Irrelevant Preferences [NOT 17/5/22]

17/5/22 brightersideoflife 18
The Dude drinks a white Russian
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Hi, friends!

Topic of the night is do you have any preferences that are truly irrelevant yet super important to you? LIke not something where product A is fine and product B gives you hives, more like both are common yet you can’t fucking stand one of them.

I feel like these typically come from childhood – either “that’s what I had and that’s what it should be” or “jesus fuck I hated that and I never want it again.”

For example, I bought 1% milk the other day based solely on the expiration date. 2% is my preference, it’s what I grew up with. But the half gallons of 2% at the store had an expiration date of 5/21, the 1% had an expiration date of 5/26. I don’t want to waste milk, so I was like eh can’t be that different. Aaaannddd I had cereal for dinner and yep, totally is that different. Ugh it’s fine, but also eww it’s not how milk is supposed to taste.

One of the stupidest things to me is how canned green beans there’s the french style cut and the standard cut. My father was convinced the french style would taste different and that was ALL we would ever have when I was a kid. I ate so many canned french style green beans. I fucking hate the french style because they’re easy to go mushy and harder to get on the damn fork. I will not eat them ever again if possible.

Or like – what’s your default cracker? Ritz or Club? I suspect most people in the US fall into one of those two cracker categories, probably based on what they had as kids.

Is it cheezy Velveeta and shells, or blue box powdered mac and cheese (“kraft dinner” for our Canadian friends)?

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18 Comments

  1. When it comes to foods, spending many adult years either on food stamps or standing in line at pantries broke me of all those preferences I had as a kid.
    However as an adult I love 5 speed cars and fucking hate automatics.

  2. Canned green beans, no matter the cut, are an abomination to me. I had them every single weekend thanks to my divorced dad for about 5 years straight, and I still cannot eat them. They have this awful smell and sometimes a bit of a metallic or “off” taste.

    Fresh green beans, sautéed in oil or butter? Wonderful.

    • I think canned vegetables are great for the convenience and stability factor. Plus cost. For many folks, it’s the best option they have readily available.

      That being said, canned green beans are no where near as good as fresh or frozen.

    • I struggle with a lot of canned veggies, but it’s funny because French cut green beans are one of the few I’m ok with. I grew up with the classic green bean casserole and honestly I still love it.

  3. I don’t think 1% milk even counts as milk. It’s basically cloudy white water. Given the choice at breakfast I rather drink water and eat my cereal dry. I love milk and have been extra happy that I have to serve my kids 3.25% milk. That stuff is delicious.

    For me, nothing compares to Kraft Dinner. I begrudgingly eat a lot of Annie’s boxed Mac and cheese because it’s “organic” and that makes me feel better about serving it to my kids every week. If I were just feeding myself, it would be Kraft Dinner….mmm now I want Kraft Dinner.

    While I can’t think of any brand that I absolutely must have over the others. I do find myself being brand loyal out of laziness and comfort of knowing what to expect. For example canned tuna. The brands are different here (than in Canada) and I tried two of six that are sold at my store. The second one was good enough for me to not try the rest.

    • But see I have friends who grew up on skim milk and anything else is disgusting to them!

      I get some fancy brand canned tuna from Costco. I forget the name, but each fish is tested for mercury levels and I think it’s line caught. But this honestly is only feasible because I live alone and don’t go through that much canned fish. If I had a family and tuna salad was a regular thing, oof oh ouchie my wallet.

    • I find it funny that so many of you are disgusted by 1%, because I grew up with 1%. Back in the days when I drank real milk, or at least put it on cereal, I would only do 1% or skim. Whole milk just felt gross with how thick it was and how it would coat your mouth. But I switched to plant milks a long time ago (back when the only choice was soy) and haven’t looked back. Though these days I also get whole milk from the farm down the street for Lil.

  4. I’m into most mac and cheese but I cannot do velveeta. Totally grosses me out.

    Are Ritz and Club competitors? Would anyone pick Club? They’re fine, but Ritz are buttery and good as a snack all on their own.

    I have lots of strong opinions on fake meat brands, but I don’t know if any of those will mean much to people here. Some brands are straight up disgusting. And I have no desire to eat Impossible or Beyond products, because tasting like real meat is not a selling point for me.

    • Fake meat stuff confuses me too much with what the purpose is.

      I love a lot of vegetarian and vegan meals, and they aren’t trying to trick you into thinking you’re eating meat. It’s just delicious on its own.

      Although I do see the appeal if like it’s trying to get a kid to eat something like a chicken nugget because that’s what they eat at school and what their friends eat and what they see on tv, etc.

      • Impossible Burger is pretty much like cheap ground beef. Especially for chili and spaghetti sauce it’s fine.

        Crinkle cut fries are way below regular for me for some reason, though.

      • There can be a lot of purposes to a lot of different people. Some people want a close imitation because they like and miss meat – those people seem to like Impossible/Beyond. Some of us like and miss particular meals that included meat, so we need something to substitute. For example, tacos, bolognese sauce, etc. Sometimes lentils or beans work as a substitute for ground beef, but the soy crumbles do a better job.

        And nuggets are just fun. Who doesn’t like nuggets and dipping sauces?

  7. no strong opinion on foody stuffs here…..im pretty much an omnivore

    now socks tho…

    i have lots of pairs with the same pattern in different colours

    and my feet must never match in colour as they match in pattern

    today is a purple and green day

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