and veggies, sometimes bread if it has sauce, but never the meat.

I also like to crush snack foods like potato chips or a bag of cookies into little bits before I eat them, both because I think they taste better that way and so that I can snack for longer without eating as much (or so I tell myself).

When eating peanut butter with a spoon, I like to stick it straight down into the jar and pull it out, so that it comes up coated. I lick the bottom first and then the top.

Ice cream must be eaten from the carton only, and straight across so that there is an even level at all times (until the sides start to melt, then those get eaten away faster).

I never drink the last sip of anything, except maybe water if I'm very thirsty.

[lexpatti]

funny about the ice cream, I'm the opposite. I like melted ice cream therefore I'm eating around the edges because it melts faster. Hubby finishes ice cream so much faster then me because I'm fearful of brain freeze so I eat as it melts. I take out ice cream from the freezer several minutes before serving to get it nice a soft.

[lisavf]

ooh, ooh, peanut butter, the silliest of all, when starting a new jar, I try to leave intact as much of the smooth top part as I can for as long as possible. I'll dig deep into the jar time after time just to leave that little bit of smooth on top. DH hardly ever eats PB, but when he does, inevitably he just scoops right across the top without a thought. But hey, it's just PB, right?

[Emme]

interesting, when i open a jar of whatever (be it mayo or jams), i scrape off the top layer first, i think in a weird way not to offend any of the layer? (i have a fear of hurting my food's feelings)... however, PB gets opened and an "S" gets drawn in the top first because that's what my mom did (and she did that growing up as the S for Skippy.)

[baloney]

Okay here's my contribution to this incredibly entertaining thread:

I find that once I pour milk into a bowl for cereal, that the temperature of the milk is not cold enough because the bowl was room temp. So I started freezing my cereal bowl with a little milk and leave it in for about 15 minutes and voila! Slightly frozen milk on the edges with really cold milk in the center. I like to mix the icy bits and the cereal all together so I get like a cereal slushy with every bite. It's delicious. My sister used to think I was crazy, but then she tried it once and does the same now!

[TiaRaye]

Oh, no...now I'm going to have to try that!

[starlady]

Same, darn, now adding 15 min to my morning. hmmmm put the bowl in the freezer while I'm in the shower......I gotta try this, as it is I refuse to drink milk that's not cold enough, also why I drink skim. No proof, but I maintain that because there is less fat it gets colder.

[baloney]

Please report back, TR and starlady! I hope it works out well. I really can't eat my cereal without doing this now!

[starlady]

OK, I did it, LOVE IT! but I didn't add enough milk to the bowl before it was put in the freezer. Next time I'll know.

yummy cereal slushy on a hot summers day!!!

[baloney]

Hoorah! Another convert. We shall take over the world!

[TiaRaye]

I did it! It was almost like eating Mini-Wheat ice cream!

Thank you so much!

[baloney]

So glad you enjoyed it!

[richardiculous]

A few years ago when my then-girlfriend, now fiancée, used to order chicken with broccoli from a Chinese takeout place near her dorm, before eating anything she would proceed to pick out each individual piece of broccoli and place it on the side of her plate. She would do this with great focus, eyes wide open, nostrils flaring to take in the aroma of the food while working. Then she would only eat the smaller pieces of broccoli, leaving the larger ones to throw away (or give to me).

In the summer of that year, we were at her house in Queens with her brother and ordered delivery from a nearby "Panda House", both of them choosing chicken with broccoli. When the delivery arrived and we sat down to eat, with the same level of focus, and at the exact same time, they both rapidly began setting aside that broccoli--I watched in complete awe. Uncanny!

[Sam Fujisaka]

Eating Chinese individually rather than family style is a "silly eating habit".

[lunchbox]

Love this thread so much...
Couldn't figure out where to jump in, but eating Chinese food seemed like a good one.
Egg rolls- passed down on my father's side: Break the roll in half, use chopsticks to remove all the filling from both sides (best if emptied into the recently finished soup bowl)- add sauce to filling, eat; add more sauce to now empty soup bowl- dip crispy empty shell in sauce.
Lox & Bagels- No schmear here! I gotta have 100% edge to edge coverage- I give myself bonous points if I can get a thin intact layer to span the hole, too! pepper and raw onions on first, lightly pressed into the cream cheese, then lox- then I maliciously press a fork into the whole thing working counterclockwise to break up any potentially stringy sections of lox or unbroken onion rings- it can take me more than two minutes to prepare a half a bagel.
Apples/Pears- Using my teeth, I eat the skin first- but only on one half of the fruit- I use the skin-on side to grip- then I eat the "normal" half in a "normal" way- I don't know when I started doing this.
Perhaps related- I eat Buffalo wings with only one hand and wipe my hands and mouth completely between each wing- probably based on college- balancing a plate of wings on my lap on my bed while doing my homework- needed a clean hand to hold the book/pencil and didn't want to get my bed dirty.
Like many of the other posters, I have to eat all colored candies in the same order, but I don't start dividing them up until I'm down to the last quarter of the bag/wrapper. Exception: Starburst- must be eaten pink, yellow, orange, red.
Hard candy must be sucked briefly, then crunched. Lollipops, too- then (and I have NO IDEA where this one came from) I eat the stick, too- I suck on the stick a half inch at a time until the paper gets soft, then peel that half inch strip off in a long roll, suck out any remaining flavor, then spit it out like chewing gum- repeat until the whole stick is gone.
Pizza- 1st 1/3 of my allotted portion: eat normal- tip to crust. Middle 1/3- eat toppings first, then peel of cheese and eat, then eat saucy crust by itself. Allow last 1/3 to get cold- eat normally- I like cold pizza- If I'm buying by the slice, i almost always ask for it un-reheated.
I always put the sweetener in the cup before the hot beverage, add dairy afterward.

