Do you look down your nose at people who use Realemon instead of hand squeezing their lemons?
Do you think nothing of dropping $10 on a bar of baking chocolate?
Does your "macaroni and cheese" contain romano, asiago, and edam?
Do you make a sponge, biga or poolish when you bake bread?
Do you consider Ghirardelli "slumming it"?
What makes you a food snob?
Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
Oh, and do you utterly disdain "recipes" that call for a box of cake mix or a can of soup?
Do you make your own soup stock?
Posted by Suneun (Member # 3247) on :
Do you scoff at the idea of pre-chopped onions, minced garlic in a jar, and pre-cut salad?
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
If I was a food snob in addition to being a picky eater, I'd die of starvation. Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
We will only use Pillsbury crescents in our crescent dogs -- no generic store brands. You mean like that?
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
I used to use Realemon, but I really dislike the taste. Squeezing your own lemons doesn't take long if you have an electric juicer (I have a very cheap, small one.) If I squeeze more juice than I need for a recipe, I freeze it for future use.
Same goes for canned soups - I used to use them, but I quit, cause I was unhappy with the amount of additives and salt.
On the other hand, I do use canned beans and frozen vegetables in many recipes.
So I guess I'm not a "food snob."
*curious as to what motivated this topic*
Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
I used to make all of our meals from scratch, including all of our bread, rolls and buns, sweet treats and sometimes pasta. At that point in my life, I seldom even bought canned foods - I mostly canned my own.
Now, I am a single mother "professional" woman. We eat a HUGE amount of pizza, packaged salads and rotisserie chickens from costco these days.
Posted by Lost Ashes (Member # 6745) on :
Not about many things... but I've gotta have real Parmesano Reggiano over the powder that Kraft puts in the cans.
Posted by Toretha (Member # 2233) on :
you can get pre-chopped onions???
*looks hopeful*
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
quote: *curious as to what motivated this topic*
quote: Do you consider Ghirardelli "slumming it"?
quote: Now I just have to hope my mice are not chocolate snobs. I had to use ghirardelli chocolate chips, and milk chocolate instead of dark.. it's just not the same.
*whistles innocently*
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
I'm a food snob. I'll only eat Totino's pizza rolls, not the generic kind.
Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
quote: *curious as to what motivated this topic*
I think it was when I was looking at the ad for Metro Market last night, and commented that the Brie en Brioche looked tasty. To which my husband replied that he could surely do it better. (I told him to prove it).
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
quote: Do you look down your nose at people who use Realemon instead of hand squeezing their lemons?
I'm not a snob, I just prefer the taste of real lemons... I have no problem with people who get the little plastic squeezie bottle thing. That's not something I ever grew up with... since I come from the Mediterranean/Middle East area, it's very rare to find that. But I don't have a problem with it!
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Um . . . those aren't the specific cheeses I use for macoroni and cheese, and I wouldn't look down on people who use realemon, though I don't use it myself.
Other than that, yes to everything in the first post.
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
There's one issue on which I am definitely a food snob. The doneness of meat, particularly pork and beef.
I happily and quite aggravatingly look down my nose, smug in my superiority over the coarse, elderly taste of people who like their pork and beef 'well-done'.
You buncha pansies Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
Yes, I have noticed a fair amount of chocolate snobs here. I knew my husband was getting bad when he started buying Ephemere Sauce for his mochas.
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
I don't have the money to be a real food snob. But since KamaCon I've gone out for dinner 5 times, 3 of which occured in one weekend when my parents came to visit. I haven't eaten processed food since KamaCon either.
Hobbes Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
Well I scoff at Easy Mac when I could take an extra ten minutes and make Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in a pot full of boiling water.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
OOH that's my one thing. It's all about the Velveeta Shells and Cheese, although the store brands like it are passable and a fair bit cheaper.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
I have just recently started doing a lot more cooking from scratch. My movtivation is twofold: 1) it's cheaper and we have an additional person in the house now that Mom has moved in. Plus the twins are old enough now that you can no longer count the two of them as "on portion between them" I am regularly cooking for seven now.
