# Are you a texture person?



## buckytom (Feb 22, 2012)

we all know about certain factors of eating food such as it's presentation (you eat with your eyes first) and the way the food tastes, of course, but is a food's texture equally important to you as the first two?

i ask this because recently i've had three occasions where the texture of the dish came into play.

last night, i picked up scungilli fra diavolo and spaghetti. the scungilli is normally served over the spaghetti, but i asked for them to be put in seperate containers with just a little sauce on the pasta. when i went to pick it up, the chef owner asked me why i always order it this way if he puts the same sauce on both. i explained that i prefer pasta that isn't swimming in sauce, and that's what you get when the scungilli is served over top. thinking about it later, i realized that it was as much about the texture of the properly sauced pasta as it is being able to taste it seperately.

the second time was eating chinese food. i discussed with the lady who runs my favourite chinese joint about how many americans put their chinese food on top of their rice. she noticed that i eat my rice on the side, and i often order a small rice to go with the noodle dish that i order a lot, and i explained that the starchy rice compliments or cuts through the richness of the stir fried noodles. again, it's as much about texture as taste.

finally, and this is an easy one, my son tried liver recently for the first time. i tricked him by saying it was a calf steak,. he initially liked the flavour, but spit it out when he noticed the softer, mushier texture of the liver. i guess you can only get so far with onions and bacon on top.

so my question to everyone is how important is texture to you in your food?

do you eat liver? what about sushi or other raw fish like oysters? do you glop very moist/saucy/oily food on top of your rice or pasta?

is texture an equal part of your dishes along with presentation and taste? how would you rank the three?


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## HistoricFoodie (Feb 22, 2012)

Absolutely. 

Mouthfeel is an integral part of how we percieve taste, so texture becomes at least as important as any other facet.


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## Andy M. (Feb 22, 2012)

I'd rank the three:  Taste, texture, ................................................presentation.

(That's a distant third)

Let me qualify that.  If it's a dish I'm familiar with, either because I make it or order it regularly, presentation is not so important as I already know and love the taste and texture.  If it's a new food to me, then presentation becomes less distant.

I think in most cases, texture is something you expect to be a certain way and may be put off if it isn't. e.g. Muscle meat generally has an expected texture.  Organ meat does too, but it's different from muscle meat (as your son discovered).

Of course, if it doesn't taste good, none of the rest matters.  Even if it tastes great, an unexpected texture can diminish your enjoyment.


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## TATTRAT (Feb 22, 2012)

The only 3, or foods, that I don't care for, are solely because of the texture. I have eaten some funky stuff that I haven't cared for the flavor, but then the texture doesn't matter I suppose, but things like Orange Juice with pulp, I love OJ, but can't stand it with the pulp in it. Mushrooms, I appreciate the umami factor, but just the whole textural experience I can't get past. 


Living in Hawaii, you learn a lot, really quick, about funky textures, and it is amazing to me how much Asian food involves that gelatinous/slimy/slippery qualities that many Americans are put off by.


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## GLC (Feb 22, 2012)

buckytom said:


> finally, and this is an easy one, my son tried liver recently for the first time. i tricked him by saying it was a calf steak,...



We used to tell my stepson, then six years old, that the entre wasn't the usual hated fish, but that it was "roughy shark." He wouldn't touch fish, but he happily bit a shark. He was nearly grown before he learned that there was shark, and there was orange roughy, and they did not interbreed. 



> so my question to everyone is how important is texture to you in your food?
> 
> do you eat liver? what about sushi or other raw fish like oysters? do you glop very moist/saucy/oily food on top of your rice or pasta?
> 
> is texture an equal part of your dishes along with presentation and taste? how would you rank the three?



Texture is somewhat important. But for me, it's secondary. I can't think of what texture I'd want or expect in a fresh oyster, other than than usual one. The texture is just part of the oyster. It's got a different texture when it's fried, and that's a part of the whole experience of a fried oyster in the same way. I do eat liver. It's a favorite. I stick to calves' liver and broil it after marinating in soy sauce. I think of the texture as close to a firm pate'. Which I suppose is why liver pate's are more common than other sorts. I don't perceive any texture problem at all with sushi. I can't see why it would be a problem. I think poor perceptions of sushi are purely problems with thinking about raw fish. 

