A good way to start out in a support group is to know who you’re supporting. So, I figured that it would be a good idea to have an area where we can introduce ourselves, describe our symptoms and difficulties in life as a result of HSTBS.
I’m Scott, founder of the HSTBS Support Blog. Neil (your co-admin on this blog) sparked the idea in his blog post that has been getting a lot of attention as of late. I figured since we are probably scattered all across the fruited plain and beyond, it might be easier to start out online and we can grow from there.
I’ve always been labeled as “picky.” Even after citing the evidence to my parents, they still don’t buy it. I’m probably more of a medium taster (maybe even a high-medium) than a supertaster. I can’t stand cooked spinanch (though raw in a ranch dressing-coated salad is OK). Broccoli is not my thing unless cooked and coated in Velveeta (which detracts the bitterness) or raw with plenty of ranch dressing do dip it in. Soggy cereal is yucky. I hate mayo, but love ice cream. Strong coffee is bad, but with enough sugar and milk, it can be overcome. Carbonated beverages that are no longer carbonated are just plain bad. Fat on steaks and such must be thoroughly removed before consumption. Therefore, I firmly oppose “chewing the fat.”
Neil, tell us about your HSTBS life!
I’m not sure where I acquired HSTBS. I was allergic to some basic things when I was young, including wheat and eggs, so that eliminated a lot of foods from my diet. Maybe I just never acquired a taste for things. Or maybe I’m just a pain to try and feed. But I think it is most likely highly sensitive taste buds that detect bad taste where others don’t.
Fortunately, my parents didn’t make too big a deal out of it. I ate tons of cereal growing up. I had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day except two (literally – I remember the days) in elementary school.
The biggest problem is that one of my daughters has HSTBS, so of course my wife blames me!
People seem to find my choosy palate interesting, as it is a never-ending source of humor for them. I went on a mission trips to Kenya in 2004 and 2005 and friends were afraid I would starve. We took along plenty of “Neil foods” such as PB&J, granola bars, chips, etc. so I survived.
OK, now it’s your turn! Comment below with your intro! Remember, HSTBS+’ers can be of any age so keep your comments appropriate as such.
February 21, 2007 at 5:07 pm |
Hi Scott,
I share a lot of the same food-phobias: cooked spinach, broccoli (unless gently cooked and coated in peanut sauce), fatty foods (although some of that is because I don’t eat meat), eggs, carbonated beverages, coffee (likewise, must be sufficiently diluted with milk and sugar, about the colour of zinfindel, to be palatable) mayo, soggy anything (cereal included).
My weird ones are potatoes, beer, cabbage (yeah, I’m the worst Irish girl EVER), peanut butter, and most salad dressings.
I’m incredibly snooty about my cheese. If it’s on a pizza, it has to be burn-your-mouth hot. I don’t like too much of it (see “fatty foods” above). Ricotta just tastes gross – so most lasagnas don’t taste good to me. Too bitter.
When I was growing up, my family HATED the way I ate. Years later, my mom read a study that said that what a mother eats during pregnancy is indicative of what the baby will eat. Well, she was morning sick for six months, so that explains a lot!
I ate a lot of jelly sandwiches, because I hated (and still do hate) peanut butter. I cried when a waiter brought me cereal swimming in milk.
“But I think it is most likely highly sensitive taste buds that detect bad taste where others don’t.”
Ditto that! I’m the fun person to take wine tasting, because I can smell/taste things like passionfruit and black currants, but feeding me anything besides French bread at a vineyard isn’t going to happen.
February 22, 2007 at 8:47 am |
Theobromophile, Thanks for stopping in! I forgot all about my strong dislike of cabbage as well as saurkraut (no, you didn’t mention that one, but it came to mind when you brought up cabbage). I’m just presuming I don’t like beer. I’ve never gone out and tried it, nor do I intend to. I’ve not heard the “what your mom eats in pregnancy is what you eat” theory, but it sounds like at least you can make a strong case for it. I don’t remember much of my mother’s pregnancy. I was quite young then.
Neil, your wife must have read the UConn article, which does say that genes could play a role in HSTBS. Glad to hear that you survived your trip to Kenya. I got a good friend from college whose parents are missionaries in Nairobi. One day, he plans to be back there.
March 29, 2007 at 5:53 pm |
I’ve always been labeled as “picky.”
-Check.
I’m probably more of a medium taster (maybe even a high-medium) than a supertaster.
-Check.
