Do you have gender and age divide in tastes for food? Like, food that old men like vs. food that young women like… what are the examples?

22 comments

  1. Not that I’ve seen. There are “trendy” food items that come up but I’ve seen plenty of older people enjoy them too. It seems less age and gender divided and more region divided on taste preferences

  2. Ham. Old people love ham sandwiches.

    Younger than 70? Not so much.

    edit: To clarify; sure ham sandwiches are alright, can be downright tasty. When was the last time you ordered a sandwich and picked HAM though? You can’t remember.

  3. There’s a sterotype that elderly people like to eat what younger people would consider unpalatable foods, like liver and onions or prune juice.

  4. I’m not sure about gender, but I wouldn’t be surprised about age at all. I think older people may find certain things nostalgic, so they’re more likely to like them.

    Examples I can think of within my family is old relatives (way old, passed away would be 100+ years old) liked things like circus peanuts and black licorice where I feel like younger people today haven’t had them or don’t really like them.

    I remember my grandpa keeping Washburn’s old fashioned hard candy, and no one else likes them, or there may be one good one haha.

  5. As a youngster I only ate foods my mother made or exposed me too. As a young married woman, I pretty much followed the same example. Once my kids left home, hubs and I started trying new a different things. I cook much more adventurously as well.

  6. There’s this ongoing joke about millennials spending too much money on avocado toast…

  7. I’ve noticed some older people like organ meats like liver or kidneys or even like different processed meats like olive loaf or something like that, whereas I have rarely met younger people who like these things. My boyfriend’s mother was recently talking about liking liver a lot because it was nostalgic for her and reminded her of childhood, she’s in her 70s. It seems to me that in general younger people really like “ethic,” cuisines like Thai or Korean or Ethiopian food (these are popular in my area) but in general older generations have some caution to try these things because they’re “spicy.”

  8. Yogurt is definitely marketed towards women. Chocolate too. I don’t know if women actually consume more yogurt and chocolate than men.

    I can’t think of any generational/age divides.

  9. Kids: Mac and Cheese. My daughter could eat Mac and cheese 7 days a week if I let her

    Teenage: microwave/easy-to-make items. Burritos, hot pockets, Ramen, Pizza

    20s: “Hip” fusion food. Think Korean pork taco

    Middle-Aged: This is when you start to try to eat healthy. Salads. Steak with a veggie side

    Old timers: Former classics that have faded in popularity. Liver and onions. Meatloaf, Minsmeat pie

  10. I think liverwurst probably is. I don’t ever buy it because my wife and kids are more picky, but I’ll get it once a year at the Christkindlmarkt. My ma still gets it for my dad’s sandwiches.

  11. Kind of?

    Stereotypes I can think of: older people tend to go for softer foods, avoid certain sticky foods, and tend to either go for stronger versions of the flavors that were available when they were kids or just kinda give up and will eat garbage as long as it’s cheap.

    Basically it boils down to declining dental health and loss of taste.

    Edit: oh and candies people today don’t like but we’re popular when they were kids.

  12. The US has a lot of strangely stringent standards for masculinity and that extends to food.

    Health foods and vegan foods are marketed toward women, because caring about your health and not eating meat are weirdly against American standards of masculinity.

    Men are supposed to drink beer and whiskey and avoid “fruity” cocktails that women enjoy.

    The same goes for coffee. Men are not supposed to get elaborate coffee drinks with whipped cream on top. That’s only for women.

    It’s very weird.

  13. Problem with this is the number of cultures and tastes here.

    There’s not one definite “american” subset here that you can apply across the board.

    So while there are definitely divides between old and young and such in one subgroup…those things can cross over and be the reverse in another subgroup.

  14. There’s definitely a weird gender divide. “Dude food” or what’s considered “manly” is basically meat, piled with more meat, smoked, add cheese, side of potatoes. Giant hamburgers with fried eggs and pastrami and bacon or pork loin wrapped in bacon and basically lots of protein, fat, high-calorie foods. Steak is broadly considered “man food” just like grilling or BBQ is treated as a man’s thing(whether or not the man in question is any good at it ffs).

    Meanwhile, “chick food” or what’s marketed to women or what women are portrayed to be eating is salad, yogurt, chicken and lean proteins, vegetables, “lite and healthy”, low calorie stuff.
    And Cobb salad.

    It’s kinda stupid, has a lot more to do with media portrayals and advertising than real life, yet a lot of people buy into it so it ends up being kind of like real life?

    Like most things that are split by gender, this ends up being unhealthy for everyone in various ways. Eating disorders and early heart attacks are just the tip of the iceberg.

    Other folks have covered the generational divide pretty well. Many people can’t handle spicy or fatty foods well as they age.

  15. I hung out with my grandparents a lot as a kid, so I developed a taste for the following “old people” foods/beverages:

    Rum raisin ice cream, black licorice, ribbon candy, and (most damning) Moxie.

    I only get side eye for the Moxie these days, but people were definitely concerned about my tastes when I was a child!

  16. We have gingered alcoholic drinks. For example, a beer or whiskey and Coke would be manly. A pina colada with an umbrella would not be. Personally, I order whatever I want. It’s usually vodka and ice or some variant of a mule/margarita.

  19. And here I was thinking this subreddit would never post a new and unique question… That certainly is one.

    Nah, not that I can think of. Food is food! Americans like our noms, and noms don’t discriminate!

    Well, except for the eldery liking their Cream-of-_____s, but thats not really a divide, but just the fact that if ya got compromised teeth/gums, ya gotta go easy. No jerky for grandpa!

  21. Jello is usually eaten by kids or old people, unless you’re in the hospital. Popular cocktail party food also has a noticeable generation gap. Old end of the spectrum likes nostalgia of pigs in a blanket or things wrapped in bacon. Younger end, expect mini tacos, sliders, or deconstructed classics.

  22. Technically speaking yes, due to changes in what was widely available throughout the years. But I’m curious as to what spawned this question specifically.

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