Foods you inexplicably hate

[Cleo]

Strawberries. People are always saying "how can you not like strawberries?". Because I just don't. And I want to like them. Really. I don't like blueberries either. But raspberries and blackberries are okay.

Hard boiled eggs. Can't stand the smell. I don't even like to eat anything that has touched a hard boiled egg. Like if I order a Cobb salad and I forget to ask for no egg, and then it comes and there's a crumbled up egg on my salad. I have to remove everything that the egg touched. And don't even get me started on egg salad. Can't stand to look at it, and I can't stand to watch people eat it. Nasty.

Yogurt. I've tried a million times to like yogurt--different flavors and brands. It would be such a good thing to eat for breakfast or for a healthy snack. I just can't do it.

[goldie]

I HATE raw celery. People tell me that it doesn't taste like anything or that it's important for "crunch" but I just loathe it. I will add a small amount (as in a stalk) to soups, but that's it for me.

I think papaya smells like my son's sneakers and I want to like it- so pretty and so many uses- but the odor kills me.

I would never eat a raisin by choice. I might gag down a few golden raisins in a bread pudding, but that's it.

Fried chicken livers make me want to gag. The smell alone puts me over the edge.

I think supermarket white bread is gross. My whole family loves it and I buy it for them, but I think it tastes like marshmallows (which, come to think of it, I don't care for either).

I agree with the above poster that pancakes and syrup are yucky. For me, though, it is the syrup. The only time I like syrup is when it is countered by heat (as in cayenne) or sour (maple combined with balsmic vinegar and mustard is great).

Interestingly, my two sons with terrific palates (they eat an incredible array of tastes ant textures) both dislike celery intensly and don't care for raisins. Now, my son who could live on pasta with butter and frozen chicken fingers likes celery and raisins.

[viva]

I think papaya smells like my son's sneakers and I want to like it- so pretty and so many uses- but the odor kills me.

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Yes! Papaya smells like... poop. It tastes okay, looks okay, okay texture, but... poop.

[foodiehall]

Lamb has sort of a weird goat-cheese taste to it. Not surprisingly, I don't like goat cheese either.

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[foodiehall]

Coffee. And yes, I've had really good coffee. If only it tasted like it smells, I'd be a fan.

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Same here....but I can't distinguish the good from the bad; it all tastes bad to me. However, I have progressed to the point where I'll eat coffee-flavored ice cream, sauce, etc.

[foodiehall]

Beer, I just don't get it.

Me either! After being made to feel like a beer-hating freak for years, I'm glad to find somebody else on the planet who shares my distaste for the stuff.

[foodiehall]

I was brought up to be a Clean Plate Club girl so I ate just about everything put before me except....eggs. Hated them then and hate them now. I'm referring specifically to hard/soft-boiled eggs, dishes containing them, other egg preparations (scrambled, poached, devilled, etc.) and dishes which have an "eggy" smell---like boiled custard, creme brulee. I can spot chopped egg in potato salad a mile away. However, I have no problem eating baked goods containing eggs. I'll eat quiche as long as it's loaded with ingredients which cover the egg smell. As a frequent baker, I always have eggs on hand---sometimes literally. And several years ago, I really bit the bullet and taught myself to make omelets for the hub...what the hey, it's a quick breakfast I can make for him when we're out of baked goodies. He says the omelets are fine; I can only take his word for it. In restaurants, I'm very careful to ask in advance if something contains/is garnished with hard-cooked egg. Beats sending the plate back or trying to eat around the bits of egg....ugh!

[kellycolorado]

Yes yes me too! I like my cream cheese on a bagel with smoked salmon.

wow, I never realized so many people disliked coffee...

(sipping an iced coffee as I type... )

The cheesecake thing is a combination of the mouthfeel and the sweetened cream cheese, I also don't like the cream cheese frosting on carrot cakes and cinnamon rolls either.

I love cream cheese and eat it both raw and in cooked savory applications but add sugar to it and blech!

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[lesfen]

Flan - sweet eggy mush

Creme brulee - more custardy flan with a crunch

[jackieg]

Milk is at the top of my list. Just can't stand the taste. I agree with the pancakes and maple syrup, it's just a big mushy blob to me. Eggs, except poached. Breakfast is not my favorite meal! Bananas, the texture is just weird. Peanut butter - even the smell is enough to send me out of the room.

[Viola da gamba]

Whipped cream.  It's a texture thing.

Hooray - I thought it was just me. Also, soft- or hard-boiled egg whites and the egg whites from poached or fried eggs. Don't mind scrambled or omelettes, hate them otherwise. Sweet cooked milk custardy things (while they're runny - I have no problem once they're set - as in tarts or similar - but hate creme brulee & the like). Rice pudding and tapioca. Pudding (vanilla or chocolate - don't care). Bbq potato chips (also ketchup potato chips, but some people may find that perfectly understandable!). Miracle whip and pickles. Oh - and while I love coffee (and drink far too much of it) - I cannot stand milk in my coffee - it will make me gag - I can't even drink it to be polite (I've tried). I feel the same way about milk in tea, although it won't actually make me retch uncontrollably.

I like the drier, baked cheesecakes, but hate the refrigerator kind - so tend to just avoid them unless I'm making them myself.

Edited to add - potato salad. Really. Blech. You can all be shocked now.

Edited June 10, 2005 by Viola da gamba (log)

[lorilei1170]

Don't like mussels, but LOVE clams. Every now & then I will try a mussel and still, just can't get to like it. Most times I love the broth they're in so I'm dipping away w/ the bread.

