Is being picky with certain foods sinful?

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Most people have foods they don’t like, so I would say it’s only a sin if it’s a sin against charity. CS Lewis in the Screwtape letters talks about gluttony and says that it’s not only overeating, but a preoccupation with what you eat, or do not eat. So I would say, make sure if you’re declining food which is offered to you, let your top priority be thankfulness of the wonderful provision God has given you and the generosity and hospitality of the company you’re in.

Personally, I would try to be adventurous and try a bite of most things. But that’s just me.
 
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No it’s not sinful.

I don’t like meat that much so I eat a lot of seafood.

It’s not sinful.
 
drjsp said:
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HomeschoolDad:
I had flaki wolowine (beef tripe soup) in Poland and it wasn’t bad.
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I married into a Polish family and they (thankfully) didn’t require me to eat or taste anything I didn’t want. I’ve not had the courage to try flaki, but before my wife and I were married, did try Zimne Nogi (cold jellied pigs feet). That was a one off…never tried them again but earned the respect of the entire family by “bravely” giving it a try.
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Nothing like earning the respect of a Polish family (he said, having worked to do precisely that in the distant past) :poland:

I’ve never understood this concept of "we want the American to try this food that he finds really bizarre, to see if he packs the gear and is ‘worthy of us’ ". I wouldn’t force a foreigner to try an American food that they found repulsive. I don’t have a “test” somebody else needs to pass. But maybe that’s just me.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
I’ve never understood this concept of "we want the American to try this food that he finds really bizarre, to see if he packs the gear and is ‘worthy of us’ "
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Food is very much a part of Slavic culture and tradition; it’s a huge part of who we are. I don’t think it’s so much to see who is “worthy of us”, but more to see who is willing to take part in the traditions. But that’s not to say that someone who didn’t want to take part would be automatically excluded.
 
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Virtue vs. Neither Sin nor Virtue vs Various Sins

Sometimes the opposite of being virtuous in a certain way doesn’t somehow mean you’re being sinful by not having that virtue itself.
  1. I eat the food placed in front of me as a guest, even if it tasted horrible: virtue
  2. I didn’t eat the food placed in front of me as a guest, because it tasted horrible (remained silent): not sinful, not overflowing virtue, but no sin involved
  3. I didn’t eat all the food placed in front of me as a guest, because I’m allergic, and I stated so or even did not state so: not sinful
  4. I didn’t eat all the food placed in front of me as a guest, because I don’t like the texture/taste. I let the host know politely, or simply said I was not hungry: not sinful
  5. I didn’t eat all the food placed in front of me, and the person that cooked it was treated rudely/I complained rudely: probably venial sin
    6: I didn’t eat all the food placed in front of me, and I told the person that cooked it that if they do this again, I’ll do xyz (or I thought about doing xyz to the person for making the food they know I dislike): mortal sin
Gluttony involved more/less extremes regarding quality or quantity, but not types. Overcoming gluttony would have nothing to do with putting yourself in a position where you’d do physical harm to your body (sickness).

The 7 Deadly Sins more/less show certain personality defects to be overcome in order to avoid breaking any commandments. It’s good to know which deadly sins your are dealing with, so you can say during confession, “I did abc, I think because I’m struggling with [this Deadly Sin]” and that helps the Priest help you. But in this case, this isn’t something to confess, but definitely talk to a Priest. Your reaction to certain food as a guest or under someone’s care is the more pertinent issue regarding whether or not you’ve sinned (and whether it’s venial or mortal).
 
To be clear, I was never being “tested”, and we agree that such “tests” are a very curious thing.

In my case it was like “wow, you ate that? Even we don’t eat that,”. Lol.
 
drjsp said:
To be clear, I was never being “tested”, and we agree that such “tests” are a very curious thing.

In my case it was like “wow, you ate that? Even we don’t eat that,”. Lol.
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Looks like we are speaking from two different sets of experience. It was my experience that the Poles in my acquaintanceship were rather “assertive”, if I had to find a word to describe it, about their culture and folkways. It was in Poland, a historically rural area, and they weren’t used to being around or interacting with an American as a guest in their homes. The materfamilias had never even been outside of Poland and had no wish ever to do so.
 
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