I generally keep rice and pasta largely separated from the major accompaniment, although being together in a bowl or plate is no problem. Part of that is appearance. Part is being able to take up and taste the components  with them retaining much of their individual character. And I find that most combinations look better separate but one atop the other, rather than in separate spaces on a plate. 

Texture matters, but I don't often consider texture consciously. It's just one quality of something, and that something is selected or used because of its whole character. But I'd say that taste can get by when texture or presentation is lacking. But no presentation and no texture can save bad tasting food.


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## CharlieD (Feb 22, 2012)

Texture is incredibly important for me. I will not eat even my all time fqavorite foods if texture just a little bit of. For example: it is very evident with noodles or rice when you either undercook or overcook either one of those. It is not as bad with meat, unless it is completelly messed up. One of my daughters like carrots in soup, but only if the were graded, if I chop them by hand, and believe I do chop finly, she will not touch them. Texture is incrdibly important. More so then looks and sometimes even the taste.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 22, 2012)

buckytom said:


> so my question to everyone is how important is texture to you in your food?
> 
> do you eat liver? what about sushi or other raw fish like oysters? do  you glop very moist/saucy/oily food on top of your rice or pasta?
> 
> is texture an equal part of your dishes along with presentation and taste? how would you rank the three?



1. Important. Without texture we might as well run everything through a  food processor and end up with baby food. Different taste, different  color, identical uniform texture.

2. Liver, yes. I love sushi and sashimi, not much interested in oysters.

I serve my rice on the side. I never put food on top of the rice. I eat  Asian food with chopsticks. I like chopsticks because they facilitate  picking up different bits of food with each bite instead of shoveling in  a big amorphous mass for each bite. The mix of which bits I put in a bite constantly changes from bite to bite, changing taste and texture. Sometimes I pick up some  meat/vegetables with my chopsticks and put it in my mouth and then pick  up and add some rice to my mouth before chewing. I usually eat very  little rice with my Asian food and IMO that's a good thing because I'd  rather not eat huge amounts of starch.

It's funny I hear that Asians eat lots of rice and the meat is almost a  seasoning for the rice. I have that upside down, eating mostly meat and  little rice. Oh well, I'm not much for traditionalism anyway.

3. Taste, aroma, texture and color equal importance. Presentation  somewhat important but not as important as getting the others right.


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## dcgator (Feb 22, 2012)

Excellent question. I've wondered this myself sometimes.

For me it is critical. I have lost part of my sense of smell so I rely a lot on texture and presentation. Think of pasta being al dente or being mushy. The difference is evident. I have been spoiled now and tend to return pasta that isn't cooked al dente as I've requested.

The softer mushy kind of food I usually think of are desserts (creme burlee, mousse, souffles etc...) and there usually I am not to fond of the softer rather the bit more texture filled and complex (usually with fruits added).

I am not too fond of organ food and or chinese food. But will have it every now and then just to add variety. 

I recall being in Hong KOng once and being a visitor at a special event and we were in a rotating table given pigeon, snake, cat, dog, and monkey brain.  All prepared very mushy... I just about passed out. I was begging for Dominos pizza after 10 minutes of this ... Oy


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## Janet H (Feb 22, 2012)

Yup - texture matters.  I always want some crunch with my meal - somewhere. A raw veg, crusty bread or similar and I also have a short list of texture violators - stuff I like the flavor of but can't quite get past the mouth feel.

Puddings with tapioca and/or rice are at the very top of this list followed closely by slightly undercooked custards.  You know the kind; set but not firm.  

No thanks.