Jell-o: UGH!

Edited June 9, 2005 by lorilei1170 (log)

[ratgirlny]

I hate spinach, but I love other greens like collards, kale, etc.

I also hate most fruit - grapes, apples, bananas (ick, the smell) and other common fruits. I despise the trend of cooking fruit with meat.

I like mayonnaise in most cases, but can't abide it on sandwiches. Which means that I won't eat BLTs under any circumstance. Ketchup on hot dogs is also really gross. It actually took me years to start eating hot dogs at all - as a kid I was horrified by them.

I like cheesecake, and chocolate, but I dislike most other desserts. I dislike them for the same reason I dislike fruit - too sweet for me.

[Megan Blocker]

People can never believe this, but I really don't like cheese.

Over the years, I've come to appreciate it in certain forms (in most pasta dishes and salads, on pizza, melted brie on a baguette, cream cheese, a goat cheese tart), but, by and large, I don't like cheese. I'll eat literally anything else, but not cheese, especially at room temperature and on a cracker.

I once had someone tell me it was like not liking bread.

[Megan Blocker]

Cilantro is the only food I can think of that I just can't stand. I'm surprised not to see more cilantro aversions in this thread.

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Ditto on cilantro. Blech!

[ludja]

nutella made with *peanut oil*

(the peanut taste come thru to strongly for me and ruins it; I love any chocolate/hazelnut combo and also European nutella)

strawberries dipped in chocolate (just don't think it's a good combo)

rice krispie treats

maple-flavored sausage

(ok, hopefully this isn't something *everyone* else loves)

[shiv]

I sure hope this doesn't get my eGullet membership revoked...

Mushrooms

Chocolate ice cream

Nuts in baked goods, especially brownies

Mayonnaise and anything that contains even trace amounts of mayonnaise

Mustard

Relish

Pickles

Raw Tomatoes

Coffee (though I *love* coffee ice cream and frappaccino-type drinks)

BBQ potato chips

Cream cheese EXCEPT in cheesecake and frosting

Discernable egg yolks, especially when they're runny and leak onto other things on my breakfast plate. Scrambled eggs are particularly vile to me, in part because of the smell. As a child, my grandmother would hardboil eggs and we'd share them - me eating only the whites and she eating only the yolks.

I'm not a big fan of cheese, at least when it's not melted.

Pass on over all your unwanted Mexican food, whipped cream, bananas, watermelon, potatoes(!!), cilantro, pancakes, maple syrup, and brussels sprouts, though.

[Pan]

I sure hope this doesn't get my eGullet membership revoked...

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Turn in your card and pin on your way out.

No, actually, someone who appreciates the best sugar of all (maple) has my respect. Grade B, right?

[cathrynapple]

i'm joining the I Hate Flan Club. My parnets woudl always make it as a treat. I'd look in the fridge ans see it setting in individual teacups, waiting to be plopped out. Like brain matter. The texture is like brains. (no offense to you guys who eat brains!)

i guess i can say i don't liek brains either, but i don't think that's a "common thing" that "everyone loves."

[djbeers]

Wow! These food aversion admissions are incredible. And to think I used to consider myself a picky eater. I want to thank everyone for lifting this burden from my shoulders! I don't do organ meats, other than sweetbreads which I love. No kidneys. No liver. No brains. <g>

[tupac17616]

Not sure if these are things most people like, but some of my dislikes are:

Olives (but I love olive oil)

Bitter dark chocolate

Hot dogs

Horseradish

Licorice

Tabasco Sauce

Sour cream (except as an ingredient in baked goods)

Coffee

Tea

Soda

Melon/Cantaloupe/Papaya

American "cheese"

Velveeta "cheese"

Still trying to think of more...

[Sencha]

Well, there are various things I don't particular care for.

- Butter

- Milk. The taste...it's just bad to me.

- Tomatoes. Mainly if they're raw.

- Spaghetti. Well, I'm not too fond of Italian pasta in general (although, some dishes are alright), but spaghetti is something I refuse to eat.

As for cheesecake, I'm not too fond of it, but will eat it occasionally. Has anyone tried pumpkin cheesecake? That's truly vile!

[Chris Amirault]

Sencha, you don't like... pasta?!?

Oh my goodness.

Please do explain!

[Sencha]

Sencha, you don't like... pasta?!?

Oh  my goodness.

Please do explain!

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That's a typical reaction I get when I say that! Well, I love noodles of all sorts, really, but Italian pasta just isn't a favorite. There are some dishes I've had that I can tolerate or enjoy to a degree, but most of the time, it's just not something I care for. I guess it's just the taste.

Spaghetti is one type I simply won't eat though. The reason is simple, and I'm sure there are some people who have experienced similar situations with other foods. Well, my mother was a bad cook. Absolutely terrible. Never seasoned things, over cooked things, did almost all of her "cooking" from packages. Well, spaghetti is one of those things she would throw together last minute with sauce from a jar. Unfortunately, she did this a little too often. So, from an early age, I was sick of spaghetti.

Despite my traumatic childhood memories of my mother's "cooking" (or lack of cooking), I have tried spaghetti since then, prepared by people who knew what they were doing, but still don't care for it.

On a positive note, my mother's cooking was so bad that I learned how to cook from a young age just to have decent food.

[Chris Amirault]

Sencha, you need to fly to my house right now so that I can make you spaghetti alla carbonara and cure you!!