I can’t stand broccoli, brussel sprouts, raw cabbage, beans, peas, dill, capers. Or most dressings! Or mayonnaise or butter or cream. I can’t drink milk by itself either, not even the very low-fat stuff (mainly because that tastes like watery cardboard).
If it’s fatty on the palate and tongue, you won’t see me eat it. Just the smell of butter makes me nauseous (though I suspect that is a deep seated trauma from childhood). Surprisingly I really enjoy cheeses (sharp cheddars, parmiggiano, etc), which isn’t what one would suspect. No cream cheeses though, blaah.
I prefer sorbet to ice cream, though I can enjoy the latter if it’s served. I can only eat a little bit of frosting or chocolate sauce before the massiveness of them just overwhelm me. The type of chocolate cake most ladies would die for doesn’t appeal at all.
Cereal can be alright, but if it’s soggy or the milk is luke warm and overly sweet I can’t eat it. Hardly ever eat it though, I prefer bread or more savoury things.
I enjoy coffee, but espresso and cappuccino over straight drip unless it’s very fresh and “high-end”. I never take sugar in any type of coffee. I work as a barista and love it. More on the reasons in a second.
Carbonated beverages that are no longer carbonated are just plain bad.
-Check
Fat on steaks and such must be thoroughly removed before consumption.
-Check
What makes my tongue weird is my tolerance for bitterness. Proof:
Bitterness is a vital component of the espresso taste (varying from blend to blend or estate to estate). It doesn’t bother me.
I absolutely love Grapefruit and can drink a litre of grapefruit juice a day i you’d let me. Can’t detect any bitterness (though I only like pink grapefruits)
I enjoy beer more than wine, and bitter ales much more than the sweet stuff – if it’s too sweet I just can’t drink it. I can’t drink liquor at all, especially not whiskey. I can’t stand Gin&Tonics, but I haven’t had one for so long that I can remember why. Probably the quinine.
As far as beans and peas go, I don’t like them because of their texture. I’m pretty sensitive about texture, and as such I can’t stand pies or other crumbling doughs and a whole host of other things.
Unfortunately, I’m not a supertaster (which would be awesome) but I do have a fairly acute sense of smell, which also comes into play when tasting. The smell of raw eggs, butter and loads of other stuff I can’t think of at the moment aren’t my best friends either.
God what an incoherent rant. Enough! I do wish I could pick up more nuances, but I guess I’m going to have to work on that.
January 6, 2008 at 1:20 am |
I just discovered this blog, and I would like to add a few of my abnormalities if it’s ok. I am a supertaster and have been picked on for so long, I’m almost afraid to eat in front of people (except for DH and children). I had major surgery a couple of years ago, and people wanted to bring food over, but I just had to write the “Thank You” notes anyway. How could I tell them that there wasn’t anything they brought over that I could eat?
When people have asked me what I like, I have to tell them that it’s just complicated. It would be easier for me to provide the “Master List” of foods I don’t eat with sub-lists of “Foods I eat only if prepared certain ways”. And that they just need to not ever try to cook for me because they’ll just get mad at me. Believe you me, I’ve had this happen so many times. People just expect to plop some glob of blob down in front of you, and they expect you to eat it like it’s your last meal before your execution. I’m the weird one wherever I go because I always “ate before I got there”. And I always have an excuse to avoid family functions because relatives can be so cruel when they see you walking by the buffet 4 times with only a roll on your plate. “Oh, you think you’re too good to eat with us”?
Just because they don’t taste the bitterness of a Romaine lettuce stem, they think I shouldn’t either. Well, believe you me, it’s like licking Ajax out of the kitchen sink. And hearing that noise as my teeth crunch through it because I missed tearing that wretched stem out of one leaf is like nails on a chalkboard to me. They don’t realize that Velveeta “cheese” makes me feel like I’m choking on salty, fatty paste that makes me want to vomit.
It’s a curse to be like this. Not being able to go to a restaurant with friends and order food without the people at the table looking at you like you landed there from outer space with your head stuck in your butt. Everyone’s ready to order, while you’re still looking through the menu for something that won’t make you sick to your stomach and something that you can push around your plate with looking too obvious. They’re pairing wine with their meals, but wine is just another item you’ve never been able to taste without spitting right back out. And it wasn’t because it was a tasting party.
Eating quirks are fine. They make you an individual who is unique and unforgettable. But being like me will make you a giant freak. And that is not a good thing.
