For those reluctant to eat rare steak, escargots, etc.

I just read this article in the Wall Street Journal (todays edition) and found it interesting especially with all the talk in this forum about picky eating, fear of trying new things etc. I would provide you a link to the article (if I were web saavy) but even if I could I think the WSJ only gives acces to its web-site to subscribers. Anyway I will try to give you some of the story without transcribing the entire article.

FEAR OF FOOD THE NEW SCIENCE OF PICKY EATING (accomanied by a cartoon of an adult sitting in a high chair)

Three months ago, during a trip to Las Vegas, CJ Hoyt feared what he might face at the tables - the restaurant tables. Mr Hoyt is a seriously picky eater who cringes if friends order rare meat, and fears the sight of mayonnaise. So he stuck to the few foods he likes: well cooked steak, baked potato and a lobster tail.

His fussiness makes him feel a bit unsophisticated, says the 29 yr old news director of a T.V Station. Another liability: %26quot;I can%26#39;t tell you how many girlfriends have told me they%26#39;re going to get me to eat sushi. They%26#39;re crazy%26quot;

In an age of the Food network, gourmet websites, fusion cuisine and fear stories about obesity and fast food, a meat and potatoes palate is the 2006 equivalent of wearing a crew cut during the hippie era. Even kids are asked to develop their palates at a tender age.:Chefs are being hired to cook for fifth graders in private schools, and in Berkley CA Chef Alcie Waters%26#39;s Chez Panisse Foundation recently helped introduce hot dogs made with grass fed beef and organic salad bars in local public schools.

Scientists are making headway in understanding finicky people. Scientists have long theorized that picky eating might be an evolutionary adaptation that kept children from snacking on poisonous leaves and berries. Half of all parents described their toddlers as picky. But the studies showed that parents stop offering new foods after only three to five tries, while it can take 10 or more tries before a child accepts something new.

While most people eventually develop a broader food reperotire, some do not. The Senses Center conducted a study of 50 extremely picky adults, including people who said they eat 10 or fewer foods. One woman said she%26#39;d eaten nothing but one brand of macaroni and cheese for years. Researchers learned that these people tend to be more horrified by textures than by flavors.

ALthough being extremely choosy can be a social burden, most therapists who treat these eaters say they have few adult patients. These eaters find certain foods so gross that they don%26#39;t want to learn how to eat them.

An industry has popped up aimed at teaching kids and adults how not to be picky. Randy Cale a child psychologist sells a 49$ CD titled %26quot;Cure the picky eater!%26quot;

Consultants to executives doing business overseas are instructing clients on how to deal with mystery meats and other culinary surprises. This can be a mine-field for the conservative eater. William Hall a consultant to China, says he has dined on donkey skin and duck tongues. He suggests that uneasy clients %26quot;just kind of nibble a little bit%26quot; Roger Cohen who does business in Asia, recommomends that picky people take a lot of rice, puch food around their plates and refrain from asking what it is. One time he could not resist, %26quot;some kind of meat, some kind of animal%26quot; he was told. He says he smiled and helped himself to more rice.

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petiza

I suggest that anyone with a fear of new foods should avoid jobs/careers which will involve travel and client entertainment. The problem is that unwillingness to try the local cuisine whether overseas or not, is often interpreted at worst as arrogance (as in your food isn%26#39;t good enough for me) and at best as rudness (how dare you decide what I should eat).

When I was in marketing and working on the road, I was entertained by a client of North African descent. As the honored guest, I was offered the eyeballs of the lamb that had been especially prepared for the evening.

Eyeballs are not my favourite, but I was raised to be polite - I stuffed one down, and presented the other to the eldest lady at the table who received it with great enthusiasm.

Sometimes good manners dictate the acceptance of %26quot;new%26quot; foods. If you can%26#39;t bite the bullet, avoid situations where it might be necessary.

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I have a friend that will not eat anything but white bread, chicken, ham and cheese sandwiches, shredded mozzerella or cheddar cheese, certain kinds of candy.... I think that%26#39;s it. He%26#39;s never had most fruits, or beef, and will literally not put anything in his mouth that he hasn%26#39;t had before. He gets irritated when we go somewhere where he can%26#39;t get chicken strips. He%26#39;s 21.

Moral of the story? Don%26#39;t indulge your kids when they day they won%26#39;t try something.

I used to be like that, too. But I%26#39;m better now... I can%26#39;t wait to try escargot!

I might skip the brains and entrails and tongues, though... :)