grammar - "I like apples" vs "I like apple"?


If I understand it correctly, nouns for fruits (and certain types of foodstuffs, such as pizza) are used as mass nouns if thought of as "food substance", rather than "portions". So is it correct that I say "I like apple" instead of "I like apples"? Is such reasoning as "I like apple as food, especially in cut pieces", just like "I like soup, pork, etc." (instead of "I like apples as items served as food, especially as whole fruits") valid, or at the very least, applicable in any ways?


I know there's a similar question on ell, but the given answer is not satisfying to me. It flat out denies such a phrase as "I like apple" as grammatically incorrect. But is it though? If it is, when exactly do we use the mass nouns instead of the count nouns? Does the same principle go with "chicken" (the meat) and "chickens" the animal?


Edit: "Dog" is NOT a mass noun and the other question is completely irrelevant. This is absurd. My question concerns the use of mass nouns and count nouns for foods.



Answer



Yes, you can say “I like apple” if you are talking about the fruit pulp, its texture or its taste; i.e. when it is uncountable. The same is true for any fruit,





  • The median proportions of food types selected are shown in Figure 1 where it can be seen that both species [rats] tended to prefer banana and avocado to the other foods offered. (source)




  • Infants can be fed puréed apple after five months of age.





And when we talk about dishes, in this case dessert, the singular is used.




  • ‘Twin Peaks’ the groundbreaking drama from David Lynch starring Kyle MacLachlan as FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, the detective with a predilection for cherry pie, and a nose for mystery,... (source)



But normally when we use the word apple, we think of it as something that is countable, that we can pick up and bite into. We are talking about apples in general, not about a single apple. Which is why the phrase I like apples will always be far more common than I like apple.


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