Food is such a tactile thing I think - there's definitely a pleasure you get from having a piece of chocolate crumble and melt in your mouth that is incompareable.

Joins the applause.

Totally agree. It manifests itself mostly when someone asks a question about, say, which is your fav jar of some sauce or other or a bought soup, and people sneer and provide you with recipes you haven't asked for (even ones they say they haven't tried themselves!). Yes, mostly, people can make those recipes (and can look them up themselves, if they want to) but, sometimes, they want some other information and a short cut for whatever reason.

Some people are fond of telling people that 'anyone has enough time to...'. That's subjective and someone might, on that day, want to use that time for something else.

This is very true. How they know this is beyond me. I usually have a 2 hour window to prepare the evening meal so i'm lucky in that it's usually plenty of time to prepare from scratch. That doesn't stop me using good products from a jar though.
In general there are very few food snobs on here, I think people just misinterpret helpful comments from passionate food lovers as sticking their noses in and being condescending. Which i'm sure is not the case.

You're right. And it hasn't happened to me much on here. It's just that I dislike it when people get those answers on threads they've started and probably never come back again, because of it, and/or feel disheartened. Some of the most passionate foodies are the least snobby and some are just trying to be helpful, thinking someone may not know how easy it is to make soup (and some people don't).

As for time, I could spend more time cooking and less time on here (as a 'for instance'), but, since I'm alone, working all day (not the evenings, fortunately!), I don't! And sometimes I'll cook more elaborately, depending on work load, and sometimes, not.

I quite happily use the chippie now and then, and kebab shops (go for the shish of kofte - not the elephants leg) and have no problem with the occassional microwave meal but I'm fully with Ben Elton on KFC.

"Bits of gristle dipped in crap!"

Eat the box, it's healthier, more nutricious and tastes better.

I don't think people really do this on here though do they? there is only one FM that I know of that does, and he is laughable anyway.

well hopefully us in the food forum can settle down. i notice that Mantey boy has started up threads on GD where he may be more at home.

This is my fave forum totally because of the mix - I love to cook from scratch and eat out well but rate some ready meals and enjoy trash food too. No pressure on here please.

There's only one at the moment but then you get the odd hard core vegan or vegetarian who bashes all the meat eaters for choosing to eat meat etc., but generally we are a happy crowd

You also get it the other way around. Sometimes you can hardly mention tofu or vegetarian sausage without some of them wading in.

I am sad to read what you've written. For me, I love seeing recipes that other people use, and if someone posted a recipe for me for their version of thai green curry paste instead of me using a jar (which I do rather than bother to make it myself), then I wouldn't be offended and think they're saying I should make it myself. I would be happy that they've shared their knowledge and even though I can't be arsed to make my own paste (or whatever the recipe might be for), there may be someone who will use it. (I've found lots of ideas and recipes on here that I wouldn't have seen if people hadn't posted their recipes unasked!)

What is also sad now that we've had a few negative threads on here, is that I'm being extra careful about what I write or about which threads I answer - before, if I made a joke, it would be taken as such. Now, it could be taken as something else. It's a real pity. And I'm a bit pissed off about it tbh.

Last para not aimed at you kimindex, just a general rant.

Well, as with anything, it depends on how it's put. 'Can't be arsed' isn't the same as 'don't have time on this occasion and I normally DO make my own', for instance. I also love to see other people's recipes but not to see people told off or called lazy or mocked (which is what I mean and has happened) and given a recipe from a website which someone hasn't even tried themselves, for instance, when you've already said you, on this occasion, don't want to cook something from scratch. That puts people off.

I don't think you need to take it quite that seriously, either, really. The subject is 'food snobbery' so that's what the thread will concentrate on. It's not a universal rant.

I must be reading different threads to everyone else then, because I have rarely (if ever) seen people told off for using a jar etc. Occasionally there might be a little jibe, but I've only ever seen it as a joke rather than snobbery!

Sorry, I haven't got an issue with untried recipes either! If someone asks for a recipe, I will post a recipe that I might have saved but not necessarily got round to trying myself, and have no issue if someone did that for me either, quite often I think it's just a good way to get ideas.

Oh well, I shall answer the other threads with gay abandon then, and sod anyone who thinks I'm not answering in the correct manner!

I agree, this was one of the few really friendly forums on ds and now negative threads are being started it's spoilt it a little. I think people are too quick to be offended.

That's not what I mean either. I also don't mind people posting recipes they haven't tried. Again, I mean times when people are being snobby and/or rude and not when they're not. Sometimes, that can be misinterpreted but sometimes, it's pretty obvious. I don't read every word on here but I have noticed it, occasionally, and that's what this thread is about!

I agree so let's not be offended about this thread, then. The title tells you what it's about and it doesn't mean the tenor of the forum will change.

Well, we'll have to differ on this one then, I really don't think I've seen a post where someone has just been rude (bar one or two recent arrivals)!

You may not have done. Yes, we'll have to disagree but, as I keep saying, it's not endemic.

Invading mischief makers will soon bugger off when they don't get the reactions they're hoping for. If they are not food lovers to start with it will soon bore them.
As the majority on here are pretty pleasant and laid back it might be an idea to simply not respond to the threads they start?

Even though I work in the restaurant business, and am hugely passionate about good food, there are times - especially after a long day in a hot, busy kitchen , that a KFC or a delivered pizza (or tinned beans on toast) is just what you want.

At work, I cook everything from scratch, and wouldn't have it any other way.

At home, when I'm tired and short of time , I cheat.

Aunt Bessie, I love you!

And that might be the way it's meant (and probably is), but it might not always come off that way, especially for a "non-foodie" poster who was just passing through the forum and asking a question/sharing an opinion. A "little jibe" meant as a joke can perhaps come across as a condescending sneer.

I also think it's quite easy to tell when a poster would take a certain comment as a harmless joke or as a stab, and so it shouldn't be difficult to avoid offending or upsetting anybody.

If someone creates a thread about jarred sauces, then just talk about those, unless somebody asks for recipes for homemade. As a rule of thumb, it's not too difficult.

For what it's worth, I very much agree with kimindex's points.