Needing to remove bones kinda puts me off wanting to even bother eating said food item. At that point I may as well get something else that doesn't require additional prep before I can dig in

best thing i did for autism food related things (as well as empathy) was go vegan

all the processed foods always have the exact same texture and taste. There will never be a bone in my vegan fish. No weird bits in a vegan burger. And my vegan bacon is always spot on perfect.

plus it’s a lot less gross and you don’t have to worry about cross contamination

The culinary culture in my place doesn't demand fish to be deboned. Hence, we eat fish with the head intact and eat the head as well. So, I don't have a hatred for fish bones; it's part of the culinary experience.

Edit: grammar

It's easier to eat mackerel flipped over, skin side down. That way the bones are visible from the top and are easier to remove. Your best bet is removing as many bones as you can before you start eating, then be careful.

Some places remove bones from grilled mackerel for youz but not always.

I prefer all meat off the bone. It’s weird that people like it. Especially fish with bones since you can choke on them.

Well it's delicious, healthy, and one of the least environmentally destructive fish to eat, so give it a go.

It takes some skill but there are ways to easily filet the fish. You also always need to eat it with the front teeth in case you missed one. I like to eat food that takes some work, it feels natural.

Bought a 1kg bag of frozen fish a few months ago. First fillet I ate had a few random missed bones in it and after that I just couldn’t bring myself to eat the rest of the packet.

Mackerel is a very bony fish with very thin bones. Even if you know how to remove bones well in some fish, it's going to be very challenging for mackerel. My advice is to go for bigger fish with big bones like cod, seabass, salmon, large sea bream, tuna. Watch some videos online on how to prepare the cooked fish to remove bones. You might still get one or two, but with practice and a good eye you'll be able to avoid bones altogether.

If you want to be ABSOLUTELY sure, you can use your hands to separate the fillets and take the meat apart to feel for any bones that might be left. I do this when feeding fish to my kids to make sure there's absolutely zero bones. Obviously not possible every time, but if you can do it, it's very helpful.

Yes, I used to. Don't eat it any more though.

I just 'fish' (pun intended) them from my mouth, kinda fun to do even

I can’t eat anything with bones 😔 I get what you mean

eating things that have bones in them being surprised theres bones in your food.

Vegan and even vegetarian food is so much less disgusting. There are no gooey fat clumps, no connective tissue, bones, joints, fucking eyeballs. Its just plants (and milk/eggs - maybe a little disgusting at times)

Yeah.

I can't eat sardines due to sensory issues. If I'm aware I can manage mackerel, removing most bones on my plate and handle those I miss (I won't enjoy this extra work, though). But if I suddenly get a mouthful with many bones, it will ruin my meal as well.

So in my country there's this weird little childrens song that ends with the main character dying because he choked to death on a fish bone (don't ask, I don't know either). With my autistic ass taking taking everything so literal and seriously, I've had a huge fear of choking on fish bones ever since I was a kid. Luckily I've been a vegetarian for 14 years so it hasn't been a problem for a long time, but I used to hate eating fish with bones still in it, yeah.

Me too! I don't like to eat anything that's still trying to kill me even after they're dead. hehe

I've lived in Portugal, and they usually serve the whole fish, but some Portuguese people have the skill to remove the spine intact. They also cut chicken in a way that the filet sometimes ends with bones. It can be very frustrating.

I also dislike some fruits because of the seeds. Anything I can't confidently bite into, I guess.

Not autistic, still hate fish with bones. Would you willingly jam needles in a steak?

I grew up in a fishing town and having to eat fish all the time, there is a technique to removing fish bones. I know there's some guides on YouTube I've recommended people before. It's a skill you can learn, if it's worth it to you.

If you don't want to deal with all that, your best option is to order a piece of a large fish, so it's actually been thoroughly deboned when it was being butchered. Or if you're cooking it yourself, learn how to debone fish before cooking it.

I'm so picky about fish I don't eat it much anymore (plus it feels more expensive everywhere in comparison to my hometown) and I hate sitting down to eat it only to realize I need to touch the bones, whether it's in my mouth or on the fish. When I eat fish with bones in it I start off deboning it well, then wash my hands if needed and sit down to eat it after. If I run into bones I missed I gotta wash my hands again if I touch it. I avoid eating small fish in restaurants bc this process is a hassle to do outside of home. I prefer the flavour of most small fish but it's easier to stick to big fish like salmon in public imo.

That looks like the biggest pain in the butt to eat. I like whole fried fish, but usually only red snapper. It's a lot easier to eat than that mess of bones.

I don’t eat a lot of whole fish, but the red mullet I had recently was a pain at first until I found the right way to pull the meat away from the spine so that it slid neatly off the bones.

I'd rather eat an omelette with egg shells all over. Not much different

One of my many many food rules is that meat can't remind me that it was part of an animal. If it does, then I just can't eat it.

So, no bones, no skin, nothing in the same shape as an animal. Turkey dinosaurs are fine.

@cogitoprinciple

I hate it for the same reason I hate most foods with seeds in them. I want to know what I'm biting into and when it's going to be crunchy or not and not an uneven texture.