Encounters with Extreme Foods: Neophilic/Neophobic Tendencies and Novel Foods

Abstract

This article examines how consumers determine what is edible through an analysis of people's experiences with “extreme,” or unusual, foods. Data from semi-structured interviews are analyzed to explore how people define “extreme” foods, the meanings that people derive from encounters with these foods, and the social contexts under which people are most likely to sample new foods. The findings underscore the influence of psychosocial forces on food tastes, with neophilic/neophobic tendencies and the formation, maintenance, and alterations of identities and relationships informing encounters with novel foods.

KEYWORDS:

• Food avoidances
• food choice
• Neophobia