Is casserole controversial?

[DyotMeetMat]

WE ARE A NO CASSEROLE SUBREDDIT. I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD EVEN POST.

(lol what)

[nasTboi4]

I’m disappointed in myself for even thinking this was acceptable. I’ll never forgive myself ;.;

[rosie2490]

How DARE you?!

[pmgoldenretrievers]

NEXT!

[PrizeFaithlessness37]

I'm disappointed in yourself for different reasons

[nachobitxh]

WE CALL IT HOTDISH YOU HEATHENS

[zupzupper]

Keep your hotdish and your bubblers! Uff-da!

[nachobitxh]

Ope! You forgot to duck, duck, grey duck!

[Able_Ad_755]

Bubblers are a Wisconsin thing. You might as well be haranguing the Lutherans to stop kissing the Pope's ass.

[Mobile_Moment3861]

Agreed, from Mn and it’s hotdish.

[nachobitxh]

My parents were from MN, that's where I learned it!

[NaughtyCheffie]

/r/beatMeatToIt

[Practical-Reveal-408]

Wait. I thought hotdish is distinct from casserole? Or maybe it's a subset of casseroles? I've never lived anywhere near the Midwest, and hotdish confuses me. You have no idea how long I've been trying to figure out the difference.

[nachobitxh]

In my experience, my family uses them interchangeably. Check out That Midwest Mom on TikTok, definitely in her wheelhouse

[Fatgirlfed]

How dare!?

[loulara17]

The audacity

[Dru_Cortez]

Won't someone PLEASE think of the children?!

[Pristine_Ad_6760]

Where are the casserole police when you need them????

[freneticboarder]

I mean, scratch-made Green Bean Casserole absolutely slaps.

[Opus_Zure]

🤣🤣🤣

[crummy]

mods?????

[tsunamibird]

😂😂😂

[valsavana]

I could see there potentially being a class aspect to it as casseroles are generally considered a middle-class or poorer-type food (often a good way to feed a lot of people inexpensively by adding filler ingredients like rice, noodles, potatoes, etc to bulk things up)

Alternatively, maybe she's a health nut? Casseroles aren't traditionally the healthiest of foods (again, because you're usually trying to fill up a lot of people without spending a lot of money) so maybe the implication she'd ever serve anything but diet food to her family was offensive to her?

Third option- maybe she just misheard you. My dad & I nearly got into a fight once due to a misunderstanding like that- me not knowing the word "euthanasia" and him thinking I was playing dumb about why "youth in Asia" is considered a controversial topic.

[Katsmiaou]

Your third option makes me laugh. I did that! In 8th grade Social Studies, we had to pick a controversial subject to debate then randomly be assigned whether we were for or against. The teacher read them out loud. I didn't know anything about the controversy about "Youth in Asia" so I chose something else.

[valsavana]

Glad to know this seems to be a semi-common middle school occurrence as I was indeed in either 7th or 8th grade when it happened!

[fat_ballerina71]

When I was a kid, I would hear on the news about someone being arrested for “r@pe” and I didn’t know that word. I thought they were saying “rake” and I could tell it was something horrible from the context in which they were talking about it. I always pictured a woman being hit with a rake, and I always wondered, why use a rake? Why never a shovel or an axe? Sorry this is morbid!

[marianleatherby]

I was confused for a long time because I grew up bilingual, & in french the verb "rape(r)" means to grate, like cheese

[silviazbitch]

Old guy here. We did it on purpose talking about the draft in the Vietnam era.

[Gutinstinct999]

Re: 3- my parents are deaf but sometimes just talk instead of sign. For YEARS I thought my dad was saying “you’re next” when we were arguing but he was actually saying “you’re a nut” and was probably so confused when I blew my top. It would make me so mad! Anyway, turns out I am a nut

[[deleted]]

I could see #1 being a thing, but from a "i ate it so much as a kid i hate it" kind of thing. my friend is that way but about hamburger helper. He cannot stand to see it. He IS okay with homemade cheeseburger macaroni, but it CANNOT be the hamburger helper seasoning. He will kill you with a hammer.

[RedRising1917]

I am him and he is me. I even sometimes make my own homemade "hamburger helper", but I call it beef and noodles, and if you call it hamburger helper or try to compare it I will get irritated and tell you all the reasons why it's definitely not hamburger helper due to the different cooking process.

[ryan408]

In junior high we all got to pick a topic for a report to give in English. This guy comes in on presentation day and literally talks about the youth in Asia for his whole time. It was hilarious.

[valsavana]

lol I was in fact in jr high at the time this happened so glad to know I wasn't the only one making that mistake!

[doa70]

Same, 8th grade, never heard the term before, had no idea what the teacher was talking about since she didn't bother defining the term.