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## Barbara L (Feb 22, 2012)

Texture is definitely important to me. I can't think of any foods I won't eat just because of the texture though. The main thing for me is that it has the texture it is supposed to have. For instance, I don't want a mushy apple, but I also don't want a crunchy peach. If a food is supposed to be soft, I want it soft, if it is supposed to be smooth and runny (like gravy), I want it smooth and runny, if it is supposed to be crisp and crunchy (carrots, etc.), I want it crisp and crunchy. 

The "right" texture is subjective of course. For instance, some only like their cooked vegetables if they have some crunch to them, while others like them to be cooked until they are completely soft.


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## CraigC (Feb 22, 2012)

I think that texture may be taken for granted more often than not. You don't realize how much it really matters until you take a bite of cannoli with a soggy shell, shrimp that has been added to gumbo/jambalaya 25 minutes before it is served, flan that has been over cooked and on and on. Even if taste is there, the food is just not enjoyable.


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## FrankZ (Feb 22, 2012)

Olives..

I like the oil.  I usually like the flavor they add to a dish, but I won't eat em.  The texture is all wrong for my teeth.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 22, 2012)

I forgot to mention that many Asian stir fry recipes include a variety of textures in a single dish. Kung Pao for example, the dried chili pods, crispy water chestnuts, crunchy peanuts (if they're done right, toasted), plus whatever chicken, pork, shrimp, beef, etc. as the main ingredient. This is particularly more noticeable when you use chopsticks and select individual items to bite, or mix various combinations of two or more.


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## spork (Feb 22, 2012)

I'd rank its importance higher than smell.  If you list a person's food  likes/dislikes, many of those dishes/ingredients can be grouped by textural  similarity.


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## Claire (Feb 22, 2012)

I haven't read the rest of this line, which I will eventually.  But since it is an opinion, yes, I think texture is very important, even to people who think it isn't.   For example, the many forms of pasta that are made with the same ingredients.  I happen to like mine fine and small (in other words, angel hair beats thick spaghetti; a small elbow macaroni beats a huge stuffed shell).  That's just me.  I don't hate the others, just not my favorites.  I've actually tried, really tried, to like raw oysters and clams (I come from a New England family who think they're great), but will eat raw tuna and some others in a heartbeat and enjoy it.  

This is all about texture.


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## Claire (Feb 22, 2012)

spork said:


> I'd rank its importance higher than smell.  If you list a person's food  likes/dislikes, many of those dishes/ingredients can be grouped by textural  similarity.



My sense of smell goes "off" periodically.  Went really haywire a few years ago.  I lost 40 lbs.  Don't get me wrong, I needed to lose it.  But it was a very, very unpleasant experience.  Smell ranks, for me, higher, much higher, than taste and texture.  Been there.  Easy to say that smell isn't that important, until every single thing you cook smells like crap. You don't want to cook, you don't want to eat.


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## Barbara L (Feb 22, 2012)

Claire said:


> My sense of smell goes "off" periodically.  Went really haywire a few years ago.  I lost 40 lbs.  Don't get me wrong, I needed to lose it.  But it was a very, very unpleasant experience.  Smell ranks, for me, higher, much higher, than taste and texture.  Been there.  Easy to say that smell isn't that important, until every single thing you cook smells like crap. You don't want to cook, you don't want to eat.


This is true for me too (although not as much as taste), and it was particularly true for me when I was pregnant. I had to stop eating one store's brand of ground beef because I couldn't stand the smell of it cooking when I was pregnant.


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## HistoricFoodie (Feb 22, 2012)

+1 on the importance of smell, Claire. It's impossible to actually taste food if your sense of smell is shot. When it comes to discerning flavors, your tastebuds and nose may as well be one organ. 

Spork, while you raise a pretty good point, I think you overstate it. That grouping will take place because people identify their food biases through site, primarily. The question is, in a blind taste test, would they still reject those foods on the basis of texture? Obviously, without performing such a test, there's no way of telling. 

But here's an indicator. Friend Wife insists that she doesn't like eggs. Can't abide them. As it turns out, however, what she dislikes are eggs that look like eggs. Mixed into other dishes, even raw, as in a Ceasar dressing, she'll eat them just fine.