2) It's healthier and everyone in my family (well, all the adults) are trying to live healthier and more active lives. We need to be able to keep up with our kids! Plus, we love to hike and get outdoors and would like to be in better shape for that.
So...I'm becoming a food snob when it pertains to freshness. For example, upstairs right now is a crock pot full of red beans that have been simmering all day (after soaking all night) for cajun red beans and rice. Before, I would have used the boxed version.
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
I have to admit, I make macaroni and cheese from scratch. The boxed stuff has too much junk in it.
And, okay, I am a chocolate snob. Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
I'd like to have more people joining in making fun of those who like their meat cooked well done, please.
Well, any people, really.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
For $10, it would have to be a really big bar of baking chocolate.
And I eat lots of crap, too. Taste is more important than pedigree. But yeah, I do have and take the luxury of eating well.
And pretty much anyone can make better bries then the ones they sell in the store... those tend not to be very good.
Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
I always thought making dinner from scratch meant that I had to open a can of soup and a box of minute rice in addition to thawing the frozen skinless boneless chicken breast halves, rather than simply sticking a Stouffer's lasagna in the oven (though with the extra steps of lining the baking sheet with aluminum foil so I won't have to wash it if some tomato sauce spills plus cutting those slits in the cellophane top and later removing it entirely almost count as cooking from scratch, too). I know we have stuff like flour and sugar in the house, but they're just kinda for show -- at least until Mooselet is old enough to bake chocolate chip cookies "from scratch" with me.
--Pop
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Pop, a wise woman once told me that if it's cooked in your home it's homemade.
My family has many a time eaten Stouffer's lasagna, only recently have we begun to eat the homemade version and again, that's because of cost and a desire to use more healthy ingredients.
I can assure you, once I'm in school full time and even beyond that, working again, we'll be back on the Stouffer's bandwagon. Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
quote:I'd like to have more people joining in making fun of those who like their meat cooked well done, please.
Well, any people, really.
For the record, Rakeesh, I don't like my meat well-done. To me, "well-done" translates as "dried out."
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
That's a start, Ela, but really you're not making hard enough fun. When you tease, draw blood. I'm sure that liking meat well-done translates to a mother of loose morals or innate bad parenting skills.
Posted by dh (Member # 6929) on :
I have survived for several lengthy periods of time on Kraft Dinner (that's Kraft Mac & Cheese to you crazy Americans), peanut butter toast and canned rice. I like micro-waved hotdogs. I like canned ravioli (the generic store brands too, not just Chef Boyardee). I love cheap food. I am not a food snob.
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
How's this Rakeesh:
People who eat their meat well done are as bad as people who buy Monet umbrellas and book bags.
Or
People who eat their meat well done might as well sit down to a big plate of soy protein.
Or
People who eat their meat well done should feel guilty about the animal that sacrificed its life to be their dinner. If you are going to eat the flesh of beasts, at least have the courtesy to eat it in the way God intended -- rare or medium rare.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
One of the great things about coming to Hatrack is that, whenever I worry I might be a snob, I run into people who are so much snobbier than I am on the same subject that I immediately feel like a prole again. Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
What is canned rice? Is it pre-cooked, so you just open the can?
How very odd...
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
On the subject of pre-cut salad, I don't object to it so much as I find it too expensive for everyday use. The other thing about pre-cut salad is that it is only good if you get it really fresh - it dries out and spoils fairly quickly.
On the other hand, I absolutely love the pre-washed greens. I am much more likely to eat fresh spinach, kale, and collard greens if I don't have to spend all that time washing and inspecting each leaf. I toss some garlic pieces in olive oil and fry them for a minute or so, then add kale or collard greens and steam them till done. Delicious!
[ October 21, 2004, 07:18 PM: Message edited by: Ela ]
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
quote:How very odd
This from someone whose state's cusine has Spam as a staple.
Edit to add: Americans need to eat more kale and chard. Tru dat.