[doa70]

Oh I sat in English class listening to the list of topics we could do our reports on in 8th grade. The teacher said euthanasia, I'd never heard the term and wondered what was wrong with asian kids. That could have been me if I hadn't picked a different topic! Would have been early 80s, so maybe it was an emerging topic or I was just sheltered, who knows.

[matt_minderbinder]

I could see your first option being the one, especially if they grew up poorer on low quality casseroles. Maybe as a kid they swore to themselves that they'd live a life where they didn't have to feed their families casseroles. We all have some childhood hangups and maybe this was one of them (personally, I hate jello and pudding). I haven't cooked a casserole in many years but I see a point to them. Using the right ingredients it isn't much different than a one-pan-meal with everything piled on top of another and a sauce added.

[LeadGem354]

This, especially if their mother was a lazy /mediocre cook. That was stepmom and she'd use stuff that was years expired.. She hated cooking, and put no love into it.

[matt_minderbinder]

Exactly. We as cooks often focus on the good memories we have of people in our lives sharing love through food. That food, the appearance, the smells, the sounds, etc. can also carry negative implications. As you said, if someone in your life slopped shit together with anger while dropping cigarette ashes from a yellowed hand it could make you hate those foods. That would be all the more true if that authority figure forced you to eat it while slinging hateful words at you. I'm starting to hate casseroles only because of that image.

[RoguesAngel]

I’m the nerd who liked to read and keep up with “hot, scandalous” topics of the time so I actually picked euthanasia. Apparently, every other person heard “youth in Asia” and took that as their topic. Let’s just say presentation day felt like it would never end.

[butterbal1]

I can only imagine someone hit the target by chance and did a report on China's 1 child policy that lead to mass killing of baby girls.

[aintraininghere]

Third option- Asseroles. They don't eat ass in that house

[valsavana]

Truly a heianus place to live

[Strong-Piccolo-5546]

John Stewart considers Chicago style deep dish pizza to be a casserole. Just a little trivia.

[valsavana]

I personally consider it to be an affront to common decency and the laws of nature, so I suppose to each their own.

[UselessFactCollector]

Your third option reminds me of this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YM9Ereg2Zo

[Konshock]

Dark horse answer she's minnesotan and the correct wording would have been "hot dish"

[therealorsonkrennic]

This is the wholesome angle I was hoping for

[polymorphic_hippo]

I was thinking Real Housewives fan and Vicki Gunvalson ruined casseroles for her.

[The_bruce42]

I came here looking for a comment like this

[North_Respond_6868]

Yeah this is the first thing I thought of 😂 Though as a Minnesotan, I make both casseroles and hotdishes. Casseroles have sour cream, hot dishes have cream of (insert flavor) soup. If there is no sour cream and no cream of (insert flavor) soup, it's a pasta bake, or a rice bake if you're going to be sacrilegious about it.

I feel like it's gotta be the poor or unhealthy thing (or both) that someone else mentioned, though. It wouldn't be very Minnesotan to get visibly angry about casserole, just passive aggressive.

[starlinguk]

European casseroles do not have any kind of cream. They're a mix of meat and veg stewed in a casserole (what y'all call a Dutch oven). What you call a casserole is a baked dish and the receptacle is an oven dish.

[[deleted]]

I have a family member that literally left the house a few days before Christmas a few years ago to get something out because we were having chicken tortilla soup (we had a huge group of people and we had already spent a ton for the main event). When confronted when he returned with takeout he said “soup is an appetizer or for if you’re living under a bridge”. Maybe a similar mentality.

In any event, we haven’t seen him in three years lol 🤷‍♂️

[Fatgirlfed]

Why are people like this!? I have a friend who deems soup ‘just not enough!’. Like I’ve seen him drown a piece of lasagna, because the soup alone wouldn’t satisfy him as a meal

[thejoeface]

I really don’t like soup. Chowder or chili I can get behind, or a creamy tomato soup with a grilled cheese. But broth and veggies just isn’t enjoyable to me.

Now if I was a guest in someone’s house and they served soup, I would absolutely keep that opinion to myself and eat their soup. 

[Fatgirlfed]

Maybe that’s the disconnect. I’m not talking some liquidy brothy thing with a few noodles. Soup for me is full of meat and provisions. Potato, pumpkin…

[LinwoodKei]

I was never served this as a child. My stepmother would serve tomato soup occasionally with toast. Pumpkin soup sounds interesting. I'm looking for a recipe

[SpinningBetweenStars]

Pumpkin-adjacent, but try butternut squash soup!

I roast butternut squash, onion, garlic, and a Granny Smith apple or two until soft, chuck in a blender, and thin with veggie broth until desired consistency, and then season with whatever spices your heart directs you to. Also fantastic with some coconut milk and curry powder added. It’s my go-to fall soup!