If I were to blindfold her, and have her taste, say, some scrambled eggs, would she reject them? I suggest not.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 22, 2012)

My understanding of taste and smell is that you can only taste bitter, salty, sweet and sour (and some say a fifth _umami_ taste), and I understand (perhaps incorrectly) that all the variations of taste we perceive in food are due to our sense of smell being combined with taste. If that is true then it's easy to understand why disturbances or loss of sense of smell can so profoundly affect the taste of food.


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## spork (Feb 22, 2012)

I concede to Claire & Brook.  Smell is more important.  
I've actually witnessed a blind smell test of sorts.  A person who doesn't like onions was blindfolded.  She ate a raw onion while a vial of pungent chemicals duplicating the smell of apples was positioned under her nose.  Not only did she enjoy the bite, she swore she ate an apple!  I guess smell is so complex and unconscious that we, I, do take it for granted.  Something either smells good or not.


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## Merlot (Feb 22, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> My understanding of taste and smell is that you can only taste bitter, salty, sweet and sour (and some say a fifth _umami_ taste), and I understand (perhaps incorrectly) that all the variations of taste we perceive in food are due to our sense of smell being combined with taste. If that is true then it's easy to understand why disturbances or loss of sense of smell can so profoundly affect the taste of food.


 
This is true Greg and the umami taste is associated with msg.


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## Merlot (Feb 22, 2012)

I have issues with the texture of celery, especially cooked.  I also prefer not eat thick spaghetti noodles because of the texture.


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## buckytom (Feb 22, 2012)

for me, smell is part of taste. as mentioned, no sense of smell and your tasting ability is way off or dead completely. i cann't seperate smell vs. taste, but i can with texture and presentation vs. taste/smell.


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## 4meandthem (Feb 22, 2012)

I don't like the texture of cartilage. It pops up intentionaly in asian dishes mostly.

I am not too picky about any food or dish needing to cooked to a certain texture.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 22, 2012)

Merlot said:


> This is true Greg and the umami taste is associated with msg.



Again, I'm no expert in this field. I read stuff, I partly understand it, then later I forget more of it... And then maybe sometimes can't explain it well or I explain it wrong... (Plenty of disclaimers here.)

AFAIK the umami taste is associated with tasting glutamates, for example found in Asian fish sauce. MSG (monosodium glutamate) is just one of many glutamates, and is often associated in some people with headache symptoms. And of course it contains sodium which some people want to or need to limit intake. From what I understand MSG is a heavy dose of glutamates, but that other foods without MSG can have glutamates too.

From what I read it is not clear but possibly some people are able to taste umami while others are not. I understand this whole concept has some controversy associated with it.


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## jennyema (Feb 22, 2012)

Yes!  Texture matters.

We eat a lot of Korean food and some of the gummy textures actually repel me.


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## Aunt Bea (Feb 22, 2012)

The only time I have a problem with texture is soggy bread.

The worst item that comes to mind is milk toast!

Also soggy pizza, panzanella, zuppa di pan cotto, french onion soup, etc....

You can put me on stale bread and water just don't mix them please!


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## DampCharcoal (Feb 22, 2012)

jennyema said:


> Yes! Texture matters.
> 
> We eat a lot of Korean food and some of the gummy textures actually repel me.


 
I think that's a Western thing. I had a Japanese kelp salad once that had a great flavor but it was like chewing on thin rubber bands. 

I've also heard that some Russian cuisines involve a lot of jellied meats, which I'll respectfully pass on.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 22, 2012)

When you think about presentation think about the ultimate lack of  presentation: fast food franchises where the sole presentation is to  wrap food in corporate logo disposable wrappers, and maybe slap a  sticker with "no pickles" or otherwise non-standard requests.