[anzu]

Omg. I haven't had starburst in YEARS, but when I did have them, I always had to eat them orange, red, then either pink or yellow. I ate them from least favorite to favorite order, and the pink and yellows both tasted sufficiently "tart citrus" (I imagined the flavors to be lemon and pink) enough that these two were my favorite flavors.

For M&Ms, I save the "autumn" colors + green till last. The reds and blues get eaten right away. Actually, I often let other people eat the reds and blues. Then the dark browns. Then I have a nice palate of light brown, orange, yellows, which get eaten next. I save the green ones for last.

I had a close friend in high school who passed away when we were juniors. We used to fight over the green M&Ms, so part of this habit is to pay tribute to him every time I eat M&Ms, which nowadays is rare. . ..

[meatn3]

As kids we always thought the green M&M's were lucky and would make wishes as we ate them (one wish per candy)!

[Miss Needle]

I wouldn't make a wish, but I also had some strange affinity for the green ones. But my favorite tasting ones were the light brown ones and would save them for the end. People say there's no difference but I tasted it and tested it out blindfolded. The light brown ones weren't as "tangy" as the other ones, including the green.

[baloney]

YES! I loved the tan M&M's! I'm so glad there are others like me. Everyone thought I was the weirdest for liking such an ugly colored candy, but I thought the tan tasted best. I was so disappointed when they stopped making them. : (

[JennS]

The light brown ones were great! I don't know whose insane idea it was to replace them with the blue. There are limited edition Indiana Jones M&Ms out right now and the colors are red, orange, yellow, white and dark brown. They are more delicious than the regular color bags so try them while you can.

[miss_bennet]

My theory with the "Special Edition" M & Ms is that you know they're fresh. So I always buy Christmas, Easter and random movie M & Ms. I mean, how long has that generic bag been sitting on the shelf?

[hill food]

umm, since a year ago last Xmas, Easter, Halloween maybe?

you could always order your own special print ones, but then still who knows how long the blank stock was waiting for the print?

[Miss Needle]

OMG, I didn't realize the tan ones weren't there anymore. Shows how long it's been since I've had M&Ms. Yes, they were on the ugly side compared to the beautiful vibrant green ones, but they tasted superior. Interesting news about the Indian Jones candy -- maybe I should try them soon.

[anzu]

The tan ones are gone? Really? I didn't even notice that! I agree that the red and blue ones (which didn't exist when I was growing up) are vile colors.

Gosh. This thread has been so entertaining to read everyone's food neuroses/idiosyncrasies. :)

[charmedgirl]

The blue ones replaced the tan ones. That's why they didn't exist when you were growing up. :-) I remember they actually had a contest/voting thing where people helped choose what the new M&M color would be that would replace tan.

[alkapal]

mars co. play on the urban legend that green m&ms were aphrodisiacs. they market a green bag for valentine's m&Ms, featuring the cute, coy come-on green female m&m saying, "come on, you know it's all true."
http://www.snopes.com/risque/aphrodis...

[goofibulator]

Don't know if you have Ritz Crackers in the US, but when I eat 'em up here, I put one in my mouth, use my tongue to spin it vertical (ie. against my cheek) then bite down carefully. The way the cracker is baked, you end up with two 'disks' of cracker (top and bottom) split evenly down the middle.

And I've got a few weird habits WRT potato chips. I often take just a single chip, put it on my outstretched tongue, then wait until I'm being watched by whomever is around. I then snap it in to my mouth like a frog catching a fly. Just for fun, I sometimes take a large chip, do the 'tongue' thing and then resolve to eat it in a single bite. I use said tongue to crush it against the roof of my mouth as HARD as I can (only one mastication allowed) then I have to swallow. It's usually still very crunchy, and I bet it's pretty dangerous. I live life on the edge. And finally, my favorite accompaniment for chips (plain, always) is chocolate milk.

[Olallieberry]

You are killing me. I have got to start doing this ASAP.

[nolanani]

I used to eat saltines and scrape off the bubbly parts with my teeth leaving the cracker flat and thin and crisp. and they were so good with lemonade.

[goofibulator]

Ooh... and I forgot my favourite habit... schedule eating.

You see, I break eating down into two methods... stage eating (eat each meal element one at a time... this is the WRONG way to eat (so sez I) because you don't get the flavours mixing) and my way: schedule eating. When eating a 'standard' meal that has several elements (meat, starch, veg) I must end up with one bite of each. As you might imagine, it often involves some tricky calculating and portion control, starting from the very first bite. Throw in a family who know that this is my plan and who then tries to steal one of my carefully apportioned bites such that my schedule is thrown off, and you certainly have some conflict at the dinner table. Other friends have commented they don't like eating with me because they get worried about whether I'll 'succeed' with my schedule.

[WendyBinCT]

As I related above, my DH follows your strategy to ensure arriving at the finish line of a plate with one bite of each item. Like your loved ones, I occasionally frazzle his nerves by suggesting, late in the game, that I'd love a taste of this or that! To his credit, he always manages to swallow his obvious dismay, and I always graciously refuse his offer.

[nolanani]

you are sweet. I hate to share. I don't know why or where this came about. and I always leave the best for last which is probably why I am so fat. Big fat dill pickles--I eat out one portion of the pickle and then eat the insides and then eat the rest of the pickle. I eat one section of a banana at a time. I eat the outside of a carrot and leave the sweet middle for last---and on and on and on. I love to eat complicated foods like artichokes and pomegranates. Pomegranates have to be eaten one section at a time with no breakage of the fruit.

