Disclaimer: My wife thinks I’ve blogged this issue before. I don’t think I have, but I’m old. She probably thinks I have because I talk about it too much. So, if I’ve already blogged this…my apologies…one day you’ll be old too.
Based on years of clinical research (i.e. me watching people eat), I’ve determined that people fall into 1 of 2 food categories:
1) Sectional Eaters
2) Proportional Eaters
Allow me to explain…
Those people in Category 1 will eat their meals one dish at a time. For example, at Thanksgiving, they will eat all the green beans, then all the mashed potatoes, then all the stuffing and then all the turkey. Or at McDonald’s, they will eat all of their french fries and THEN eat the quarter pounder. See how this works? They eat their food in sections…hence why I call them “sectional eaters.” BTW, they usually eat the “main course” last.
Those in Category 2 will take bites of food from all areas throughout the entire meal. They usually do this in a proportional fashion so at the end of the meal, they will likely end up w/one bite of food from each area. Then, the eater will finish the last bites from each area in an order depending on which flavor he/she wants to linger after the meal is complete. The preferred flavor will be the last bite.
Of course the exception to Category 2 occurs when there is one dish that the eater doesn’t particularly care for. The proportional eater may defer temporarily to sectional eating until the “bad dish” is gone and then go back to proportional eating for the rest of the meal.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am a proportional eater. My wife is also a proportional eater. I don’t have any stats on whether proportional or sectional eating preferences plays into the forming of relationships. I just know we are the same.
So how about you? Are you a sectional eater or proportional eater? Regardless, you’ll probably never be able to watch someone eat their meal the same way again.
J