[ October 21, 2004, 07:13 PM: Message edited by: Zalmoxis ]
Posted by Paul Goldner (Member # 1910) on :
I'm a food snob as much as my budget allows me to be. I often make my own barbeque and teriyaki sauces, I bake my own bread when time permits (cornell), I hate canned or frozen anything, though I often use canned tomato soup, and I have lots of random ingredients in my house that can be adopted for different recipes. My spice rack is growing, thank goodness. And I believe people who use certain cuts of meats in certain ways are morons.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
I would like to point out, that although I answered “yes” to most of those questions I don’t consider myself a food snob, because I don’t look down on anyone who answered “no,” and if I were eating dinner at their house I would eat whatever they served and enjoy it.
Unless it involved legumes. I don’t like legumes.
Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
quote:This from someone whose state's cusine has Spam as a staple.
I resisted the Spam thing for a long time, but my children have been subverted and brought me along with them.
Spam musubi is soooooo ono!
But I'll admit it is very odd too.
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
I'm sorry to say that I *do* look down on people who don't like legumes.
I mean come on -- lentils? black, fava, pinto, cannellini and kidney beans? chickpeas?
Who can not like that line up?
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
*raises hand*
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
Clearly, you, like most Americans, were exposed to legumes in their insidious "Midwestern Cooking" form.
I'm sorry that happened to you. It's not too late to remedy the situation.
<---- sets out a plate of red lentils cooked Ethiopian style alongside buttered jasmine rice and walks away
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
I totally agree, Zal. I was going to say, you'd like legumes the way I cook them.
They are a staple ingredient in many of the dishes I make, whether you are talking about the middle eastern food I was raised with, or the Indian, far eastern, and other types of cuisine I have experimented with as an adult. Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
(I've taken her to some really good Middle Eastern restaurants. She still doesn't like legumes, although she did once say that a local hummus was "kinda okay.")
[ October 21, 2004, 07:56 PM: Message edited by: ElJay ]
Posted by MoonRabbit (Member # 3652) on :
quote:Do you think nothing of dropping $10 on a bar of baking chocolate?
It's ScharffenBerger or nothing, baby!
You know that scene in Chocolat where the guy crawls in the front window and passes out from eating chocolate? That's me.
I cook everything from scratch, mainly because, being a food chemist, I know what goes into most processed foods. My wife has migraines, so we have to watch the additives. I also bring treats to work, and we have the usual assortment of people who are allergic to just about everything. I once made a 100% organic, wheat free, soy free, corn free, dairy free, egg free fruit tart for someone's birthday. And it was not just edible, but good. Try getting that from a box.
Trouble is, I became a food snob back when I could eat anything and not gain weight. Alas, those days are gone.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
I believe a more accurate description of that particular hummus would be: It didn’t immediately make me gag. Which is an improvement over all other hummus, I’ll grant you.
Legumes are gross.
I’ll admit an exception for falafel, though. I like falafel.
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
(Oh my gosh, where is Annie?? She is a self-proclaimed food snob of the snobbiest sort. And she gets away with it because she's such a good cook!! This thread is for HER!!!)
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
The key to good falafel, imo, is to not make the falafels to big. I like to do small croquettes -- that way it's not overly mealy inside.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
This thread is for me! I am a guilty-conscience sort of food snob. I submit this recent entry in my livejournal:
quote:I'm only recently realizing how pervasive my food snobbery is. I like being the gourmande - the one whose culinary creations are often lauded (sincere or just being nice, I can never tell). I have a problem recognizing, however, how this affects other people.
Very rarely do I ask anyone for a recipe or let them cook something their way. Just last night, Aleza brought some ham and beans to our party and rather than being nice, I "helpfully" suggested to her that she should try putting cumin and onion in them next time. The fact that cumin and onion make beans taste much better is neither here nor there - if I had been in her position, having someone tell me what I should have added to my dish - I would have been indignantly self-righteous and very irritated.