Of course their mission puts presentation at the bottom of the list.  Their environment is not compatible with presentation. Yet I wonder if  some of these fast food franchises' food would taste better if served in  a different setting, and with good presentation, particularly when they  advertise their $8 or $10 burger for substantially less (bragging that  it's as good as an expensive burger from a fancier place) but in fact  environment and presentation are part of enjoying dining.

I'm not sure if the word "dining" is appropriate to these fast food franchises, except technically.

So think of that when you think of presentation. There is such a thing as "no presentation."


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## PattY1 (Feb 22, 2012)

*Are you a texture person?

Yes, I can't stand Shell Fish and Chick Peas are two things come to mind right away. I am sure there are a few more that don't come to mind as readily. 
*


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## Addie (Feb 22, 2012)

Claire said:


> I haven't read the rest of this line, which I will eventually. But since it is an opinion, yes, I think texture is very important, even to people who think it isn't. For example, the many forms of pasta that are made with the same ingredients. I happen to like mine fine and small (in other words, angel hair beats thick spaghetti; a small elbow macaroni beats a huge stuffed shell). That's just me. I don't hate the others, just not my favorites. I've actually tried, really tried, to like raw oysters and clams (I come from a New England family who think they're great), but will eat raw tuna and some others in a heartbeat and enjoy it.
> 
> This is all about texture.


 
And I will eat raw clams and oysters but not raw fish. Scallops, crab and lobsters have to be cooked though.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 22, 2012)

Texture always was important to me, no over cooked rice and pasta, oatmeal, al dente please.  Then I lost all my teeth...there are things I love but can no longer eat, I've had to relearn to cook pasta just past al dente.  It's terrible not being able to eat some things because I cannot get past the texture of what I can chew.  Shrek will not wear his teeth, he needs most things pureed.


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## Dawgluver (Feb 22, 2012)

That sucks, PF.

Bananas gross me out.  I like the flavor, not the texture, though I can eat them mixed in stuff.  I love raw oysters, which have a similar texture.  Never could stand macaroni noodles.  I prefer angel hair pasta to anything thicker.


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## Barbara L (Feb 22, 2012)

I guess I'm the "odd man out" when it comes to spaghetti! I prefer the regular thickness. Somehow the flavor changes when angel hair pasta or thin spaghetti is used.


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## Addie (Feb 22, 2012)

When I lived in Texas, someone served me boiled okra. When I picked up that first piece and saw the 'snot' running from it, I barfed right there at the table before I could even cover my mouth or get up and run. Yet a couple of years later, someone offered me a small piece fried. I likened it to fried zucchini. Another veggie I can live without. No matter what the texture is. 

I can no longer digest raw crispy veggies. And I miss them. Everything I eat has to be cooked at least to the point that if I can break them down with just my gums, then I can eat it. If I am out in a restaurant and have my teeth in, then I can tolerate a bit more texture than I usually have at home. But I do miss real texture in my food. Cooked celery turns me off completely, but I will add big chunks in stews so that I can pick it out later. I love the flavor of celery. I love OJ juice with extra pulp. To me it is like eating a juicy orange. I also found out that it is the pulp that keeps the OJ from doing its job faster when I need it for a sugar crash. Plain OJ is the order of the day. Therefor, I keep a small pint on hand at all times.

I love liver. I think it is the texture along with the taste that I love. Have eaten it since childhood. Also love liverwurst. I like my rice plain cooked with a small amount of soup base for flavor. It must have some bite. Pasta cooked just a smidgen beyond al dente is fine for me. But don't smother it in sauce. No wonder Italian grandmothers love me. I love a bite of hard cheese, but not grated. No wonder Italian grandmothers hate me. 

I like my beef cooked rare, but my pork products cooked slowly til well done. And I want gravy on it. But not my beef. I like my fish cooked til just done, but no rawness should be in it. 

As a child, my idea of the perfect meal was to go to the garden and pick veggies and eat them right there and on to the next one. Around three o;clock each day this would happen. Of course that ruined my supper. I was already full. (So how come I ended up with rickets?) I think I enjoyed the texture more than the taste.