February 11, 2008 at 4:11 pm |
My husband of 28 years has gotten worse to please when it comes to eating these last few years. Things I’ve cooked for years suddenly “suck” Everyone else in the family(6 kids ages 3 to 17) will be eating the chicken, but my hubby says it tastes sour. Same goes for steak, ground beef, etc.
Anyone got any suggestions? I am desperate because this issue is threatening our marriage. He wants me to learn to cook. I can just not to his taste.
February 12, 2008 at 1:34 pm |
Hi Bea – sorry to hear that! My wife would probably sympathize with you. Has he talked to his doctor? Seems odd to change at that point.
With our youngest daughter (super picky eater), my wife just said she can eat what the family is having or make something herself. That might not work for you all, though. I prayed that you would find a workable solution!
April 15, 2008 at 8:37 pm |
Wow, I had no idea there was a support group for supertasters! This is awesome. I’m trying to get over a lot of my pickness; Ive made some progress… I can eat some cheese now, raw spinach isn’t bitter anymore for some odd reason, and I’m trying my damn hardest right now to eat the tomato in the “salad” (raw spinach, tomato, no dressing) I made for dinner without gagging. The texture is weird! I work at Starbucks, and I can’t do the whole black coffee thing, which is a shame because when you start your training, they have you do a French press of every blend, without milk and then write down what you taste. Everyone of my entries said the same thing: “Bitter, kinda spicy”. I also can’t deal with rice milk, because it settles in the glass. I’ve always hated brocolli and green beans… the smell of green beans makes me gag, hard. And this is awful because I actually enjoy the flavor of this tomato, but ahhh can’t stop gagging, might hafta spit it out. Anything that is crunchy where I feel like it shouldn’t be freaks me out. I LOVE butter though, am having it on bowtie noodles right now actually ^_^ So yay, hello, I’m glad I found this group, I really am
April 19, 2008 at 11:07 pm |
Julie, have you tried making tomato ice cream? Supposedly, it’s really good, and it will take away the texture that you dislike.
I can now stomach some greenery, and it’s easier when it’s raw – snow peas, broccoli, spinach. I think that cooking it releases some sort of bitter flavour that makes me crazy. Asparagus, try as I might, is something that I just cannot enjoy.
May 2, 2008 at 8:30 pm |
OMG, reading what some of you have said has made me feel so much better. I don’t like to think of myself as a picky eater but I am and certain friends constantly remind me of this. I don’t eat any condiments. I hate mayo (the smell alone can make me sick), sour cream, mustard, ketchup, nothing pickled. I don’t eat salads because I hate raw vegetables and I cannot stand any dressings whether they are oil or vinegar based or not. I am very picky about my meat and always cut off the fat and my parents always say I leave “good meat” but I just can’t stand to eat it. I eat certain vegetables but wish I could eat more. I am the odd one in my family because I do not eat chili or baked beans.
I get a lot of comments about not liking peanut butter, people are always shocked and don’t believe me when I say I never have. One day at camp after canoing 12 miles the only food they had packed for lunch was a sandwich and an apple for each person. As you can guess the sandwich was the classic PB&J. I was starving and tried to eat it but could not bring myself to it. When I go to the coffee shop on campus sometimes I get a cookie and will throw it out because I can taste peanut butter from the cookies next to it.
I do not have a lot of experience with alcohol. I cannot stand beer (or the smell of it on people) and the one time I had wine it was horrible. I eat certain cheeses but most make me sick. I hate it that when I go to a nice function that serves food I always eat before hand and only munch on one or two things. I am always getting comments from people and I think it is rude. I hate when people push me to eat even when I politely tell them I ate before I came. A lot of people don’t get why I don’t eat salads but as I said before I hate raw vegetables and I can’t eat salad dressings. My father and my mother’s mother (so I get it from both sides of the family) have never been able to eat salad dressings. I have moved down to the south and vinegar based barbecue is really popular but I hate it and people think its because I am from the north. They don’t understand I don’t eat anything with vinegar.
I love the smell of coffee, especially fresh ground coffee, but I cannot stand the taste. Very rarely will I use milk. I am not a big cereal eater so I can buy a half gallon of milk and more than half of it will go bad. When I was younger I always put up a fight about having to drink a glass of milk with dinner (I couldn’t leave the table until it was finished) and switched to water as soon as my parents would allow me to.