I went shopping with Whitney the other day to get food for our party and would not let her get american cheese slices wrapped in plastic - I insisted on sliced cheese from the deli. Why on earth do I care? Just because I think american cheese is vile, I really don't have to be like that.
I really don't like eating white starches or drinking kool-aid, but how much should I acquiesce in the name of public harmony? It's funny to be a snob a lot of the time, I must admit, but I must come across as a totally arrogant windbag. Maybe I should just shut up and drink the kool-aid for once.
So, yes, I am a snob, but I'm trying not to show it.
I do, however, know where the best place in town to get frog legs is.
Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
quote: quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you think nothing of dropping $10 on a bar of baking chocolate? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's ScharffenBerger or nothing, baby!
We have not found the full size baking Scharffenberger bars, just the 2 0z snacking ones. We get the Callebut, which is lovely in a bittersweet chocolate torte or chocolate cheesecake. Must go raid my chocolate tin now..... (Edit...found a 62% Mocha bar....and the kids are playing Stratego in another room...)
[ October 21, 2004, 08:38 PM: Message edited by: dread pirate romany ]
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
Huge snob about:
Chocolate (German, Belgian, French, or Swiss only)
Pies (have to be homemade from scratch)
Oranges - have to come from FL
Peaches and Pecans - have to come from GA
Lettuce - hate Romaine and Iceberg
Grits - cannot stomach instant
Yogurt - cannot stand American yogurt
I don't eat or cook with garlic or bananas, but that's just because I don't like them. I also don't eat or fix mac and cheese. I don't consider myself a food snob because I don't care what other people eat. If I am a guest at someone's house, I will sample everything that they give me and compliment the chef.
We once had to restrain a chef who wanted to take back the salmon he had so carefully prepared because the customer was putting ketchup on it. I can't say that I blamed him.
Posted by Zamphyr (Member # 6213) on :
Well, at least none of you are snobby enough to call it phood Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
So, I stopped by Whole Foods on my way home... dkw, they had a lovely plum mustard that they were sampling with camembert that I thought about getting for you to add to your collection...
Then I looked at the price. If you want a $12 jar of mustard, you can get it yourself. Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Some sister you are. Sheesh.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Did I mention it was delicious? I went back for a second sample.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
*hangs head in shame*
I am such a food snob.
I make my own stock.
If I don't have time to make it, I buy the expensive almost-real stock. I loathe stock cubes.
I refuse to drink tea made from tea-bags. Loose leaf in a china tea pot or nothing.
I bring my own plunger and ground coffee to work because I can't stomach instant.
I use frozen puff pastry but I make my own short pastry every time.
Does it help that I cook really nice meals though? Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
quote:I'd like to have more people joining in making fun of those who like their meat cooked well done, please.
With a little effort you coulda saved that beast.... =) (heard every year at Christmas dinner at my aunt's house, who loves well done)
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
I'm a mini-food snob.
In my defense, I'm a darn good cook and can cook food from all over. Yesterday, I made naan, and it was good. Even my picky niece liked it. As did hubby.
I make my own stock. I cook soup from scratch. I don't use mixes - even when I lived in Canada, where mixes actually do exist, I didn't use them. I squeeze my limes (can't get lemons here) for juice - they take almost no effort at all the way I do it. I chop my garlic myself. And I create my own recipes.
Hmm. I also write restaurant reviews for pay. Now that's the best job. Eat at the most expensive restaurants in town for free and get a cheap date with hubby? Yup. I love my life!
Posted by Jaiden (Member # 2099) on :
I am not a food snob.
However...
I make my own stocks, I make my own puff pastry (blitz if I don't have time for the good stuff, but anything but the frozen stuff!)
I prefer to make my own pasta (but will use store bought -crap- if I don't have time)
I make my own sauces. Any kind of sauce- I keep many foundation sauces in my freezer to adapt to what I need (Bechamel, Veloute, Espagnole, Hollandaise (can't freeze...) and Tomato sauce).