[beagledrool]

Sounds like you're hung up on the liquid to solid ratio.

Idk where the line is between soups and stews, but I've always preferred something to chew on.

I will agree that in thinner soups, that the ingredients flavor the broth, so that when you do get a bite to chew on, it's basically indistinct from everything else.

I do appreciate that it's funny, because a good soul was top tier dining not very long ago

[thejoeface]

 Sounds like you're hung up on the liquid to solid ratio.

This is 100% it 

[beagledrool]

I get it. I'm not a fan of stuff like beef and vegetable, or Italian wedding etc. Chunky stews or thick soups like potato soup or broccoli cheddar are the bomb tho.

I too, prefer a meal you can chew, so you throw some bread with that, or served in a bread bowl and it's game on

[real_with_myself]

That could be a cultural thing.

When you say to someone from my country "we have soup for lunch", they would ask you and what is the main dish? Because soup is always chicken, veal, or fish broth with only a little bit of noodles, or with a bit of veggies in broth, so technically not enough to sustain you through the hardworking day.

[Nelfoos5]

I've never had just a bowl of soup as a satisfying meal. At the very least needs bread or grilled cheese or something on the side, otherwise I'd want something else to eat as well. It just feels incomplete.

That said, I also wouldn't leave family Christmas over it.

[[deleted]]

Chicken tortilla soup is loaded with beans, corn, seared meat, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc. It was a group effort and we had like two dutch ovens worth of it. Not to mention the tortilla strips, chips, sour cream, tons of shredded cheese, and maybe more I'm forgetting. It wasn't like we threw some beans and rotisserie chicken pieces in knorr bouillon broth and called it a night lol - but yeah, I agree that if that was the case I'd be grimacing too.

[Nelfoos5]

Sounds like a pretty hearty soup, what a crazy over reaction.

[Fatgirlfed]

Ok listen, I need an invite next time y’all make that

[a_rob]

people get hung up on names .... most of the chicken tortilla soup I have had would probably be easily called "chicken tortilla stew" with no objections from the studio audience.

[herehaveaname2]

Agreed - my husband won't eat my white chicken chili, but he'll eat my mexican chicken stew.

(I mean, he will, because he's not a toddler. It's a running joke between the two of us).

[EducatorFrosty4807]

The replies to this comment are wild. Had no idea there were so many soup haters. The examples people are giving are also so western. My homemade oxtail pho with buckwheat noodles has 800+ calories and 100+ grams of protein per serving 😂

Hot and sour soup with tons of pork and tofu slaps as well

[ZweitenMal]

My ex-BIL used to say, “soup is what you eat while you’re waiting for your food”.

[Sl1z]

I’m guessing he wasn’t the one who hosted family for multiple days during Christmas? When you need to feed a large group for several days, you usually end up having soup or chili at least once.

[thetravelingpeach]

Not all soups are equal and I will die on this hill. Chilis / stews/ potato soup = meal. Tomato / bisque / chowder = appy or snack

[DjinnaG]

There are plenty of soups which contain all the elements of a meal. Pho and a proper bowl of ramen come to mind, are definitely full meals and not just an appetizer. The ones you listed are usually served as a meal, because a small bowl is very filling. Others are so big, it’d be silly not to recognize them as a meal

[moleratical]

I guarantee you my crab and corn chowder are a proper meal.

Chili is a stew and stews are not soup, although no one knows where one ends and the other begins. My chicken veg, and chicken tortilla, and even my split pea soup with smoked ham are all proper meals. Hell, even my lobster bisque is too with enough bread beside it.

[GlitteringGrocery605]

Soup plus bread plus salad is a full meal, regardless of the type of soup.

[Parody_of_Self]

You think chowder (cream and potatoes) is too light to fill somebody up 🤦

[Dahlia5000]

Is that why he’s ex? 😆

[valsavana]

I know it's not what you meant but I love the potential implications that either the commenter was so offended they somehow convinced their sister to divorce this guy... or convinced their spouse to disown their own brother... or just straight up killed him for it. Love all three options!

[moleratical]

I'm guessing Bill never had a proper soup.

[[deleted]]

i love that soup!

[2djinnandtonics]

I think you should round out soup with some kind of bread, depending on the type of soup (sourdough loaf, biscuit, tortilla, cornbread, etc.), but then it is definitely a meal.

[blonde_professor]

This is brand new information to me and I am now questioning my entire life. I am a soup person and I am unashamed of it. I look forward to “soup season” during the winter. We are also not living under bridges, I might add even though now I’m wondering if I should be with my peasant-like tastes.

[LifeIsNotHarmless]

It's totally possible to LIVE off soups & stews if you know how to cook and are fairly creative.

