Condiments and sauces are an interestingly polarizing topic.
Some people can’t eat anything without a side of ketchup or aioli. Others can’t stand to eat anything with a dollop of sauce.
Redditor dinoleftthechat is one of the latter.
Recently, her hate for mayonnaise caused a bit of tension in her family which led her to subReddit “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA).
She asked,
“AITA for “disrespecting a family recipe” and calling someone entitled for policing my food?”
She went on to explain.
“TLDR: My family hosted a dinner with some family friends and one got really upset at my meal of choice.”
“I felt I was justified at the time, but since my family hates conflict, I am wondering if I may be TA.”
“[Background]: I [24-year-old female] moved out of home for school at 18 and have been living abroad on my own ever since, cooking my own food.”
“I don’t believe I am a picky eater, but I do avoid certain foods (most meat, mayo, vinegar).”
“If I am invited somewhere and I don’t like the food or some of the ingredients I will smile and eat anyways, but I avoid those foods if I can choose.”
“My mother knows about it, so when she cooks, she usually will set aside a small portion for me before adding mayo or vinegar.”
“One of the side dishes of yesterday’s meal was a potato salad typical of my region. Basically potato puree with small pieces of veggies and seafood mixed in mayo.”
“Mayo is a key element of the recipe, which is why I never order that dish, but my mother usually sets aside a portion before adding the mayo.”
“Usually, she will set aside a big portion so that other people feel welcome to eat the alternative, no mayo version if they want (dinners here are always potluck style), but this time she forgot and I arrived at the kitchen on time to set aside a small part that had no mayo yet, not more than three or four spoons.”
“So when we served dinner, I just took the plate for myself. We have eaten with everyone invited yesterday countless times and I can’t remember any time any of them ate the no-mayo version.”
“I ate the same main as everyone else.”
“One of the family friends noticed my plate was different. She asked me if I didn’t think the potato salad was great? I agreed.”
“Then why did my plate look different, and why hadn’t I been served from the same dish as the others? I told her mine had no mayo.”
“Did I have any intolerance? No ma’am, I just don’t like mayo. But potato salad without mayo is just potato puree! Maybe, ma’am, I enjoy potato puree.”
“At this time she started insisting I try the real recipe and see how good it is. I told her I grew up with it, I knew it was good and I was happy everyone enjoyed it, I just preferred my version.”
“I admit I was a bit short, I didn’t see my meal choice warranted so much attention.”
“My family hates conflict and was trying to steer the conversation somewhere else, but this person went on a rant about how young people are entitled and unappreciative of their traditions.”
“I looked her dead in the eye and said I did not think I was the entitled one here since I had not gone to her own home to tell her how to eat her own food.”
“Complete silence.”
“She was visibly annoyed but let my mother change the topic.” “
I believe I was on my right to tell her she was out of line, but my poor grandpa looked dismayed at the tension, and it probably would have been easier if I had taken a small portion with mayo and politely agreed.”
“So AITA?”
Redditors weighed in by declaring:
-
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors decided:
“NTA It’s one thing to ask a question about why you had a different side dish out of curiosity, but she doubled down and was trying to berate you for it.”
“In your own home. That will always make her the a**hole.” – ApocolypseJoe
“NTA and I’ll never understand why people insist on sticking their noses into someone else’s choices when it doesn’t affect them.”
“Why does this person care how you like your food or what you don’t like to eat” – setomonkey
“NTA she sounds insufferable. If you had taken a small bite she would have gone on and on about how she had fixed your taste in potato salad.”
“She was just looking for someone to pick on. With friends like these….” – Llyris_silken
“NTA what a weird thing to be so upset about…” – JegHaderStatistik
“NTA, you were honest… she could have left it alone easily and everything would have been fine.” – Awesome_5ammy
“NTA. You said no and she continued. She’s the AH. FULL STOP.” – 190PairsOfPanties
“NTA. Anybody who attempts to dictate your food choices in your own home has earned the right to be shut down.” – imothro
“NTA Who died and made this family member queen of food?”
“You have the right to eat the way you want. You weren’t being disrespectful and forcing it onto others. This family member was disrespectful and entitled.” – KylieJadaHunter
“NTA. As a fellow mayo hater I salute you. And good for you because I probably wouldn’t have been as kind to being badgered into eating salty egg slop.” – Plumbus-Grab-816
“NTA.So much NTA. You did great.”
“You established reasonable boundaries, and only were as firm as you needed to be to let agro-auntie know you didn’t need her commentary on what you eat.”
“Congratulations on putting that overstepping old person in their place.”
“This idea of no conflict is a tool of social control the older people in your family use to keep everyone in line, since they are the ones that are determining what is acceptable, and if you don’t like it, well that means you are the problem for having ideas and starting conflict.”
“That won’t work on you anymore now. You changed that story by letting know auntie you are an adult, you are your own person, and you have made the decision that works for you.”
“Thank you for your concern, but no.”
“Imagine being such a judgmental person that you say that young people are entitled for wanting one scoop less of mayo in the food they eat than someone else.”
“This hurts her not at all, but she wanted to…put you in your place? Complain about your whole generation too? She sounds sad and small.”
“You did great. Everyone knew it too. But they didn’t know how to respond when you didn’t just go along with agro-auntie so they all got silent.”
“Keep it up! If you were my daughter I would be so proud of you.” – Parasamgate
“NTA. You’re entitled to eat the foods you like and avoid those you dislike.”
“Next time you see that family member, ask them which type of food they absolutely disgust and then ensure it is served at the next pot luck.”
“When you notice they don’t have any on their plate, start speaking loudly about how entitled and rude they are.” – thr-oh-noes
“NTA. That lady needs to mind her business.”
“If I would have been your mother, I’d have asked her to leave once she kept on nagging about it. People need to learn how to behave in other people’s homes.” – Kasparian
“NTA. Why do people get so butthurt about others making a simple modification to their meal in their own home?”
“Your response was perfect. It shut her down without being overly rude.”
“The fact that your family hates confrontation is irrelevant, as they were not the ones being spoken to in a negative way.” – alv269
“NTA. Food police are the worst.” – TemptingPenguin369
“NTA.”
“If it was the person who cooked the food who was annoyed that you wanted an altered version, that gets more complicated (though when the alteration is as simple as this, just removing a serving before a hated ingredient is added, that really shouldn’t be a source of drama even then).”
“But like you said, she came into your home and tried to demand you eat something you don’t like.”
“Tradition is a lousy reason to force people into things they hate, especially when the solution is so painfully easy.” – KaliTheBlaze
“NTA”
“WTF…………………..”
“Who does that, seriously though, who does that!”
“‘I’m going to put you on blast in your own house because you are not doing things the way I SAY YOU SHOULD.’ Wait, what?”
“Holy sh*t man, you are not wrong, in fact, good for you for standing up to that stinky a$$ BS.”
“Whoever they are, they need to get a free pass to get the hell out.”
“Bye Felicia!” – contessalynn_art
“NTA. You did fine. Basically, the other woman was demanding that you eat something you didn’t like and then compliment her for it – how dare you not stroke her ego! This is typical of food pushers.”
“Yes, you were right to tell her she was out of line.”
“The rudeness began when she began to interrogate you over what was on your plate (especially when she wouldn’t drop it when you made it clear you wanted to).”
“Traditions are supposed to be fun, not a ball and chain people are shackled to for their entire lives.”
“If someone doesn’t like a tradition, they should be free to discard it, especially something as inconsequential as potato salad.” – bamf1701
Where are the sirens? The food police are here.