I refuse to buy preground spices anymore. I need to dry roast them and grind them myself
I am a food lover. Food isn't something to sustain you, it's something to take pleasure in!
However, I'll be first to admit, more important then good food is good company. If one of my little cousins makes kraft dinner for me, I'll enjoy it very much and be laughing and smilling throughout it.
Good food just makes life better. Nothing thrills me quite like eating something new and unique. Developing a new recipe. Trying a new combination.
And... well done meat is like old shoe leather. It ain't good for anything!
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I'm pretty particular about the chocolate that I eat. Dove is pretty much the bottom of the barrel for me, and I'm thinking that it might not even be that. I don't care at all what country it's from as long as it tastes right and has the right mouthfeel though.
When I was growing up my mom always made macaroni and cheese from scratch, so that's the way I've come to expect it to taste. The stuff that comes out of a box tastes fairly hidious to me.
That's about it for me, though, in terms of food snobbery.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Ghiredelli slumming it? I love making cocoa from scratch and using that. It costs five dollars. I suck... I really do... But it tastes SO MUCH BETTER THAN 2.50 cocoa! I buy 5 dollar tea maybe once a year. I won't buy cheap rice and I like to make stuff from scratch some of the time... Gah, I wish I had more expensive belgium dark chocolate with 50-60% cocoa because 70% is too bitter for me.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
quote:100% organic, wheat free, soy free, corn free, dairy free, egg free fruit tart
So...what WAS in it? o_O
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Fruit?
Posted by RRR (Member # 6601) on :
There are ways to make soup other than from a can?
[ October 22, 2004, 02:13 AM: Message edited by: RRR ]
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Yes. There are packets.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Packets. Mmm. Rice & curry packets from 7+. Mmmm. Good. Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
By all the definitions given in this thread....
I am the exact opposite of a food snob.
On the up side, this makes me very very easy to please when it comes to food. You put food in front of me, I'm grateful and I eat it. Doesn't matter if it was handmade or came from a can or box.
Luckily, my kids have had to learn to be this way as well for their survival.
Like last night - (it's about one or two days before payday, ya know) -- we had rice. That's all - just rice - for supper. But each of us could "dress it up" in their own way: butter, salt & pepper, ketchup, leftover spaghetti sauce, sprinkles of parmesean cheese, etc. And I didn't hear one complaint.
Farmgirl
Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
Farmgirl, I love you. That's all.
space opera
Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
I will never eat canned fruit when I can grow it myself. We put up peaches, pears, and applesauce. Mmmmmm!
I also like fine cheeses and olives.
And I eat organic whenever feasible.
Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
*was a terrible failure at making naan*
Most of the time I vote for convenience over snobbery, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate a hearty "from scratch" meal when we have the time, especially when I have just cleaned the kitchen. There's nothing like making a good meal in a clean kitchen.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Christy, I have a good recipe for naan. Of course, the directions that came with it sucked, but now that I've made it, that's easy enough for me to correct. The first two that came out of the oven were terrible - because I followed the directions. The next 14 were perfectly fine.
Are you willing to try again??????
Hmmm. I think I'll post it to my website. I'll post a link as soon as I've got that done.
Posted by MoonRabbit (Member # 3652) on :
quote: 100% organic, wheat free, soy free, corn free, dairy free, egg free fruit tart
So...what WAS in it? o_O
Crust: Ground up dates, fresh almond butter, molasses, hazelnuts, spelt flour (just enough to bind it) and spices. If I had had to make it nut free, I'd be screwed.
Filling: Fresh figs (from my tree), fresh cranberries (we get good, sweet ones here that you can eat out of hand, not those cardboardy bitter-tasting frozen atrocities), pears (from my tree) and a sweetened rice-starch glaze (nobody could tell it wasn't cornstarch based.)
Puree dates with nut butter and you can substitute it for real butter almost perfectly (texture-wise, not taste-wise).
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
quote: Crust: Ground up dates, fresh almond butter, molasses, hazelnuts, spelt flour (just enough to bind it) and spices. If I had had to make it nut free, I'd be screwed.