[doctorx777]

I eat every component of every meal in reverse alphabetical order.

Ok, seriously...

When eating layer cakes (never sheet cakes, for some reason), I carve around the frosting, eat the cake, then eat the frosting.

Anything I cook in a pan topped with cheese I always flip over so the cheese is directly on the pan for about a minute.

Catsup (or however you want to spell it) and mayo are for burgers. Relish and mustard are for hot dogs. Woe to anyone who either approaches a deli sandwich of mine with catsup or relish, or who skimps on the mayo and mustard on that same sandwich.

I am incapable of pacing myself with cold drinks. Water, soda, beer... whatever beverages I happen to acquire that are considerably cooler than room temperature always get immediately inhaled.

Good thread.

[amyzan]

My mom is the same with cold drinks. It astounds me how quickly she can suck down a beer.

She also has this strange habit of taking apart sandwiches to make two open face sandwiches. Her fave thing is to eat these taken apart open face sandwiches with the pickle jar on the table, and to place a pickle slice on each bite. So, it goes like this, fork in pickle jar, place pickle, bite, chew, swallow, fork dip again, bite, etc. etc. Maximum pickle flavor! and lots of metal fork against glass jar noise at the table. Luckily, I find it endearing rather than annoying.

[Peg]

When eating alone at home I have to be reading at the same time... usually a cookbook, sometimes Chowhound.

When eating out I start with a small taste of each component of the meal one at a time, to determine which is the best part. I then try to eat in a way that means I have an equal volume of each component left on the plate at any time - so if there's a lot of one thing I eat enough of it to balance things out. If I feel I am getting full I immediately eat all of the best part of the meal, in case I don't have room to finish everything.

If I am eating a plate of oysters I get paranoid that the last one won't be the 'best' one - there's always a 'best' one and a 'worst' one. If I end on the 'worst' one I always want to order more so I can end on a good one.

[amyzan]

I have that same obsession with saving the best for last. I just abhor it when my last bite has a spoiled nut or some such horrible flavor, gives me the willies, and then I'm off in search of something to take that taste out of my mouth.

[Emme]

ending on a "bad one" is so disappointing... even a bowl of little grape tomatoes... i aim for the last one, and if it's awful, i don't feel fulfilled. and with things like grape tomatoes or blackeberries, it's tough to accurately identify "the best." wrinkly or shrivelies get eaten first, assuming they don't get garbage disposaled. it's easier to "create" a best bite when doing things like cutting an apple and making one slice largest for last.

[alkapal]

i'll eat the smaller "half" of a sandwich first. i guess saving the "best" for last (looking forward to bounty!)

with a burger, i think i look and bite first where i see the pickle sticking out.

i always eat several hot fries first, even before the burger. i recall some "study" done a while back that found diners always first ate a piece of the potato on their plate, no matter what else was on the plate. i've observed the same thing.

mr. alka keeps food separated on his plate. he is in finance and accounting. does that personality trait go with the food separation deal? i think so.....

it is like keeping everything in its proper place (accounting column)....

[Miss Needle]

I do the same thing with my fries!

[Emme]

if i made a melt as a kid (hated sandwiches) but would melt some cheese on a piece of wheat bread as a kid, i would cut it into fourths, one "half" significantly smaller than the other, and each half then got cut into a smaller and larger quarter.

[jeanmarieok]

I can't eat anything unless I have a beverage. So if service becomes unexpectedly slow, I sometimes stop eating because I've run out of water or whatever I'm drinking. Doesn't seem strange to me, but I've been teased for it, so I guess it's odd.....

[mcel215]

My sister eats her whole meal without having a sip of any water at all!

Drives me nuts.

[Kate is always hungry]

I can't either. I will also slow down if my drink is running low. My cousin always told me it was unhealthy to drink with your food. I start to gag without the proper liquid to wash down my food.

[meatn3]

When I was a teen I stopped accepting invites to dinner at one friends house since the mother would not allow any beverages until after the meal was finished. It didn't help that everything she served was broiled until bone dry...Funny thing is that the father owned a restaurant!

[LindaWhit]

My father's mother would never allow us kids to have milk or anything to drink during dinner - said it was bad for the digestion. Only after one of us choked on something did Mom insist on us having water at the table. Her food was usually pretty good, but not having anything to drink was hard for us kids. Especially for my sister ,who would usually try and wash down the dreaded peas she detested with a gulp of something.

[linguafood]

Ha! Must clearly be some sort of generational thing. My paternal grandmother was the same way: no drinks before or during dinner, because 'it might fill you up too much'. Clearly, she wasn't worried about dieting or anything.

[Lady Godiva]

I really only have one quirk that's all mine. when I'm eating raspberries, I don't chew them. I press them against the roof of my mouth with my tongue. That was I can taste all of the yummy berry flavor and there are no seeds in my teeth.

Milk needs to be really cold when I drink it, so I put an ice cube in it. If I am dining out or don't have an ice cube then I'll stop drinking the milk the second it gets too warm.

And a quirk I've picked up from my DH...I won't pour milk on my cereal but have it in a glass on the side. This is the only way my DH will eat cereal. I'll do this for things like Captain Crunch or something that gets soggy really quickly. Raisin Bran or Shredded Wheat still get milk in them.

[alkapal]

growing up, i ate life cereal and let it get mushy before i ate it. now i do same thing with frosted mini wheats. how is life cereal these days anyway? i let raisin bran get mushy, too. but, i don't let kashi go lean crunch cereal with honey, almond and flax seed get mushy (as if it could!). http://kashi.com/products/golean_crun...
it's the best cereal!