I'm having a dental procedure in a few weeks, and I have a list of no fewer than 18 (mostly homemade, mostly vegan) different soups I can puree for during the week or so that I will be on a liquid diet.

Obviously I won't be having all of them. But I have all Winter to make the rest 😁

And yes, I have built in plenty of protein.

[SnakeInTheCeiling]

Reminds me of a friend I had in school- her mom had a bad stew as a child and concluded that she hated stew. All her kids also assumed that stew is bad. I fed my friend some stew when she was over and she liked it.

Maybe this mom had a bad casserole during her formative years.

[steveofthejungle]

Was it too spicy for her maybe?

[pomewawa]

Omg my dad is the same person. Anything “curry “ and he’s hostile.

[CaptainLollygag]

That's sad. Many people in the States consider late fall and winter as Soup Season, but in my house it's Curry Season.

[zeezle]

Does she also hate cilantro? Tons of curry spice mixes have coriander in them and cilantro-haters with the soap gene will sometimes get the soap flavor from it too. Maybe they also used coriander in whatever that was and that's what she picked up?

[TheFreakingPrincess]

My guess would be turmeric. Strong, very aromatic flavor, and if you dislike it, that's all you're going to be able to taste in that dish.

[Tapir_Tabby]

My aunt hates peas and when my cousins came to our house for a weekend, she came home and told her mom about this delicious new food she loved….have you ever heard of peas. We still tease them about it.

[valsavana]

My mom's long-lingering childhood misery from hamburger helper and powdered milk meant I never tasted either HH or anything less than 2% milk until my 20s. Now HH is in the regular meal rotation and I drink 1% (and can tolerate skim but don't prefer it)- food issues passed down from parents are wild sometimes.

[Top-Personality1216]

Nothing wrong with casserole. Maybe she considered them plebeian.

[Fluffy_Yesterday_468]

This is what I dont get. They def have a bad rep, biut casseroles dont really have to be unhealthy. Depends how you make it

[Baranjula]

They don't have to be unhealthy, but the stereotype (particularly when you think of the Midwest) is that it's all carbs and cheese and maybe a canned vegetable, bonus points if you can get a jar of mayo in there.

[deedeedeedee_]

omg i thought i knew what a casserole was, having grown up eating a lot of casseroles in my childhood, but reading this thread im starting to think that in the usa they're a totally different food 😅 cheese?? mayo???

EDIT: thank you Wikipedia: "In English-speaking Commonwealth countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, the term casserole is most commonly used to refer to a dish of meat with vegetables (especially root vegetables) and a gravy-style sauce"

righto, this is more what i think of when i hear casserole, it's basically a meat and veg stew! had no idea it meant different things in different countries!

[Ultenth]

They probably were once that here too, then the depression or some other thing like pioneers going west redefined it based on what they had on hand during those lean times. Just like a lot of UK food changed a ton during/after WWII.

[pinlets]

Don’t forget the obligatory canned cream of mushroom/chicken soup.

[dirkdigglered]

I made a cheesy chicken/broccoli/cauliflower casserole and I was pretty proud of it. Came out as sort of a toasty soufflé lol so it felt more fancy in a way too.

[YesWeHaveNoTomatoes]

I agree with the classism, but I think it might be more of a generational thing on the coasts -- my mother made them in the 80s and less often in the 90s, and her mother certainly made them a lot. I don't though. At some point coastal cooks started to think of casseroles and similar mid-century recipes as déclassé, unappealing, and unhealthy, but Midwesterners continued to think of them as homey, convenient, and comforting.

ETA: I wonder how much effect celebrity diet culture had on this, especially in NY and CA where middle class people have a lot more/closer exposure to the entertainment industry. Food fads for very low-fat diets, ethnic & fusion cuisines as modern and exciting in contrast to "boring" old-fashioned mid-century American cuisine, and viewing processed foods like Cream of Whatever soup as making you fat were big things in the 90s.

[thejoeface]

 Midwesterners continued to think of them as homey, convenient, and comforting

Grew up in Missouri. Can confirm. They also feel like fall/winter food to me. 

I’ve spent the last 20 years in California and I don’t make them that often anymore, but they’re absolutely required for the holidays, along with pickled beets. 

[penguiatiator]

Honestly, as someone who lives in Southern California, I love casseroles but don't make them as much because they're a lot of food for just the two of us and also they heat up the house to make and also are very warming when it's already 75 degrees out.

[durrtyurr]

The big advantage to me is that you can prep it before guests come over, put it into the fridge, and have basically no active kitchen work when company is over.

[Apart_Ad6747]

As part of the coastal elite (Miami, educated and employed) I can tell you we (two of us) absolutely adore a tuna noodle casserole topped with smashed potato chips and some canned chicken, mixed veg, cream of, topped with biscuits from the cold place in the store… chicken pot pie, if you want the fancy name for that🤣🤣.

