[thekingofrome]

The author's main problem is her sensitivity, not a culture of "ableist" cooks. Nobody should be this concerned with how random internet users care about their method of preparing garlic. And of course YouTube cooks promote the "best" method even when it might be unnecessarily time consuming - because they are cooking to make a nice video, not a time efficient meal.

The part about her causing herself pain by mincing garlic shows well how she is too worried about other people's opinions (who aren't even present when she does it) over factors that influence her health.

[woodruffw]

Did you only read the first page of the article? She describes a physical condition that actually does prevent her from chopping fresh garlic:

> A repetitive strain injury led me to develop thoracic outlet syndrome. Pain shot through my forearms and into my fingers when I did simple tasks. My hands often went numb. My elbows ached and seized. Looking down at anything—a book, a cutting board—hurt my neck and shoulders and worsened the rest of my symptoms.

The article is actually interesting from a human perspective: many disabilities are invisible, or only manifest in ways that appear trivial on their own but that exacerbate feelings of inadequacy, inauthenticity, etc. She doesn't dispute the fact that fresh chopped garlic is better; she's found herself aware of a source on inadequacy that feels trivial to everyone else. I think that's a pretty relatable sentiment.

[rocqua]

People are getting more sensitive to the opinions of others, and I am not sure that is necessarily a bad thing. It does mean we might want to be a bit more careful with how we express opinions, considering others a bit. I also don't think that is necessarily bad.

[ramblerman]

Being sensitive to the opinion of others implies trying to see things their way. It means increased communication, empathy.

Being neurotic about if people agree with how you cook garlic does the opposite. It’s founded in insecurity and achieves the opposite.

[robonerd]

Sensitivity really is the problem. Sometimes people mock me for drinking instant coffee. Instead of letting that hurt my feelings, I laugh in their face and ask if they're volunteering to make coffee for me.

[AdamJacobMuller]

Instant coffee is just freeze-dried coffee, it's not my favorite way of making coffee but it's focusing on the wrong thing (technique over product).

I'd take instant coffee from good beans over perfectly brewed coffee (IMO this is espresso or pour-over in a pinch) with shitty beans.

[nightski]

A pour over coffee only takes a few minutes to make. I can't imagine you are saving much time in this case, and the quality difference is substantial. But I'm not judging you, I know people that just like instant coffee better.

[madmax108]

> I'm not judging you, I know people that just like instant coffee better.

As a self-confessed coffee snob (who owns everything from a Aeropress to a French Press to you-name-it and gets freshly roasted beans from across the world which I hand grind at home), it's always a matter of contention for me when my sister visits home and PREFERS both the speed and the taste of nescafe instant coffee over my finely tweaked-over-the-years methods for making great coffee.

She's not in the computer science field, so the instant vs fresh coffee debate is our version of the Emacs vs Vim debate ;-)

[cronix]

oh, you're not really a snob until you roast your own beans and won't drink any others /s

[bdowling]

FYI, that's the coffee equivalent of the one-of-a-kind mechanical keyboard with custom layout and custom QMK firmware with modal overlays.

[tshaddox]

> A pour over coffee only takes a few minutes to make.

The trouble with that mode of argument is that for nearly every conceivable action you take in your life, there is going to be a "higher quality" version of that action that only takes slightly longer. There's probably always a way to get better results by spending slightly more time tying your shoes, brushing your teeth, shaving, washing your face, catching up on news, preparing your coffee, having your morning walk/bike ride/gym session, etc.

And yet you only have so much time in the day, so it's important to know which of those things you enjoy well enough to take the time to do the higher quality version of them. Maybe you love coffee and gladly spend a few extra minutes getting a cup that you enjoy, but maybe you couldn't care less about your skin care routine. But maybe I enjoy skin care and will gladly spend time shaving and washing my face, but maybe I couldn't care less about the quality of my morning coffee and just want the instant crystals.

[gnicholas]

Don't forget to account for the time spent cleaning the equipment and getting the beans/grounds fresh on a regular basis. Instant coffee keeps for months, and of course is also much cheaper.