[grayelf]

I'm not sure this counts as a silly eating habit (more of an obsession) but I had a wine and cheese last night and it reminded me. Drives me mad when people use the 'blue' knife on the Brie de Meaux or vice versa. Look before you leap!

[Blush]

I did and still do the same thing with Life (so does my brother). It still tastes pretty good to me--although the squares seemed bigger when I was a kid. I also let Bran Flakes or Raisin Bran get mushy. Actually, most cereals I find are better mushy (Shreddies, Shredded Wheat, Mini Wheats, Corn Bran). Exceptions to this for me are Sugar Crisp and Cheerios.

[paprikahead]

Yes, mushy, but after I spread each mini-wheat with a thin, even coating of peanut butter.

[PDeveaux]

I read almost every single one of these silly things and discovered I am either extremely quirky or very normal! But I didn't see this one thing that I do about french fries. If they are fast-food fries that come in a little carton or bag, I salt them and eat as is. But if they're served on a plate in a restaurant, I salt and pepper them, put ketchup all over them and eat with a fork.

[rednyellow]

That reminds me of my french fry peeve. I have to put the ketchup on the side and dip them. A friend recently grabbed the bottle and poured it all over the plate of fries we were supposed to share. I just stared at her - they were ruined.

[alkapal]

then the fries get mushy. ack!
i like ketchup on the side, and i like the fries "extra crispy". better dipper: mayo or, even better: aioli!

does anyone get the mickyd's deluxe breakfast (OK, i was out of town, and it was easy) and eat it in any particular sequence? i did this:
1. crunched through the hash brown, finished it.
2. poured 1 pack of syrup on the pancakes. let it soak in. ate sections that were soaked with syrup.
3. salted scrambled eggs, ate in layers (so could add salt to underneath portion.)
4. finished eggs, then poured 2d pack of syrup on remaining pancake sections. finished pancakes after sufficient soaking-in time.
5. split biscuit. put grape jelly on one half, and contemplated adding the sausage patty. ate only the top jellied half. then took bottom half of biscuit, spread jelly. ate it.
6. ate sausage patty.
7. actually thought how ridiculous it was to be overthinking my observation of this whole deal, and laughed at myself for thinking: hey, let's see what *other* chowhounds do with a deluxe breakfast!!!

[Kate is always hungry]

I know how you feel, I hate to see people do that!

[jujuthomas]

I'm a dipper too, UNLESS i have fries with gravy. Then the gravy goes on top, with salt, pepper and ketchup. it's a big gross soggy mess. it's fantastic. :)

[Karli.s.6785]

i loveee poutine. gotta add some cheese with that gravy ;) no ketchup tho.

[Sparky777]

a) Grapefruit - First of all, it has to be pink. Slice it in half, cut it into sections, carefully cut around the membrane with a serrated grapefruit knife, then dig into each section and eat. Any remaining juice gets squeezed out of each half into a spoon and drunk! Only way to eat grapefruit!

b) Sandwiches - After too many years of eating soggy warm sandwiches in grade school, I can now only eat them if they have just been made fresh. I keep all components nice and cold in fridge until lunch (except bread, of course), then assemble everything just before consuming.

c) BBQ or Rotisserie Chicken - For some inexplicable reason, I only enjoy eating dark meat cold and white meat hot. Go figure.

d) Hot foods, for the most part, have to be eaten hot, and cold foods cold. Coffee tastes gross if it is lukewarm or cold (or iced). But iced tea is fabulous!

e) Ice cream has to be stirred and stirred in my bowl til it resembles soft serve.

f) Grilled cheese sandwiches have to be made with real cheddar and not really grilled at all, but rather toasted & melted in the toaster oven. Of course the bread has to be paired with its neighbouring slice so it fits together properly.

g) Baked potatoes get smushed in one way, then turned and smushed the other way (with fingers, usually protected by paper towel to avoid the hotness) before adding toppings. That way they are nice and fluffy.

[alkapal]

absolutely potato double-smush! then load that baby up!

[chefbeth]

Corn on the cob -- left to right, but I always(!) hold the bigger end in my left hand. Four rows at a time -- no more and no less.

Egg salad sandwiches must have potato chips inserted into the sandwich just before I take a bite. I've tried putting the potato chips on the sandwich when I make it, but they get too mushy. I need the crunch of the fried potato-ey goodness. (This also works with chicken salad, BTW.) My method is not elegant, so I usually eat egg or chicken salad sandwiches where no one is watching.

English muffins must be fork-split or carefully eased apart with the fingers. And I must have them toasted medium-well, which means crispy and browned but never burned ("well done" being an oxymoron and another way of saying burnt or "rustic").

No one is permitted to open, store or consume a canned tuna fish product within my immediate vicinity (or in a vicinity I own or inhabit without the use of a very strong ventilation system for four or more hours before I return from wherever I wandered off to).

Other than that, I'm pretty easy to get along with. But there is one item that I can not trust any restaurant, breakfast eatery or bagel place to prepare correctly. My standards are too exacting.

California Bagel:

One sesame bagel (or whatever your choice is), split evenly and toasted.

Enough cream cheese to cover the bagel halves evenly and completely to a depth of perhaps 1/8 to 1/4 inch -- no more than that.

One ripe avocado, cut in to chunks and distriubuted over the now-slightly-melting cream cheese. Sprinkle with kosher salt and use a fork to mash the avocado into the cream cheese. Even and complete distribution is desirable, but not necessary.

Sprinke bagel with a fine dice of red onion and perfectly ripe tomato, so that you get a little of each in every bite (diced up so that you don't have that moment of awkwardness where you've bitten through everything but a tough piece of onion skin or tomato stubbornness). Open untouched Sunday paper to the "Week in Review" or "Living" section.