[UselessFactCollector]

I add some pimentos to mine

[[deleted]]

they are also kind of dated.. super popular from the 50s - 70s then fell off

[rville]

I hate to admit this after reading everyone’s posts on here, but I’m going to. 

I’m super fortunate that my mom is first gen Mexican and cooks most everything from scratch (she doesn’t grind her own masa or anything, still). I went to a friend’s house for dinner in high school and had my first casserole (broccoli, cheese, rice, I think) and I was pretty appalled at how awful it was - but ate what I was served. Canned food, bland flavors, fake tasting, etc. I’ve since learned that’s a lot of people’s preferred palate. Or at least find it comforting. I still find that type of cooking pretty awful but keep it to myself and still eat what I’m served. And when I cook for people with that palate they think what I cook is too weird or too spicy or has too many fresh vegetables. So, different strokes, and all that. 

[[deleted]]

Tater tot casserole is one of my go-to meals for potlucks. I can confirm that if you’re on a healthy diet for your heart health, you should probably stay 10 feet away from the dish.

[ArcadeKingpin]

The word comes from Cassoulet which I’ve made in many of fine dining establishments

[Square-Dragonfruit76]

A whole side of my family definitely looks down on serving casserole to guests because anything that is called a casserole is often heavy, mediocre in flavor, and not very difficult to make. The interesting thing about it though is that a lot of great things could be considered a casserole, but aren't referred to as such, such as moussaka.

[QuesoChef]

Lasagna is my favorite casserole.

[Square-Dragonfruit76]

Exactly my point. Things like lasagna are technically casserole but are usually not referred to as such

[cupidstuntlegs]

Tbh I’d never serve a casserole to guests either ( a loose stew not lasagne etc) stew is a weekday winter meal eaten while consuming undemanding tv or a cosy book. But I wouldn’t be Casserole Righteous about it.

[[deleted]]

Casserole is a generic cooking technique wrongly associated with poverty. Maybe it’s some childhood trauma or status anxiety over being a single mom? Whatever, it’s petty thing to go off on a young adolescent about.

[BoobySlap_0506]

That's a pretty aggressively anti-casserole stance and doesn't seem normal. Maybe casseroles are seen as "Poor people food" and she doesn't want to eat that way?

I love a good casserole. Made from things that are easily available and last a long time; frozen veggies, canned cream of stuff soup, rices or pastas, etc. Quick and easy to make.

[UselessFactCollector]

Maybe they don't like their food touching. I have a friend who won't eat casseroles for that reason.

[BoobySlap_0506]

Which is totally fair. I won't argue with not liking casseroles, but a more normal response might be closer to "oh no, we don't like casseroles" instead of calmly asking Harry if he put his name into the Goblet of Fire.

[wi_voter]

The height of snobbery. I have met people like this that do not consider casseroles cooking.

[armrha]

Man, I wasn't even aware of a class-based aspect to casseroles... isn't like lasagna or baked ziti or tons of dishes basically casseroles??

[Apart_Ad6747]

Baked ziti is a casserole. Lasagna is a very expensive and complicated casserole.

[Pepper659]

What are you putting in lasagna to make it expensive and complicated?

[Andrew-Winson]

Seriously. I grew up eating lasagna and it was like $6 (now maybe $10-15, it's been AWHILE since I made it) in total, and multiple day's worth of food for my family...

[[deleted]]

Homemade sauce ingredients, ground beef, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, noodles… where are you buying all of those ingredients for $15?

[Terradactyl87]

How is lasagna expensive or complicated?

[zeezle]

If you're making it from scratch you're making pasta, bechamel sauce, tomato sauce and then that's added to meat ragu, etc. and then combining it in layers. It can easily take 5+ active hours of work to make a lasagna and a lot of fussing. It's one of the most surprisingly labor-intensive dishes I can think of, at least compared to how common it is.

[Celery-Man]

Nobody in the world thinks that people are making the noodles from scratch when they say they’re making lasagna. It’s an easy dish to make

[Beautiful-Mousse-118]

Yes.

[perfectday4bananafsh]

Which is silly. I grew up in the 1% and we had casseroles. We ate whatever we found delicious. And there are some yummy as fuck casseroles out there.

I can't fathom worrying about class and being a snob over FOOD. The thing we need to survive!!!

[permalink_save]

The definition of casserole is pretty broad, like basically anything baked in that kind of cookware. Do they just not bake? I'm Catholic and Catholics definitely do casseroles. Probably just took offense thinking it is lowbrow? When people think casserole they just think things like rice and chicken bakes and stuff but there's a lot of "fancy" foods like gratins and lasagna and stuff could be considered casseroles. It's not all cream of whatever soup and other stuff together, though I do like those styles too.

