Teen Called Out For Secretly Cooking With Onions After Sister-In-Law Said They're 'Too Spicy'

Cooking for a family can be difficult.

In this day and age, everyone has an allergy or a strong preference that changes everything.

Not everybody can eat all of the same things.

Redditor THROWRAuserss wanted to discuss her experience and get some feedback, so naturally, she came to the "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) subreddit.

She asked:

"AITA for putting onions and garlic in the food I fed my family after my sister in law said onions were 'too spicy?'"

The Original Poster (OP) explained:

"So, I'm a 17-year-old girl, and I live with my family... still."

"I contribute my fair share in cooking, cleaning, and I go to school."

"I'm currently trying to get a job."

"Anyway, recently my brother and his wife, my S[ster]-I[n]-L[aw] have moved right next to us, so they're over all the time for dinner."

"And maybe three months ago my sister-in-law saw me cutting up onions and putting them into a pan for dinner, and she threw a fit, saying onions were too spicy for me to cook, and she wasn't gonna eat any if I made whatever it was that I was making with onions."

"So I had to throw away everything and restart because if I didnt then I would get yelled at, and that's the worst thing so I'd rather just throw it away."

"Well, the same dinner I made without onions and garlic, she said, had no flavor."

"And even though that happened, for maybe a week I didnt add onions and garlic, and every time I didnt, she would complain saying it had no flavor."

"So since then, I've decided to prepare dinner maybe an hour before they come over, so they don't see me cutting onions and garlic."

"I've also made sure to do it when none of my siblings are around, so they don't see and, in turn, tell my sister-in-law."

"Well, last night my other brother saw me cutting onions, and he didn't care too much."

"He just walked away, but when it was dinner time, and we were all eating, we got onto a topic of everything's 'too spicy' for my sister-in-law and how she doesn't like ketchup or onions, and that she can't even have Takis or whatever."

"My brother, thinking that it was so funny, was saying 'Oh, you can't have onions like they're too spicy?'"

"And she agreed, then was telling him it's just how she grew up, she hates them, and blah blah blah, and so he went 'Well, you don't have a problem eating this dinner, 'and she was like 'What are you talking about? This has no onions in it. She was told not to do that anymore because it makes me sick," and my brother went 'But you had no problem with the dinner BEFORE I said anything. So are they too spicy?'"

"And when he said that, she started acting like 'Oh, I need some water, oh, this food is too spicy, someone get me milk,' and I got yelled at."

The OP was left to wonder:

"I was told I was the a**hole and I shouldn't have done it. But was i the a**hole??"

Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed in on some options to the question, AITA:

• NTA – Not The A**hole
• YTA – You're The A**hole
• NAH – No A**holes Here
• ESH – Everyone Sucks Here

Many Redditors declared that OP was NOT the A**hole.

"Why can't she cook her own food? NTA." ~ Former-Cloud-802

"Right? If she has no problem yelling at the legal child that is cooking her dinner and making demands on how it's prepared, she can get up off her a** and cook her own dinner or order out." ~ bearhug7602

"Worked in a daycare and we had a kid who, if he saw any spices, said it was too spicy even if that spice was flake salt or basil or any flecks at all."

"The same kid happily ate sauces blended with actually spicy peppers they couldn't see and was fine."

"This reminds me of that kid, wailing and crying, snot running down their face at the spicy food with no heat." ~ Gothmom85

"They're spicy to me because I'm actually allergic to them, so that was my first thought, but when she didn't have a reaction until she was told there were onions, it's obviously not an allergy, and she's just being annoying." ~ mydogsaysimcool

"NTA - she isn't allergic, and clearly can't even tell that the onions are in the food."

"If she doesn't like it, she can eat elsewhere." ~ yahomeboysatan

"The gall of that woman."

"She’s getting free dinners and wants to dictate how they are cooked?"

"Tell her to either cook her own dinner or not come around anymore. NTA." ~ EnFiPs

"Can‘t you just make food for yourself and the family members that don’t make an issue out of it?"

"Alternately cook stuff where you can dump all the ingredients in a separate pan without much extra work."

