Geeking out is fun, but everyone must start somewhere. It can be intimidating to get into the culture of food. Here are five tips to get you started.
You may have met at least one nerd over your lifetime. This nerd is super knowledgeable about a specific food or beverage. Though they seem crazy, you're secretly jealous of how much they know about this specific thing. You wonder, "how does anyone get into that thing?"
You start doing research, but everything you find assumes you know about it to begin with, or there's all this jargon you don't understand. Maybe there's so much variety you don't know where to start.
I've been both the nerd and the non-nerd many times, and I'm here to tell you from experience how I've overcome that beginner's terror.
#1. KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO LEARN.
You want to learn about a food, but what specifically about it?
The history? How to make it? The best way to enjoy it?
The first thing you'll need to do in any case is get past the jargon.
Many websites dedicated to specific types of food (and even non-food) will have lists of terms and their definitions.
Marcella the Cheesemonger, for example, has a Glossary of Cheese Terms.
If you find visuals or sounds easier to follow, look at videos or infographics on the subject. YouTube and Pinterest can be good resources.
As for all those other things, like the history, preparation and enjoyment of foods, books are your friend. You can go to the library, look for public domain books on Project Gutenberg (though most of those are outdated) or you can borrow books from the Internet Archive.
I also figured out that when you search for books on the Internet Archive, there's a box you can check on the left that says "Always Available". You can download a PDF, text file or ebook of any of the books that show up under this filter. Just note most of these will be public domain anyway.
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You can search for texts under the "Always Available" filter using the checkmarks to the left.
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The process of learning the terms themselves can also be intimidating. It may be helpful to write down the most common jargon you see and look up the definitions later. This way you can learn the terms that are most relevant first and avoid overloading your brain.
#2. GATEKEEPERS ARE DUMB AND SMELL LIKE FARTS.
Gatekeepers are people who say, "You're not a real X unless Y" or "You are inadequate if you use Z method". Don't listen to them.
If you are in an internet community about a specific food, don't worry what people will think about your posts/comments. You're there to learn.
There are general "rules" that make the preparation of a food better (and sometimes safer). However, the way you enjoy that food, or the types you enjoy, are completely subjective.
The most knowledgeable food nerds, the ones you should listen to, are those who say "eat what you like". Speaking of which...
#3. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY, PLEASE FIND SOMETHING YOU LIKE.
Don't keep eating something you hate just because someone said it's good. If you try it and you hate it, move on to the next thing.
I don't know who needs to hear this, but someone does. There's a reason the most reputable nerds in the gastrosphere are the ones who tell you to eat what you like.
Finding something you do like may be more intimidating than grasping all that jargon. Don't worry. There are simple solutions to this.
First, stop worrying. I know, easier said than done, but once you can stop overthinking your choices (something I consistently struggle with, by-the-by), your new obsession becomes much more enjoyable.
You may be worried about wasting money on something you end up hating. That's entirely possible, but it's not the end of the world.
There's no way to completely avoid this, but my solution is to get a sampler pack of whatever it is you're trying to learn about. Ideally this sampler should include at least one thing you've heard of and one thing you haven't.
There should only be as many items in the sampler as you're comfortable with. This might not be very many, but I recommend at least four.
On the flip side, you should revisit things you didn't like the first time.
As you expand your horizons and gain more knowledge about your new favorite food, you will get a feel for what things are "supposed" to taste like. You'll get used to and even start to like what you didn't before. You may even start to dislike what you once liked.
For me, this was Assam tea. I used to like it when I equated bitterness with flavor (I never entirely grew out of this), but when I taste it now, it's just... bitter. And that's it. Likewise with regular grocery store Cheddar cheese- I at least still like it, but now I can't un-taste the fresh milk flavor.
Remember, too, that a specific type of food will vary across brands. You may like one brand's version of a product, and dislike another brand of the "same thing".
#4. ASK PEOPLE WHO ALREADY KNOW.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. If anyone thinks you're stupid, they're not worth acknowledging. It's as simple as that.
Internet communities based on nerdy foods will typically have agreed-upon "experts" on the subject. Use this as a starting point for your foodie education if you don't know where to look first.
When you find those "experts", look at their websites/YouTube channels/whatever to see how they got there in the first place. It may be surprising, but many of these people are hobbyists and don't consider themselves highly knowledgeable.
They may direct you to a treasure trove of information. Just don't fall into the trap of taking their word as gospel- you are your own person!
#5. TAKE YOUR TIME.
Tea is the nerdy food-related item I know most about. I'm not an expert by any means, but I know enough to impress "normal" people.
When I ask myself how I came upon this knowledge, I realize it all comes down to time.
I started off with herbal tea when I was 12. I would drink it with two packets of stevia, then one, then a half, then none. By that point I'd started drinking flavored black teas like masala chai, and around 14 or 15 I decided I liked my tea plain and strong. I liked it stronger than I do now!
As my tastes matured I wanted to learn "real" information on tea. Eventually I did. I haven't even learned the half of it, but I'm content with the knowledge I have. You yourself may want to take a hiatus on your learning after a certain point.
Don't pressure yourself to learn really fast. Especially if you don't have to do it for a college degree or anything.
Today's recommended song is Savoy Brownie by Joe McDermott of
Team Fat, because it's good and I needed something food-related.
Stay sexy!
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