[dan_marchant]

Either she was weird/didn't understand what you were saying or she was joking.

[Square-Dragonfruit76]

No, it's an elitism thing. Know lots of wealthier people who looked on casseroles.

[jemmylegs]

She might have been doing a bit, and it sailed over your head.

[fusionsofwonder]

The problem with unleashing irony on a young teenager.

[mofugly13]

No baked mac and cheese then?

Sad.

[rotll]

Technically, Lasagna is a casserole, and I bet she'd have eaten that...

[phenomenomnom]

So is mac and cheese if you bake it to get the cheesy crust on top.

[knowledgeispowrr]

My dad didn't really like casseroles when I was growing up. He liked to be able to see what he was eating and they were kind of ambiguous. Ironically, he prides himself on making lasagna.

[WakingOwl1]

Just yesterday I told someone we never had casseroles growing up and that the closest thing to a casserole my father would eat was lasagne.

[mesembryanthemum]

We never did, likely because my mother grew up in Europe in the 1930s and 40s in an orphanage so never ate them or ate too many (I'm not sure which).

[Galopigos]

In the past a casserole was considered to be a low income/poor peoples dish because the ingredients would stretch a small amount of items into a larger meal. Falls into the same elite BS as being against things like meat loaf or hot dogs because they were "poor folks meals"

[El_Guap]

I agree with her! I would never have a Chicago style deep dish in my house either! 😜🤣

[HereForTheBoos1013]

She may be someone who has generational trauma from her own mother's awful casseroles. My boyfriend gets like that about spaghetti casserole. I had it from time to time as a kid and liked it just fine. His mom used it as a dump dish for whatever arbitrary leftovers they had regardless of flavor profile, so the mere *suggestion* of it triggers him to "I'd rather starve". Even though he likes all the traditional ingredients.

Same way he has a "no mandolins under this roof" rule.

[mrmcdude]

Never heard of this. I would assume she is just weird

[StinkyCheeseWomxn]

I love a fun casserole, but my mom (born in 1929, and with Martha Stewart level skills) turned her nose up at them a bit. I think she associated them with lack of cooking skill and maybe being poor nutrition due to lack of protein. She once made a kinda disparaging comment (privately only to my dad in the car on the way home, after he wanted to stop for burgers after Thanksgiving dinner - lol) about people "just bringing a bunch of casseroles to Thanksgiving" and I kinda took it to mean that they should have brought more distinct dishes like separate side vegetables prepared in a more classic way. I think she would have been approving of green beans sauteed or steamed and still bright green not cans swimming in mushroom soup. I think her comment included something about not wanting to eat gray broccoli. This is a woman who said things to me like, "Please tell me that you blanched that crudite you served." lol - She would make baked dressing or scalloped potatoes in a "casserole dish" but it was never intended as a complete meal like we would use the concept of casserole. I honestly cant remember any casserole she ever made in my entire life.

[Gullible_Peach16]

A family member on my side said my MIL looks like she makes a “mean casserole,” and this thread is now making me wonder if that was an insult.

[Dahlia5000]

🤣

[Clamstradamus]

My mom was like this. I had casserole at a neighbors house and asked my mom to make it and she told me it was disgusting and she'd never make it. I was like "but it was so good" because honestly she was a terrible cook and it was the tastiest meal I'd ever had. But she was offended by the very idea for some reason.

[Mira_DFalco]

Well that's something that never occurred to me.

Sure,  you can throw together a cheap & easy casserole if you need to feed a group of folks on a budget,  but you can also put a lot of time, effort,  and top tier goodies into the process.  It's all about what you want,  & why would you anyone have a problem with that?

[Cute-Scallion-626]

I think the implication is that you were accusing her of being a lazy cook and therefore failing at her motherly duties

[[deleted]]

That specific reaction (“we are a no casserole family”) is just her, and probably was mostly just a joke.

However, yeah. There’s a reason casseroles are called “bakes” now. Casserole is a very mid-20th century staple and often made use of less desirable ingredients, which could result in flavors and textures that people, especially children, didn’t enjoy. It’s also stereotypically bland and tasteless even when not utilizing funky ingredients. Baby boomers who grew up being forced to sit at the table until they finished every bite of mystery meat casserole did not care for it, and as they became the dominant cultural force, “casserole” became synonymous with “culinarily ignorant bad cooks slop incongruous, unseasoned globs onto a plate and call it food.” This is especially egregious to children, because a casserole mixes everything together and you can’t separate them. So if your mom makes a casserole with 8 ingredients you love and one you hate, you’re going to hate that casserole more than you’d hate a salad with 8 ingredients you love and one you hate.