Breathe.

Eat.

[CanadaGirl]

You and I share the exact same idea about tuna. And, if an english muffin is sliced with a knife, it just will not toast properly, and thereofe tastes yucky :)

[chefbeth]

I love this thread, by the way. Thanks for starting it, j, and thanks for all you fellow-semi-weirdos who have made my day.

[epicureous eggplant]

Hah Hah! What a great post! Just a few things I have in common with other replys....
1. Eating salad with fingers
2. Each bite of a burger or sandwich must be accompanied with a fry or chip.

Here are some of mine, that I didn't notice being mentioned...
1. I won't eat blue or red tortilla chips in a mix of red white and blue mixed chips.
2. Folded over taco looking chips (kettle cooked mostly) are my fave!
3. When I eat a piece of dark chocolate, I will take the first bite and chomp, chomp, chomp..the second bite I will let melt in my mouth.

Can someone explain the "eating a burger upside down" business?
Thanks all for sharing!!!!

[alkapal]

a lot of "mr. monk" people on this hilarious thread! ;-)

at a salad bar, i always get 3-4 florets of raw broccoli, because i know i *should* eat it. i assemble a lovely salad with all the dark greens, marinated beans, olives, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, croutons, carrots, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, and marinated mushrooms. and the broccoli. it is always the last thing on the plate, and i dutifully eat it. then take a big gulp of my iced tea.

(it is just raw broc i'm not in love with; i loved cooked broccoli spears as a kid!)

[kandmls]

This ties with Janet from Richmond's "How to tactfully avoid inviting..." as my most favorite thread. Hard to top either one.

[gourmet wife]

I was taught to never drink any beverages during my meal and I continue to do this. If I ever take a sip during a meal, it's plain old water. If I make spaghetti with marinara at home, I have to eat it with chopsticks. Any other pasta, I'll eat with a fork. When I make coffee at home, it has to be super hot, however, I'll drink it a couple of minutes later after it's cooled down a bit.

[browniebaker]

An apple must be held in the right hand, stem side facing right. First bite must be in the very middle. Next bite is right of the first bite. Third bite is left of the first bite. So now I have formed a row of bites. Now repeat with three bites forming an adjacent row. Now, scraping with my bottom incisors, I must flatten the the surface of the bitten flesh. Once it's perfectly flat, I start making rows again. Then I scrape to flatten again. Continue until I have just a core left.

The first bite of a sandwich is made into the bottom (toughest) crust. Subsequent bites are in concentric circles from the outside in, so that crust is eaten and gotten rid of and then pure, soft bread and filling can be savored. The last bite has to be not the dead center of the sandwich but about 1/3 down from the top, where the bread is optimal, slightly fluffier than the bread below. The perfect last bite.

The first bite of a peach has to be the pointy end. Next bites are along the "seam." Then I am free to eat the peach as I please.

Smaller pieces of tortillas or potato chips on a plate are eaten first, leaving the whole pieces. The whole pieces are eaten in order to how perfect their shapes are, leaving the best piece for last.

The half of the bagel that has a flat bottom has to be eaten first.

A cinnamon roll is eaten by unswirling until I get to the perfect center for the last bite.

Both ends of a hotdog are eaten first, saving the center for last.

If I have too much milk at the bottom of my cereal bowl when the cereal is eaten, I have to pour in just the "right" amount of cereal for the remianing milk. I f I screw up and pour too much cereal, more milk has to added. And this can go one for a while until I get it just right.

I don't put lettuce in my sandwiches. But if I am making a sandwich for someone else, the lettuce can never be at the bottom of a sandwich. It does not matter that I won't be eating that sandwich: lettuce must be on top.

[alkapal]