"Have the brother that is married to her also eat the flavorless stuff in the hope that he makes her stop complaining."

"You shouldn’t have to suffer for her bad taste in food." ~ ZealousidealRead8843

"Speaking as someone who does not like onions and never has, your sister-in-law is wrong."

"If I take a bite and can clearly detect the onion in it by texture or strong flavor, I’ll look through the food to pull out the onions that remain so I don’t have to eat them."

"If you are doing such an excellent job of thinly slicing the onions/shallots/garlic that she can’t taste strong onion or garlic in any one bite, you are an excellent cook, and I’d be happy to eat what you make."

"I’ve learned over time that if I cook very thinly sliced shallots with garlic and butter and use that to mix into whatever, it enhances the food without triggering the intense flavor and texture of close to raw onion."

"Garlic and onion make food better."

"But not in excessive quantity."

"If she couldn’t tell, you are a master chef."

"One other thing to try."

"Maybe cook a separate amount of the same food, but put no spices in that smaller amount."

"Serve everyone else the tasty food, and she gets bland."

"It would be interesting to see how long it would take to get her to cave." ~ MontanaPurpleMtns

"Oh my goodness, definitely NTA."

"If she had a medical condition or a physical reason, i.e., something gives her terrible gas, for example, and communicated that to you, and then you put that item in anyway, yes, you would be circling the AH territory."

"She, however, is definitely there, bless your other brother for calling her out. "

"Also, has she ever made dinner for the family?"

"Just curious as to what she would make." ~ Possible_Ferret_

"NTA, I don’t like the texture of onions, so I used onion powder."

"Or I had to go on a special diet at one point and had to use asafoetida powder, which tastes like onion and garlic, and I still use it every now and then because of that, so maybe try this in the food to give the flavoring without that actual onion."

"Also, if she wants to be this picky, complains it’s spicy when there’s onions and bland without, maybe she should get off her a** and cool for herself." ~ Icy_Bee_5493

"I'm the same with the texture and absolutely just use onion powder as it isn't the flavour I have an issue with."

"I think at this point, she just enjoys complaining about food."

"I would love to see what she'd say to know there were onions every time." ~ KaelosFenrir

"NTA. For the record, onion and garlic allergies are a real thing, and food allergies typically exhibit a symptom of being 'spicy.'"

"However, after reading the story and your comments (specifically that she doesn't believe in allergies, has fed you peanuts, and dislikes salt and pepper), it sounds SIL just likes the power play of dictating what goes into your family meal and whining about 'no taste' later."

"Your solution, although leaning more towards YTA, was actually a cumbersome way to go around it."

"SIL should get chicken nuggets and applesauce, and the adults can have real food." ~ Action_Man_X

"NTA. I have a daughter who doesn't like the texture and feel of onions in her mouth (she's on the spectrum), but she has absolutely no issues/problems with the onion flavor, so long as they are grated/liquidized/blended (immersion blender..eg.. butter chicken sauce)."

"I can understand about garlic, because I have an intolerance to fresh garlic, but jarred garlic is fine in small amounts."

"I'm running with a wildcard here, but I suspect your SIL either has an intolerance to onions or is possibly on the spectrum." ~ Over-Ad-6555

"NTA. Either she's trying to be controlling for the sake of being controlling, or it's all in her head."

"When I lived with my cousin, she would make chili."

"But she knew I didn't like beans, so just before she added the beans, she would set aside about a third of them for me and then prepare them normally for her and her husband."

"On a different note, I worked in an office with an overactive air conditioner."

"One of my colleagues was always chilly, and so they taped a piece of cardboard over the vent to deflect the air from blowing on them."

"Another coworker saw this, and complained about being cold all the time and asked one of her cubicle mates to do the same thing, which he gladly did."

"She was fine afterward."

"There was only one issue -- she sat underneath the speaker."

"No one ever said a word, but my cubemate and I had the best laugh about it." ~ WasWawa

Reddit is with you, OP.

It sounds like you're in a sad, underappreciated situation.

Your SIL can cook her own meals if she likes.

Keep your head up.

Good Luck.