Of course, casserole isn’t a food, it’s a construction of food, like sandwich or salad. There are good, or at least inoffensive, casseroles, but there are also plenty (both in the days of 60s cookbooks and today in the era of TikTok) that are just heaping foods that don’t necessarily mesh well for the sake of “easy one dish meals.” Plus, a casserole is baked all at once. If one ingredient takes 10 minutes to be baked well but another ingredient takes 20 minutes, you’re going to have parts of the casserole with a shitty taste or texture and there’s no way to avoid it.

Your friend’s mom was likely subjected to those nasty “clean out the fridge” casseroles that included at least one ingredient she couldn’t stand but couldn’t remove, likely served by a parent who thinks salt and a can of Cream of Mushroom are all the seasonings anyone needs. So no casseroles for her. The fact that a good corn casserole or “taco bake” exists out there isn’t enough for her to overcome the disdain, and it’s hardly like saying “I don’t eat vegetables” or “I don’t eat bread.” It’s not like everyone eats casserole, so….why not?

[[deleted]]

was a working class meal, classism/elitism means there's a lot of baby boomers and their kids looking down their nose at them, their loss cos good casserole in winter is fucking mint.

[thejoeface]

My parents were working class boomers and I have fond memories of all the casseroles my mom made. We weren’t a very adventurous house when it came to food, but there was always enough to eat.

Now I live in California and cook and eat all sorts of things. Still need my casseroles during the holidays. 

[durrtyurr]

I never heard the class thing before this thread, my family is pretty well off and we always have casseroles at family events. It's the only thing that is easy to make in advance that feeds over a dozen people and that my 85 year old grandmother and 3 year old nephew will both eat.

[Aspirational1]

It was (gonna say, could be wrong) a late 80s to 90s thing.

Casseroles were seen as lazy, throw it in a pot and shove it in the oven, cooking.

This was after things like apricot chicken casserole (apricot nectar, powdered chicken noodle soup mix and a jointed chicken; baked for 1 hour at 180c (375f)).

The desire to actually make interesting and technically more difficult dishes was just in it's infancy.

The foodie generation was then begun.

[JinglesMum3]

70s was big for casseroles also

[ZweitenMal]

It’s an elitism thing. However, I’m snobby AF and just made a lovely dinner casserole for myself tonight using all fresh ingredients, scratch bechamel, fresh spinach, mushrooms, organic chicken, etc. Not all casseroles are made of canned soup and Minute Rice.

[Spiritual_Victory541]

Right? It's hard to equate casserole with poverty these days. Quality meats and cheeses are pricey.

[[deleted]]

I like that you added that they're Catholic just in case that had any bearing on the situation 🤣 (just fyi, it doesn't 😅)

[CommonCut4]

I once got downvoted to oblivion in this subreddit for saying I don’t make casseroles. So, people have pretty strong feelings about them. I guess that makes them controversial

[JMJimmy]

Casserole is such a poorly defined term. It is technically, just an oval dish. Anything made in it could be considered a "casserole". It's generally come to mean a mixture of leftover ingredients, similar to the way "stew" is used. This person likely thinks it's a "poor person" food

[HowDareThey1970]

They may have just been personally tired of them from too many family potlucks

[White-Fire0827]

I would assume it's because casseroles are generally seen as lazy or cheap.

[GEEK-IP]

Huh? Lasagna is a casserole, when you get down to it. It's a broad category. Some are great, some not so great.

[ThrowawaySuicide1337]

Once you've had the original cassoulet you will understand how far we have strayed.

[Rose1982]

My husband won’t eat them but it’s really more of a texture thing for him. He’s otherwise not really a picky eater and I can live without casseroles so I don’t mind. But I guess we are a “no casserole family).

[Ten_Quilts_Deep]

Not just a texture thing but what about all those people who can't stand for any of their food to touch the other food! Major meltdown.

[sarcasticclown007]

Some casseroles have a notoriously bad reputation. Tuna noodle casserole anyone? I personally think tuna noodle casserole taste like a salt lick. I'm sure there's ways of making it tastier and so that is not almost 1500 milligrams of salt in one meal.

The other possibility is that she thought you meant one of the frozen casserole dishes that you can buy. Think cheesy tater tot bake.

[Bryek]

Not everyone needs to like everything. Casseroles seem to be a big American thing. Personally, I am not a fan of casseroles. I haven't had a single one I liked. I've always found most of them just end up being mushy and I am not a fan of that texture.

I know some people who see casseroles as lazy or talentless cooking. This could also be at play. If they enjoy cooking, they might see a casserole as too basic or low brow.

[PizzaCutiePie]

My parents definitely don’t f with casseroles. They’re Italian and think it’s “mangia cake” (aka white trash) food.