I hate going to high end restaurants because I know everything there is going to be in fancy sauces and the food itself will not be the everyday stuff I like. Even in regular places most of the time a safe choice for me is a cheese burger (American cheese, no lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup…) with absolutely no pickle on the side but people always make me feel bad for being “so picky”. I don’t like being “a picky eater” and I wish I could eat more stuff (to avoid comments and for health benefits) but I can’t. I wish people would just keep their comments to themselves. Some people even tell me I haven’t tried something enough or I should try it again. What they don’t understand is that my parents made me eat stuff when I was younger, I couldn’t leave the table till it was gone. My “picky eating” isn’t because of a lack of exposure to foods.
May 3, 2008 at 2:44 pm |
I haven’t checked in in a while, but it is good to see that people are still looking for support. Thanks to all who have stopped in and commented and a special thanks to Niel for getting comments of moderation in my absence.
Jessica, you sound like a super-duper taster! Hang in there!
October 19, 2008 at 10:28 pm |
I never even heard of this until today when my boyfriend brought it up to me. I can honestly say that:
I hate peanut butter.
And fat on steak.
And I’ve tried to drink flat seltzer ( I was a poor college kid telling myself it was merely water without bubbles) but it just didn’t taste right.
I also hate coffee. I always thought I’d grow into it and become addicted like everyone else but it just never happened.
My boyfriend also mentioned something else that hasn’t been discussed on this thread. Diet soda. I HATE diet soda. Just awful. I cannot stand very bitter beer or wine. (Though I’m ok with vinegar. Really ok if its balsamic!) Anything buttery or sweet I’ve never had a problem with but I can’t stand fruit mixed in with yogurt or ice cream. I don’t like birthday cake either. Or frosting. I hate frosting. Tomatoes I’ve only started to eat recently but only if it’s paired with something else (like a hamburger). Never in a salad. You couldn’t pay me to eat romaine lettuce. I guess you’d say I’m a medium taster!
December 14, 2008 at 7:41 pm |
As I was just now choking down some canned chicken salad I got from a dollar store I wondered, ‘what the heck is wrong with me?!’ The chicken salad smelled good, but it’s definitely not something I would ordinarily eat, I bought it on a whim not thinking it would be so gross.
This prompted me to learn more about taste. I found a site that had an experiment where you put a dab of food coloring on the end of your tongue then place a page reinforcement ring on your tongue (that tasted pretty good!) then count the little pink buds in the circle. Then I found this site!
I guess I qualify as a super taster (have over 30 little buds in the circle) but bitter has never been much of an issue for me. I like a little bitter, romaine, yum! However I am with you all about fat on meat. As a kid my father would ask me if I were done dissecting my meat so I could eat it. I had to remove every spec of fat, every vein. As an adult, I need to have at least one glass of wine in me to eat meat and was vegetarian for nearly twenty years. Also I like vegetables raw, but cilantro is my kryptonite. Does anyone here dislike cilantro? Organic broccoli is alright cooked but regular broccoli has a fishy metallic flavor. Really sour things have always been a gag inducer for me, like Granny Smith apples though I love sweeter apples. Couldn’t tolerate milk as a kid but love it now.
Ahhh, PB&J. I would never have survived childhood without it. Not that I was all that crazy about it but it was something I could eat. Forget sandwiches with mayo yech, or mustard. I wouldn’t touch onions until I was in my twenties when one day something shifted when I was served a salad with onions, I ate and loved them. Same thing with coffee. As I was going to work one day I smelled the coffee as always but again something shifted and I wanted coffee and have loved it since.
I’ve noticed a lot of people here with problems with texture, that doesn’t count toward taste does it? I do think that texture is extremely important though. Yes, mushy things that aren’t pudding are very bad. As with gristle in hamburger, shudder. I just eat Morning Star vegie burgers anymore, no yucky surprises.
Thank you so much for starting this group, I’m looking forward to learning more about this. It’s probably a good thing we meet here, we could never do a pot luck together!
April 17, 2009 at 10:39 pm |
I recently returned from a trip to Southeast Asia, and I realized just how picky I am. Ever since I was little, I have never eaten Meat, I have peel the toppings off pizza, eat only cheese in burrito tortiallas, and I hate most everything, Tofu, and when I’m home I go places where I like things, but there it was hard to eat. I REALLY think I have HSTBS I wish there was a more for sure way to be diagnosed though, I seem to fit all the descriptions. I Like cheese but NOT on my pizza, I HATE meat. I LOVE Fries, Cereal, Breads, Yougurt, Sweets, Certain Fruits (Not Pineapple) and few vegetables. Anyone else simmilar?