I want my veggies cooked enough so that I can at least stick my fork into it. I want color on my plate. Serve my gravy on the side. I will make the decision on where I want it. Don't make my plate so fancy, that I don't want to spoil the picture. Make it pretty enough so it will look appetizing and I will want to eat it. 

Don't cook my fruit pies till the filling is mush. Let me identify the fruit. And please have some color on the crust. Just give me diner food and I will be happy.


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## Alix (Feb 22, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> I'd rank the three:  Taste, texture, ................................................presentation.
> 
> (That's a distant third)
> 
> ...



+1 

I wish I could have said it so well, but this is exactly how I feel. 

Oh and Dawgluver, bananas ick me out too. I keep trying, but not succeeding with them.


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## bakechef (Feb 22, 2012)

Texture is a big deal for me.

I hate anything mushy or slimy.  When I met my partner he liked all his vegetables cooked to mush, I have retrained him to like them with a little bite to them.  His mother cooks everything to death.

I don't like the taste or texture of fish.  I don't like "chunky" tomato sauce, the mushy tomatoes are a turn off, if I am served chunky sauce, I will often mush up the chunks with my fork, and then I'm OK.  I make my tomato sauce with crushed tomatoes.  My mom would sometimes buy strawberry preserves, and the whole mushy slimy strawberries in the jar would gross me out, so I would take some out and mush them up before spreading on my toast so it looked more like jam.

I don't mind the taste of mushrooms, but dislike the texture.  I don't care for okra, zucchini, summer squash etc..  I don't care for cooked celery, but like the flavor, so like Addie, when making soup I'll put in big chunks to take out later.


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## Addie (Feb 22, 2012)

Alix said:


> +1
> 
> I wish I could have said it so well, but this is exactly how I feel.
> 
> Oh and Dawgluver, bananas ick me out too. I keep trying, but not succeeding with them.


 

I love bananas. Eat one every day. It and a chunk of cheese are the only foods that keep my GI problems under control. Plus I need the potassium.


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## Alix (Feb 22, 2012)

Bananas keep your BP lower too. I just can't do it. I keep trying but they are not on my list of fave foods.


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## Addie (Feb 22, 2012)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Texture always was important to me, no over cooked rice and pasta, oatmeal, al dente please. Then I lost all my teeth...there are things I love but can no longer eat, I've had to relearn to cook pasta just past al dente. It's terrible not being able to eat some things because I cannot get past the texture of what I can chew. Shrek will not wear his teeth, he needs most things pureed.


 
I only wear my teeth when I go out. I don't have a lower plate. My mouth is too small. I simply cannot close my mouth completely when I tried to put in a small plate without the teeth. I have a child size mouth. (Do I hear dissention?) I asked my dentist to put that in writing for me. but my dentist ook a pic of my teeth before removing them. He then made my plate to look exactly like my own teeth did. Even with the two front ones slightly turning in. A lot of folks do not realize that they are not my natural teeth.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 22, 2012)

I fooled the doctor yesterday, she even looked in my mouth and did not notice I had dentures.  Surprised her when I told I think they are the culprit for my sudden problems with choking.


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## Addie (Feb 23, 2012)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I fooled the doctor yesterday, she even looked in my mouth and did not notice I had dentures. Surprised her when I told I think they are the culprit for my sudden problems with choking.


 
My soft palate comes to the front part of the roof of my mouth. My hard palate is small. My dentist felt that to keep the teeth in I needed to get used to them and I would stop gagging and heaving. So I took matters in my own hands. I took an emery board and filed my plate back to where I would no longer gag. It just meets the very edge of my hard palate. It worked. I do have to use a powder to hold them in, but now I forget I have them in and have even gone to bed with them in.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 23, 2012)

Yeah, we had to get Shrek's modified so he wouldn't gag...mine look like home plate...


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## taxlady (Feb 23, 2012)

I have a friend who doesn't eat water chestnuts or crunchy celery. She can't stand the texture, but she does eat cooked celery.

I like my vegis to have some texture - please don't cook them to mush. It's not that big a deal, but still...