>>>>If I have too much milk at the bottom of my cereal bowl when the cereal is eaten, I have to pour in just the "right" amount of cereal for the remianing milk. I f I screw up and pour too much cereal, more milk has to added. And this can go one for a while until I get it just right.<<<<

~~~~~
i've got to do the same thing with field peas & pot liquor vs. cornbread. ;-).

[nkeane]

I specifically buy cereals that leave me with flavored milk to drink out of the bowl! SpecialK fruit&yogurt, strawberry(in that great/terrible nestle quik kinda way) frosted mini wheats, etc....Cereal is my dessert on nights I stay in!

[AngelSanctuary]

When eating xiao long bao (those soup dumplings) I poke a hole and drain the soup onto a spoon. Drink the soup and then eat the meat and finally eat the skin. It's more so I don't burn my mouth though.

When I eat fish, like a whole fish I MUST get the cheeks.

[Scargod]

I was amazed, when years ago I was dining with a man who ate all the tails of his fried shrimp! Ate the whole damn thing! I've tried it, but unless crisp I can't do it. Anyone else eat fried (or otherwise), shrimp tails? Heads?

[alkapal]

mr. alka, from sri lanka, will eat fried shrimp tails (if it's good, fresh shrimp, of course).

[grayelf]

After ama ebi, deep fried heads, legs and tails -- yum!

[nkeane]

the heads of shrimp are the best part. This is an unassailable fact. :-D

[hungryabbey]

I always used ot eat the shrimp tails and then one day at a christmas dinner with my family, my uncle said "woah, what are you doing?! You just ate the whole tail!!" I didn't know you weren't supposed to.. I thought it was a nice crunch.

[hungryabbey]

I'm so glad that I'm not the only wierd one.. My boyfriend thinks there are some serious things wrong me with and we have gotten into some little fights over my "quirks". Here are a few I can think of:
1. I eat the skin on kiwi. I didn't know you weren't supposed to. I am not sure what is in the skin but it makes my tongue tingle slightly, which I kind of like.
2. Like others, I'm obsessed with temperature. Soup, coffee etc must be scorching hot (so hot that I burn myself at least once daily) while salad, diet coke, sparkling water, wine must be ice cold (I like red wine, but will never order it in a restaurant b/c it is served room temp and that bothers me).. This obsession leads to a few others...
3. I order my coffee in the morning after going to the gym and bring it home or to work. When I get there I then heat it in the microwave until it pretty much bubbles over. If I am making my own coffee at home to eat on the weekends, I don't like how the milk cools down the coffee, so I warm the amount of milk I need in the microwave and THEN add it to my coffee which gets poured into a super good quality thermous so I know it will stay hot.
4. Also related to temp, but also to which foods I like the best.. when I'm all alone and making dinner for myself, I will prepare the starch and meat part of the meal and set it aside. Then I will prepare a big bowl of veggies and sit down and eat those. While I wash the dish from the veggies I heat up the starch/meat part of my meal and then eat that (because those are my favourite parts). I see alot of people do this "save the best bite for last" or "eat the best first" thing.. in Brian Wansicks book Mindless Eating he talks about how only children and the oldest in a family tend to leave the best till last because "they know it will be around" while youngest in a family or kids from very large families will eat the best first in fear of it being stolen.
4. When I am eating steak with mushrooms in a steakhouse, I count the mushrooms I have, then cut the steak up into an equal number of pieces so that they can be eaten together.
5.I always finish a piece of fruit- I could never leave a 1/4 of a banana (like so many people do) or not eat every little morsel of the apple. I access my hunger before I go to eat the fruit.. so I either am hungry enough to eat the whole apple or I'm not and will therefore find something more suiting.
6.I cannot share my food at all! Tapas/ small plates dont work for me and my boyfriend. I'm always paranoid that I wont get my proper "portion".
7. With cupcakes I will eat around the icing part so that I am left with only cupcake with icing directly atop it. I will then proceed to take bites so I get a full bite with the icing and cake in each bite.
8. I can't eat without a drink at the table, even if I dont ever take a sip throughout the meal. I get worried that I might get thirsty before I'm finished and can't concentrate on the food.
9. I will cut my sandwich in half BEFORE I put it onto the panini press. I don't like cutting the sandwich after its been on the grill in case some of the cheese gets "wasted" by getting stuck to my knife.
10. Anything thats cut into pieces already when it is served (like a sandwich), I will eat the smallest to largest morsel.

Woah, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I am going to go tell my boyfriend that I'm not so wierd after all.

[hill food]

"9. I will cut my sandwich in half BEFORE I put it onto the panini press. I don't like cutting the sandwich after its been on the grill in case some of the cheese gets "wasted" by getting stuck to my knife."

cut your panini last (if there are more than one of you) and carefully lick the knife, sharp edge away and pulled backwards, then you get all the "wasted" cheese from both 'cause other wise you're just giving the cheese more escape points onto the grill...

but your method does allow more crusted cheesy edges.

[hungryabbey]

You might be right. I also think it has something to do with the temperature.. like as SOON as it comes off the panini press, I want to eat it.. not take an extra step of cutting it which may allow it to cool down. I also have a really hard time letting my meat "rest" (especially at thanksgiving when I know the resting period should be long and in fact the temperature does actually rise a bit after you take it out of the oven. Still, I'm paranoid of serving a luke-warm bird)

[Scargod]

But you are weird. Do you arrange things in perfect geometry, too?
You are not alone, however, as you can see from other's posts.
I had a woman friend who ate items on her plate one at a time. No mixing, no skipping around. I did not ask her about how she decided what would be eaten first or saved for last. She was a good friend. It didn't bother me. You say "obsessions" and "can't/cannot". Might be more agreeable if you could get to like and prefer. Flexibility is good.
Not very Chowish not to share in the experience.... Make some Asian friends. That might help.

[hungryabbey]

Why would Asian friends help?

[Scargod]

It is common for many Asians to eat together and share their food. I would even go so far to say it is a tradition. Chinese restaurants in particular feature round tables and lazy susans so they can spin the food around, making it easier for everyone to share.

[hill food]