Filling: Fresh figs (from my tree), fresh cranberries (we get good, sweet ones here that you can eat out of hand, not those cardboardy bitter-tasting frozen atrocities), pears (from my tree) and a sweetened rice-starch glaze (nobody could tell it wasn't cornstarch based.)
Puree dates with nut butter and you can substitute it for real butter almost perfectly (texture-wise, not taste-wise).
Um, can we get like quantities and such? Some of the things you've got going here have me very curious . . .
Like the rice starch glaze. I'm allergic to wheat, corn, and oats, so that sounds like a possibility to me and likely adaptable into all sorts of uses.
Posted by MoonRabbit (Member # 3652) on :
You can use rice starch (look in an Asian food market, but read labels carefully because they will often adulterate it with wheat starch. Be sure to get rice starch, not rice flour) just like cornstarch, or you can use arrowroot, or even tapioca starch (the ground stuff, not minute tapioca or pearls). Arrowroot is probably the best choice if you have any type of digestive problems. It has the smallest starch grains and is easier to digest.
Make a syrup of about 1 1/2 cups raspberry juice (you can use any other fruit juice) and sugar (sweetened to taste; you can use maple syrup or honey or artificial sweeteners, if you want), heating it almost to boiling, then add about 3 tbsp rice starch or arrowroot starch to 1/4 cup of cold reserved juice. Whisk it together well to suspend the starch, then slowly pour the starch mixture into the hot syrup while whisking like crazy. When it's completely mixed in, turn up the heat until the syrup boils. Let it boil for 1 minute or until it turns clear, then allow to cool until it is cool enough to pour onto your tart without cooking the fruit.
You'll have to monkey around with the ingredients depending on what brands, etc. are available where you live and what kind of fruit juice you use. I haven't tried it with citrus, so I can't guarantee it will work for that.
Mmm... Ruby red grapefruit glaze... Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I used to make a milk-free, egg-free, wheat-free chocolate cake for a little girl I babysat for. She was horribly allergic. I adapted a "wartime" eggless milkless spice cake recipe, monkeyed around with the seasonings to get chocolate instead of spice, messed with the leavening until I got it a bit lighter, and substituted potato flour for wheat. Almost impossible to distinguish from a "real" rich chocolate cake when done right. The poor little girl would apparently bug her parents for days ahead of time when she knew I was coming over: "I'm gonna make cake with Anne! I'm gonna make cake with Anne!"
I will admit to turning up my nose at butter whose indgredients are not "Sweet cream" or "Sweet cream, salt." I only buy Hellman's mayonnaise (Best Foods when I'm in CA), or make my own; I've never bought tartar sauce or used a store-bought pie crust in my life. I make my own stocks-- it's incredibly easy if you save scraps and trimmings in a bag in the freezer, then when it won't hold anymore, throw it in the stock pot on the stove, cook and let sit for the appropriate length of time, then strain directly into two crockpots to reduce (combining halfway through). I make jam, sauces, etc. from fruits in season and can them. On the up side, my husband eats foods he won't when his mother cooks them "because I never liked them, but when you cook them, they're good". However, there are things I just can't stomach; rich cheeses, most Japanese food, and caviar all are on my "stay away" list. I won't touch rare meat with a ten-foot pole (mostly as a result of growing up with my germophobe healthcare-worker parents). Extra well done for me, please. Am I a food snob? I suppose real gourmands would say no, I eat too many "common" foods. I enjoy american cheese grilled on white bread with Campbell's tomato soup now and then. However, I have definite preferences, and I like to eat well. I won't eat what I don't like. So I suppose I am a snob to some extent. I will admit, though, that many of my home-made food products are made as much in the interest of saving money as the taste. If I worked full-time, I might sacrifice more of my preferences.
Do I fit the classic mold? No. Will I look at you incredulously if you offer me any food, ever, made with Velveeta or Miracle Whip? Of course. Judge for yourself.
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