I can't abide the texture of overcooked liver. It's like there's powder in it. Well, it doesn't really matter, the flavour is yucky when it's overcooked, but the texture part is awful. Same with peas. Both the texture and flavour are yuck when overcooked and I won't eat them.

Soft white bread - ew, as well as the texture of white saltines when you chew them and they turn to a sticky paste.

And slimy globs in that soft drink with the floating things, can't stand that either, so I'm thinking I would have an issue with bubble tea.


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## Claire (Feb 23, 2012)

My sense of smell has gone off again in the past few weeks.  Not as badly as it has before.  But I've been wanting to throw food out, but asking hubby if it was bad.  Nope.  The most recent is that I bought some donut "holes".  I was looking forward to them, and when I tasted one, enough. Almost threw them away, but hubby said they were just fine.  

I think the worst moment was when I was making negi maki.  I'd spent hours pounding the beef to get it thin and tender, julienning (good lord, is that a word?) the vegetables, and had heated some oil in a skillet and was going to cook them.  I'd placed the first pan full and was just starting when hubby entered the kitchen.  "Holy moly" (not his words!!), what in the heck (again, not his word) is that stink!  

In fact, the oil I used had gone rancid.  I mean seriously rancid.  I thought it stunk, but, in fact, it was the year of Claire thinking everything stank.  We actually managed to rescue the negi maki that I'd put in the oil, wiped them with paper towels, dumped the rancid oil, bought new, and started again.  They were very yummy and everyone loved them.  But my husband realized how off my smeller had become.


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## Somebunny (Feb 23, 2012)

Texture is important to me, but very few foods have a texture that I can't tolerate. Slimy things like raw oysters come to mind, I like them pan fried just fine though.  Rubbery foods have no appeal to me, like over cooked seafood.
And.....yes I do like liver, with lots of onions and BACON!   Mentioning onions just made me think that some people might not like the texture of cooked onion, it can be kind of slimy at times.  That kind of sliminess doesn't bother me, I wonder if taste trumps texture?  Maybe...for some of us!


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## Lisa Mac (Feb 23, 2012)

I also dislike slimy, especially undercooked egg white. Yolk must be well cooked as well. Vegetables should be crunchy not soft. I don't have a problem with mashed potatoes but my son does and he won't eat them at all. I tend to make crushed potatoes mostly and put in some chopped spring onions towards the end to give them a bit of texture. 

I tend to cook liver to death  so that it has a rubbery rather than a mushy texture. (ok, so I'm the only one who eats it and I like it that way)

L


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 23, 2012)

Shrek and I love liver...but only cooked by me.  Imagine his surprise 31 years ago when he found someone who cooked it right for him.  Hey, maybe that's why he married me...


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## Andy M. (Feb 23, 2012)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek and I love liver...but only cooked by me.  Imagine his surprise 31 years ago when he found someone who cooked it right for him.  Hey, maybe that's why he married me...




...he fell in love with your liver???


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 23, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> ...he fell in love with your liver???



I know...weird, huh?  He's totally nuts!


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 23, 2012)

Texture and flavor are the only miportant qulifiers in something like chocolate.  And textures can be subtle.  For instance, okra is something I can't handle.  It reminds me of mucous.  But the gelatin around a cold chunk of meat doesn't bother me at all.  In fact, I like to find it.  Mashed potatoes can suck your mouth dry, if the texture is wrong, as can breads, cakes, etc.  But too much oil in the product can ruin them as well.

Texture is very important to me.  Is my steak too tough, or mushy (too tender)?  Both ruin a good tasting piece of meat.

But, I believe that texture plays more of a role as a learned trait.  We expect foods to have a certain texture.  Small kids eat snot with abandon (I know, gross), and yet it can one them ill when it's seen through the eyes of an older child or adult.  But then again, some people love oysters on the half shell.  It's accepted in that case.  

I think we train ourselves to expect certain textures in our food.  When I was seven years old, I probably wouldn't have appreciated the silky, smooth texture of good chocolate.  It just had to be sweet, and chocoaltey in flavor.