I have friends who like to eat that way, but then they're relatively unadventurous and order things like mu shu pork or moo goo gai pan (things to be enjoyed via T/O in secret at home on a rainy Sunday afternoon) and I barely get to eat the one thing on the table I'm interested in (things I don't have a clue or the skill/patience to make). I'm happy to share in any restaurant, and usu. offer first esp. if my meal turns out to be surprisingly good, but let me have the majority of my order.

[Scargod]

As I mentioned here http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6141... and elsewhere in the thread, it is difficult for two to dine in these Chinese restaurants. You need help. Most dishes are large and to have some variety you need four or more people sharing. I don't understand not sharing if you're into food.. Many places in the farm belts do it; it's called "family style".

[hill food]

I'm largely fine with sharing but prefer to say "wow this is great, you have to taste it" rather than be expected. family style is fine if that's the understanding, not when individual orders are placed and it's not served that way.

it's when I'm with people whose company I enjoy but we differ in taste and they order the tame, but end up devouring my choice for the table leaving the bland stuff behind. That's when I get a little (silently) miffed.

Maybe I should just look on it as a passive way of opening horizons (but maybe I'm bordering on being a self-congratulatory snob with food-bowl possessive tendencies - god, I watch too much Animal Planet feral dog behavior)

I know it's silly, but that's part of this thread. partly why I cook at home a lot or just nibble on my , yes, my apps off to the side when I'm allowed in public.

[hungryabbey]

I agree Hill Food.. I guess when it comes to "family style" ordering, Im always subconciously nervous that I wont get much of a taste of what I REALLY wanted to try from the menu and will instead get stuck eating something less interesting to me.

[buttertart]

I hate eating Chinese food out with people who don't know and love it (or worse, think they do and what they love is the Americanized stuff). Most people we eat with just bow to our will and eat what we order, but it does inhibit one from ordering the more unusual items.

[kiiess]

so long to read these replies,all wonderful!

[iluvtennis]

At my favorite bakery, i used to order two miniature muffins. I also had to kind of pick them up and weigh them, and it the lightest one first...save the best for last, you know. When i'm eating chips and salsa, or queso, i always go for the bent, folded over looking chips. I don't know why, but i like those, and find they are especially good when i let them soak in the queso.

[alkapal]

i'm obsessing on queso these days, so i thought i'd pass on these two recipes to you, i luv tennis:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/chile_con_queso/
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitc...

[iluvtennis]

Hey...thanks for these recipes! My mom is trying one of them for our Christmas Eve dinner this year.

[MandalayVA]

Hmm ...

I eat in-shell peanuts shell and all, particularly if they're pre-salted.
I'm very uncomfortable eating by myself in front of others.
I never take ice in any beverage other than water.
I've been known to eat salad with my fingers.
I always take the best bite first.

[alkapal]

ok, this is a "silly making-your-coffee-at 7-11-habit":
get largest coffee cup.
put it under the steamed milk nozzle for a quick burst of the milk, then move the cup and let the watery part drip onto the spill grid.** repeat 2 more times for a more intense flavor.
then add the coffee (not the "jazzed" coffee, but the brazilian or 100% colombian), then the brown sugar packets if they have them, and three half-n-half packs. get large big gulp straw (the green one -- not the largest red one) and stir all together. then take sippy cup lid, lift the sippy opening, and -- without removing the straw from the coffee cup -- insert the straw coming up from underneath the sippy lid. secure lid holding hand carefully around cup to protect against cup collapse disaster (CCD). add "insulator" cardboard sleeve. grab three napkins for the car. sip coffee on way to checkout. wait in line and wonder who eats taquitos at 7:30 am. continue waiting in line for the lady who wants the pack of "more" cigarettes for her friend, and who complains that they cost nearly 7 bucks. watch man buy a half-smoke and lottery ticket.

~~
**
the technique allows for the highest ratio of the ingredient, e.g., chocolate, milk, without further dilution from the watery part.

[soupkitten]

*giggle* okay i know that this is almost a year old, but i just read it now. awesome. :)

[alkapal]

pringles chips. i place them on my tongue so they lie like a blanket on my tongue, then crunch down.

[grayelf]

And you have to figure out which is the salted side of the Pringle to lay down on your tongue, right?? Nope, never done that ;-).

[alkapal]

it's all about the curve! ;-).

[hungryabbey]

ha I do that too. its the only way to eat them.

[steve8rox]

Fine dining, at the kitchen sink !!!

[somervilleoldtimer]

I appreciate jfood very much, but would love to know why he refers to himself in the third person!

[hill food]

a detached psyche/self-awareness? perhaps some entity or interloper is posting for jfood.

hill food thought it odd as well, but no longer cares.

[Tripeler]

I think it is his ghost-writer. jfood is certainly a good citizen here on CH, and I also admire him greatly.

[hill food]

oh yes I can speak for hill food and state this is agreed.

HEY! let's make one day "Let's All Post Like jfood Day"

that could be fun - the entire board referring to themselves in third person. I suppose the only odder thing would be to declare it Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City day and we use the 2nd person familiar.

[LindaWhit]

His ghostwriter is the very wicked-cool doggums in his avatar. :-)

[jfood]

a few years ago jfood was reading a dog book like Marley and I (that's me in the avatar) was sitting ataring at him trying to get a cookie. He looked at me and said, "you want a cookie then work for it." We cut a deal where I write his posts and he gives me enough cookies to keep me happy. I am now 13+ and looking to retire from this gig and am negotiating my way out of this gig.

Interesting in that a couple of years ago he went to first person on the site and many people protested, so back to third person.

It is not a Seinfeld thing, or a self-whatever thing. It was a one time thing that stuck, and it is not that easy to write that way.

Hope that explains

[AgentLapis]

When I eat a burrito or a wrap, I prefer to unroll it on a plate, spread the filling all around, eat the filling with a fork and finally roll up the food-coated tortilla and eat that.

I LOVE eating with tiny forks and spoons. I noticed the playsets at Ikea the first time I went, and made sure to buy them the second time. If I'm at someone else's house and find small spoons I have been known to squeal with glee.

Any time a food is in mixed chunks, I'll have different categories (like chunks of carrot, potato and tofu on pad thai that a cart has on campus, or different colors of a candy) and start eating only the chunks of the largest group, then mixing in bites of others according to number. In my last bites, each category is represented, one each. I used to do this with my Halloween candy too.

