My mother has a theory about why I don’t eat shrimp. It has something to do with the fact that I need to be wearing shoes to reach a height of 5-feet, 1 inch. We’ve agreed to disagree on this. Still, the fact remains I don’t eat it. All my relatives know not to pass the shrimp tray at holidays because I always refuse.
I feel like a traitor saying this in New England, but I simply don’t like seafood. I never have. Tuna fish from a can is about as much as I can handle. Yet there are times when I’ve wondered what I’m missing as others rave about shrimp, scallops, oysters, etc. I’ve wondered if this was just a childhood fish phobia that I should try to overcome.
So I’ve resolved to taste whatever seafood makes its way to our Saturday night buffets. This winter I tasted a crab and avocado dish that combined two foods I usually avoid. I lived to talk about it. A couple months ago I tried sushi and could acknowledge it wasn’t awful. Last night came the big test – a tray of cold shrimp and cocktail sauce.
My co-workers know I avoid the seafood so they were quick to ask whether I’d have some. I eyed it off and on, and finally decided it was time to try. I dipped it in a little sauce, took a tentative bite, and … no. If the US developed a new method of torture by force feeding shrimp, I could live, but I have no reason to try it again. Though I have been told that prepared a different way, I might feel differently. So maybe.
I’m glad to know I am conquering my fears, but I don’t see myself becoming a convert any time soon.
