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In Friends season 10 episode 9, Joey is on a date with Phoebe's friend. They are in a restaurant, and when the waiter bring the dessert, Joey doesn't like it because it looks like red crap to him.

Uh, excuse me, sir. There seems to be some sort of red crap on my cheesecake

But this doesn't sound like the usual Joey. He has the ability to eat anything and everything at any time.

For example: When Rachel made the dessert in season 6 episode 9, she put beef and onions on it. While others disgusted by it, only Joey could eat all the slices and he liked it.

And he is known to be the one who will eat everything, even from the floor.

Although the Waiter says to Joey that it is raspberry, he still doesn't like it.

Why doesn't he eats a tiny fruit but he can eat from the floor or some beef dessert and more weird food?

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    from memory, the thing he disliked was the raspberry coulis on the cake, which he referred to as red crap
    – Traceur
    Commented Mar 21, 2018 at 12:30
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    @Traceur Correct, I believe the quote is "Uh, excuse me, sir. There seems to be some sort of red crap on my cheesecake."
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Commented Mar 21, 2018 at 12:31
  • I think he was going to eat it anyway, eventually, if he hadn't fell in love with his date's dessert.
    – ibrahim mahrir
    Commented Mar 21, 2018 at 23:28
  • @ibrahimmahrir may be, if somehow that red crap has been removed from his cheesecake, he will definitely eat it. Joey has a unique mind, once he has set his mind into something, it won't change. so whatever it is, red crap will be a disgusting red crap to him
    – Vishwa
    Commented Mar 22, 2018 at 5:34
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    I believe that Joey, being born in an Italian familiy, would be used to eat the classic italian cheesecake recipe, which doesn't usually have fruits on it. I can't find any citation and, even though most online italian cheesecake recipes ommit toppings, Wikipedia still claims that small bits of candied fruit are often added.
    – Bernat
    Commented Mar 22, 2018 at 13:04

2 Answers 2

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It didn't feel like edible food to him.

Everybody has their own settings, likings and preferences.

Joey did the same thing when they were in the UK, for Ross and Emily's wedding. He disgustedly refused the food that waiter brought into the hall.

Joey has the ability to digest almost everything and he loves food. That doesn't make him want to eat everything he sees.

While it's true that it was a raspberry, as you mentioned Joey still resembles it as some red crap. So still in his head it wasn't a food. He can't enjoy it. He can't feel the joy that food brings to him from it. So that's why he refused.

Joey will eat anything if he sees it's edible.

You asked "Why doesn't he eats a tiny fruit but he can eat from the floor or some beef dessert and more weird food?"

Consider this: to us, the viewers it's just a tiny piece of food. But inside Joey's head, it isn't food. Regarding other facts, he saw cheesecake on the floor, and he knows that is food and he had the taste for it.

He also enjoyed Rachel's beef dessert, unlike others. From his own words,

What's Not to Like? Custard, good. Jam, good. Meat Gooood...

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    He once ate a book though!
    – insanity
    Commented Mar 22, 2018 at 12:48
  • @insanity I remember he eating paper. but it was because he needed to dispose that piece of paper quickly, he chose putting it into his mouth as the fastest way
    – Vishwa
    Commented Mar 22, 2018 at 13:07
  • @Vishwa From "The One Where They’re Gonna Party".. Joey: Really. And what do you mean you never have fun anymore? You have fun with me, remember that time we saw those strippers and you paid me 50 bucks to eat that book? ..... Monica: I couldn’t eat it! I had five friends who couldn’t eat it, and one of them eats books.
    – insanity
    Commented Mar 22, 2018 at 14:44
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    Another fact to remember, Joey doesn't share foood!!!
    – Joey
    Commented Apr 6, 2018 at 15:23
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Because it is a punchline of sorts to a joke: Joey is willing to eat food that was on the ground, yet he refuses the cheesecake because it has "red crap" on it -- raspberry coulis -- and he views it as an unnecessary addition to a perfectly fine dessert, a pointless attempt to "trying to be healthy" for people ordering cheesecake.

At the same time it is part of the setup of another joke: he doesn't have the dessert he wants and now covets the dessert of his date, a seemingly delicious piece of chocolate torte. Which he cannot have because she now applies the same rule he so stringently followed earlier: not sharing food. Joke's on him now. (And of course this is actually part of the setup for the joke that ends with Joey eating the cake and telling her "I'm not even sorry" when she returns.)

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    This is the correct answer. In fact, the cheesecake bit isn't particularly funny or well-written, because it doesn't matter why he doesn't like it. The point is the writers just needed to set up the situation where he would be tempted to share his date's food.
    – relaxing
    Commented Mar 22, 2018 at 16:31

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