That's my take on it anyway.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## DMerry (Feb 23, 2012)

Texture is really important to me.  I don't eat liver, tongue or raw oysters because of the texture.  Here in Leon, there's a lot of chicarron which is pig skin.  They boil small squares of it in a soup or other dishes, and I won't touch it because my stomach doesn't allow me to do that, it'll return the stuff every time.


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## spork (Feb 23, 2012)

People's physical stomachs might also have a preference for certain textures.  Except for the most toxic of compounds, the lining of the stomach is quite tolerant of 'tastes.'  But its pressure sensors are necessarily well tuned for survival and discerning good/bad state for sustenance.  I hypothesize therefore that, for example, slimy foods are an issue of 'stomach feel' as much as 'mouth feel.'  It might hold true of an infant's, or a stomach made more sensitive with age.  (I'm willing to be ridiculous.)


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## Margi Cintrano (Feb 23, 2012)

*@ Bucky: Definitely, visual,taste, texture, after taste*

Definitely quintessential ... 

Afterall, mushy French Fried Potatoes, hard bread, meat as hard as nails etcetra ... are truly unpleasant ... Afterall, I believe we all enjoy our fried potatoes crisp on the exterior and golden brown with a tender, not mushy interior ... 

After taste is important too --- not only in wine ... How the dish combines with other ingredients, can be quite relevant when digesting --- if it does not go down nice, an after taste of un-desirable shall be a visitor.

Margi.


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## Addie (Feb 25, 2012)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I know...weird, huh? He's totally nuts!


 
You walked right into that one!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 25, 2012)

Addie said:


> You walked right into that one!



He told me today that he loves me for my bright and shining personality and back scratching ability.


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## Kathleen (Feb 25, 2012)

Textures are more important to me than taste.  I love the flavor of ham but there are many times that I cannot tolerate the texture of ham.  Uncooked egg whites will put me off an egg dish.  I also have a huge amount of weird rules about food combinations that are really about texture, not flavor.


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## Addie (Feb 25, 2012)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> He told me today that he loves me for my bright and shining personality and back scratching ability.


 
What does he know. He is an Orge!


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## TATTRAT (Feb 26, 2012)

I forgot one that at first was a HUGE turn off, but I actually really like now, the pearls in Bubble Tea. I have found I can handle the larger ones far better than the smaller. Had a  tarot rot bubble tea with lunch today, and this thread popped in my head.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 26, 2012)

TATTRAT said:


> I forgot one that at first was a HUGE turn off, but I actually really like now, the pearls in Bubble Tea. I have found I can handle the larger ones far better than the smaller. Had a  tarot rot bubble tea with lunch today, and this thread popped in my head.



Rotted Tarro Root made into bubble tea; hmmmm, think I'll pass on that one.  Gotta watch those typos with this crowd. I make them and get nailed all the time.

Just curious; as a child, did you run around in the woods with other boys, playing army and using a stick as a tommy gun, going rat-a-tat-a-a-tat-a-rat, and remembering those childhood days, come up with Tattrat?  Probably not.  But how people come up with their avatar names is interesting.  I'll have to start a thread with that question.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Addie (Feb 26, 2012)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Rotted Tarro Root made into bubble tea; hmmmm, think I'll pass on that one. Gotta watch those typos with this crowd. I make them and get nailed all the time.
> 
> Just curious; as a child, did you run around in the woods with other boys, playing army and using a stick as a tommy gun, going rat-a-tat-a-a-tat-a-rat, and remembering those childhood days, come up with Tattrat? Probably not. But how people come up with their avatar names is interesting. I'll have to start a thread with that question.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


 
I think it is obvious about mine. But someone responded to a post of mine using my full name. I never put my full name on the net. Nor that of my family. Too many wackos out there. I also shut down my computer for 60 seconds after I have been doing financial matters or bill paying. That breaks the connection for any hackers that are phishing.


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