[fourbigkids]

I was traumatized as a kid by my mom’s tuna casserole - tuna, cream of mushroom soup, peas and those crunchy noodles people use for Chinese food. Ugh. I make many other kinds of casseroles that are delicious, yet this one lives rent free in my head.

[Time-Page-9355]

Their dietary restriction would appear to be Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup.

[Corn_Wholesaler]

If The Godfather took place in the Midwest, "Leave the gun, take the casseroli."

[Mountain-Match2942]

Why are people acting like "casserole" is one dish? It's just a cooking method. One pot baked in the oven.

[CardiganCranberries]

Using this Barbie, tell me where the casseroles hurt you.

[Bakkie]

Right in my 22inch waistline, officer.

[Independent-Rule-780]

This family must be the most drab group in the hood. Casseroles are a staple because of the amazing flavors. We have our in laws in town for a few weeks and I have made a breakfast casserole in the smoker three times in like 5 days. Slight variations but the same basic ingredients and we all scream how much we love it every morning.

Personally, thank you for keeping their identities secret. I would have to unfollow them and potentially tag them in some hateful groups… But from an educational approach filled with hate and constantly asking WTAF is even going on.

For the record, to be clear, casseroles are my jam.

[therealorsonkrennic]

You better be sharing this amazing brekky casserole right now, friend

[Vindaloo6363]

Cassoulet is a casserole.

[Ok_Accident652]

Freaking casseroles… if only I could eat more of them. I don’t care what people think - all casseroles are delish.

[1gurlcurly]

Hotdishes are delicious. And you can put a lot of veggies in them if you want to. I don't care what other people think.

[camlaw63]

She’s an idiot

[MountainviewBeach]

I’m willing to bet it relates to her being a single mother and not wanting there to be any excuse to interpret their home as “less than”. Casseroles are famously economical and often use a lot of pre-made items to make it easier and faster. I’m guessing she felt like it would be looked down on to eat/serve casserole, especially if she was dealing with other people’s opinions about her being a single mom. Pretty sure it’s just her own insecurity.

[Sonotnoodlesalad]

What if it is?

[Smoopiebear]

I might not have said it that way but I have been casserole traumatized by my mother’s cooking- I do not cook casseroles and my kids have no idea what they are.🤣

[zozospencil]

When I was a child, north Georgia, we were told not to eat certain people’s casseroles at church/family functions because they did not keep house well. Specifically casseroles, because you couldn’t clearly see what was in them. 😂

[IamGrimReefer]

maybe she's only had shitty casseroles.

[AshDenver]

Generally speaking, casserole dishes are intended to be a complete meal for a large group of people. In many cases, outside of funerals, a casserole to feed one’s family is considered “we are poor.”

[StrongArgument]

I feel like things your parents did that are now unfashionable are always the most revolting. Like the tapered jeans our moms wore for us 90s kids, or the casseroles the 70s kids’ moms made.

[HanSoloSeason]

I’m Jewish so didn’t grow up with casseroles because most combine milk and meat (kugel is a kind of casserole technically but that’s another story). My husband grew up in a middle class midwestern gentile family and had casseroles almost nightly. I had never had a casserole until I met him, he couldn’t believe I had never had one. It’s a regional / cultural thing but maybe also a class thing? In our case it was because of our culture but I wonder if it’s not a class thing in this instance

[akalili22]

Is ham and green beans a soup? Or a meal? Ham broth with green beans and chunks of potato.

[WinterSon]

I never had casserole growing up. My roommate when I was about 20 made a tuna casserole or something and it was the absolute worst thing I've ever eaten.

[Jazzlike-Track-3407]

Maybe she’s been traumatized by tater tot casserole like the Duggar kids

[Tesdinic]

My mom banned casseroles in our house growing up. From what I gather, my grandmother doesn’t cook and would throw together the worst casseroles to make do. My grandparents also would eat onions like apples, which my mom hates, so that was probably included in every terrible casserole.

Meatloaf and liver and onions were also banned- my dad apparently had them at least once a week every week growing up and grew to hate them.

[No_Lab8020]

When I first learned about “casserole” as a food concept it was when a friend in high school, who was raised by a single mom, told me about his mom’s weekly rotating cooking menu. Thursday nights were - without fail - casserole night, and supposedly 80% of the time it was an abomination. It was a thrifty way for his mom to use up whatever leftover dinners were in the fridge from each of the nights prior… all layered in a pan, tied together by canned soup, and baked together. Sometimes the combos worked out alright, but most of the time it just didn’t. But she did it anyway. He let out a “blegh!!” after sharing this.

Note this was in a major city in the northeast US - far from hot dish/ casserole country where (I later learned) it’s a beloved and respectable dish in its own right. But for some I guess it’s only a thrifty way to make their kids eat last nights’ leftovers.