Bread for sandwiches is always lined up.

I can't eat soup without dipping something in it.

Any sandwich cookie must be unscrewed. I scrape the filling with my teeth then eat the cookie halves pressed together.

Jam is always spread with the back of a spoon.

If I'm going to put an egg on anything, the yolk has to be runny.

When I was a kid, I used to pump my left arm while eating cereal.

[nkeane]

did you grow up on the Jersey Shore? (man I hope someone gets this.....)

[LindaWhit]

ROFLMAO! It must have been the situation AgentLapis was in that caused him to pump his left arm!

[AgentLapis]

Just about as far as an American can be from Jersey. I've never even crossed the Rockies!

[Bill Hunt]

Looks like this did not post, so am trying again:

OK, let's take these one at a time:

1.) I always cut the hamburger, and attack one of the ends first - but I have a full beard.
2.) I do not have any compunction against the "heel," and seek it out, and not just for sandwiches.
3.) I am the same, and both pieces of the po-boy (can't get away from my roots), will have the condiments spread on them, with the exception of ketchup, if used. That will be spread atop.
4.) I am a sauerkraut, chili and brat person, and will do the brat, ladle on the other two elements, and then top with Cheddar cheese.
5.) Across too
6.) Will always pair a Montrachet with corn - oops, that was not part of the quiz.

Hunt

[buttertart]

Thank you for 6.), I can taste it in my mind. Lovely.

[Bill Hunt]

OK, here's another. My sandwiches must be cut on the diagonal. My wife wants them cut across, and does not care if it's crust to base, or side to side. For me, it's a diagonal.

Hunt

[wolfe]

About bread. I did most of the shopping when we was first married and it was 3 years before my wife realized that baguettes came with ends. She hardly recognized them the first time I was unable to go to the bakery.

[occula]

lol, even if I'm not cutting corner-to-corner, it has to be *somewhat* diagonal. the corners taste better that way.

[buttertart]

And the best bite is the one that has the little bit of top crust on it. That's the best half in general.

[occula]

It's not really on purpose, but I find that I begin eating from the far side of the plate and eat toward myself - maybe not all the time, but not uncommonly.

I tend to use a spoon really often and think that other people use forks when spoons are appropriate. Like, my inlaws have birthday ice cream and cake all the time, and just give you a fork. Who eats ice cream with forks? Anything juicy gets a spoon. Or at dinner if we're having mashed potatoes, corn, and peas, I'll eat those with a spoon, while my husband uses a fork.

[mariacarmen]

My BF says almost everything on my plate becomes a sandwich (i.e. wrapped in something else, topped by something else), whether or not there is bread or a breadlike thing in the meal, which is funny because i'm not a huge sandwich eater.

i eat things i don't love as much on the plate first so i can finish with the best stuff.

corn - across, left to right.

pizza - eat up the crusts for each slice, until i have a plate of orphaned crusts, and if it was good pizza dough then i eat the crusts by themselves.

no bread loaf ends.

toast is just a vehicle for butter; toast is almost superflous - toast should sag under the weight of melted butter when picked up.

when eating steak or any kind of meat, if possible, every bite should have a bit of fat from one portion of the meat.

if eating fries in the car (not when i'm driving) then i dip each fry into an opened corner of the little ketchup bag, covering the whole length of the fry with ketchup.

of course, all sandwiches "should" have potato chips inserted.

i think i've posted this before, but the weirdest thing i used to do as a kid was take individually wrapped American cheese slices and, while still in the wrapper, put a slice under my shirt so that it lay against my belly to warm up and soften. Then i would peel the cheese off the wrapper and eat warm, very soft cheese.

[hill food]

heh Maria, when I was a member of the "working poor" and under high stress deadlines I'd put a 69 cent frozen burrito on the back of the monitor for a coupla hours to slowly bring it to room temp before devouring slowly.

[dojemi]

We use to own a drycleaners and one of our pressers was Mexican. She would always bring us the most delicious burritos. She would wrap them in foil and put them on top of the boiler do warm them up. :) So yummy!

[occula]

When I was a kid, I hated egg yolks and my brother hated egg whites. We usually had our eggs fried, and I've always liked mine well cooked (broken over hard and dry through). so, obviously, Bro and I would eat away the parts we liked and then swap.

[boredough]

anyone old enough to remember the scene in "Where's Poppa" when Ruth Gordon cuts an orange?

[jfood]

No she did not cut the orange, it was her son and he cut it into quarters and she yelled "I told you six pieces." and the son, played by george segal, grabbed two of the quarters and cut them in half. Not quite as funny as the scene later where they were listening to "NASCAR Highlights" and she leans back with an orgasmic smile and says, "A little more treble."

Classic movie.

[morwen]

My stepson and I still swap when he's home for visits!

[alliegator]

This is odd and I only do it in very casual restaurants, but I always ask for the take home box when my meal arrives. Since I'm a very petite person, I will never eat the whole giant burger, pile of chicken fingers or mountain or fries, so I box up what I know I won't eat right away so I have more room on my plate. Weird, yup. Practical, Yup.

[small h]

I think that's an excellent idea, dividing your food before you start messing with it. The leftovers will be a lot more appetizing that way.

[alliegator]

Hey thanks! People look at me like I'm a lunatic, but an even half of a sandwich that isn't all soggy with extra condiments, etc. does actually get eaten the next day.

[buttertart]

Very sensible, I can't eat the massive portions you get particularly for lunch in casual places either (I had 2 more sandwiches out of the meat in a roast beef sandwich I was recently served). I read once that that was Barbra Streisand's weight management system: Eat everything but only half of what you're served. Not a bad idea!

[KarenDW]

I might further suggest that you ask the server to put the box into the refrigerator, if there is room, until you are ready to leave :)

[MichelleRenee]

I can only think of 3 silly eating habits I have:

Fried eggs and hashbrowns: I always cut up the egg and then mix it up with the hashbrowns, making sure I get all the gooey, runny part perfectly blended in.

And meatloaf: A scoop of mashed potatoes, a scoop of corn and a slice of meatloaf go onto the plate. Then they get mushed together, a dab of ketchup on top, mushed some more, and ready to eat! I guess I really like my food mushy.

[dojemi]

RE: meatloaf........I must have corn and mashed potatoes with my meatloaf. I put a mound of mashed potatoes on my plate and a scoop of corn right in the middle and mix. So good! My meatloaf doesn't get mixed in tho......just eaten with it.