[nightski]

I'm ashamed to admit that I just rinse out my hario v60 with a quick rinse and only clean the grinder about once a year. There is very little cleanup.

[stevejb]

I've had many pourovers and I appreciate them if I have the time. If I like pour overs at value P, then I would rate an instant coffee at 0.9P. The 0.1P of value I miss out on isn't worth the hassle of filters, dealing with coffee grounds, all that stuff.

[brnt]

One gets accustomed to whatever one eats, drinks or does frequently. I find that in order to appreaciate a good coffee, it helps to drink mediocre coffee on a regular basis.

[robonerd]

A scoop of instant coffee in a mug and 60 seconds in the microwave is good enough for me. Coffee is a drug delivery mechanism to me; I drink it when I don't have caffeine pills handy.

[iakov]

Damn, this is the most unrefined way of preparing coffee that I've heard of. I have cut down on caffeine a lot a few years ago, but I still enjoy the ritual of brewing coffee in a espresso machine or in chemex. Most of the time it's decaf, too.

[bittercynic]

Sensitivity is a real problem.

When I was younger I would sometimes feel deeply hurt when someone expressed disapproval of something I did or something about me, and as I've grown older realized that sometimes people don't like the way I do things, or don't like me, and that's okay.

I don't have a really specific point to make here, but it may be worth considering that snobby humor is sometimes really hurtful to some people, and telling someone "you're too sensitive" is probably not helping them grow into a more secure person with a healthier level of sensitivity.

[ludston]

Ego is the real problem. Placing too much value on managing your external identity is what leads to assuming how other people feel about your experiences is more important than how you feel having them. How can you enjoy a nice meal when you are worrying more about status than how it tastes? Why is it so important to express your superior status and look down on those that produce fractionally less tasty food than yours?

Better to not spend your life planning on how to improve your status and instead focus on finding things rewarding.

[robonerd]

> and telling someone "you're too sensitive" is probably not helping them grow into a more secure person with a healthier level of sensitivity.

I fundamentally don't agree with that. That's not the way I want other people to treat me, so that's not the way I treat other people. If I have a problem with getting bullying and pressuring into doing something I don't like, I would rather have somebody set my priorities straight by telling me to ignore the haters. Offering me a shoulder to cry on won't help me. That's a superficial sort of kindness, like not washing a wound because it would be painful, choosing instead to let the wound fester.

[bittercynic]

I think we mostly agree - I'm with you that "Ignore the haters" is usually a good, supportive thing to say in these situations.

Are you sure that you want to be told "You're too sensitive" when you're having a vulnerable moment, and someone happened to criticize you in an area where you have some insecurity? Though it may be true, don't you already know it, and really don't want to hear it at that moment?

[bobthepanda]

There's more than two ways to do things, which is the other problem with conversations with random internet users.

You don't need to just let them cry and not address anything, but also telling someone to "just ignore the haters" is probably just as effective as telling a depressed person "have you tried not being depressed?"

[Swenrekcah]

Occasionally I make too much coffee so there will be about a cup leftover. Instead of pouring it down the drain I’ll just keep it and the next time I’d like a cup I put it in the microwave for a bit to warm it up.

The looks of utter disgust and horror I’ve received always put a smile on my face.

[blooalien]

My solution to "extra" coffee is "iced coffee". I keep a small pitcher in the fridge to dump extra coffee in and pour me a glass over ice with a bit of flavored creamer whenever the urge strikes.

[hvs]

I'm most assuredly not a coffee snob (Folger's? Bring it on), but I just don't like the taste of instant. I will say that an AeroPress is one of my best investments for a quick, good tasting cup of coffee (faster and cleaner than my previous plastic pour-over thing that cost me $2).

[cronix]

Try Starbucks Via Instant. You might be surprised. I use it mainly for camping due to the ease, or if I run out of regular and can't bring myself to go to the store just for coffee right when I wake up, but I can't really tell the difference. Normally I grind the beans fresh for each batch and normally don't drink starbucks.

[kashkhan]

i like instant coffee. It tastes better. To me.

A lot of fancy coffees taste terrible. But we aren't allowed to say that because how can it be you spent 10x more to get a far worse product?